According to recent reports, a father from Arizona is facing murder charges after allegedly abandoning his 2-year-old daughter in a hot car. The father was reportedly engrossed in playing video games on his PlayStation for over three hours during the toddler’s death.
The 37-year-old father of three, Christopher Scholtes, stated that he merely left his sleeping 3-year-old daughter, Parker, in his 2023 Acura MDX for half an hour after coming home from shopping so as not to wake her.
Court documents that were just made public reveal that he spent over three hours playing video games before his terrified doctor’s wife returned home to discover the girl’s body in his car, according to KPLC-TV News.
According to fresh information, 2-year-old Parker Scholtes passed away on July 9 after her father left her in a hot car in Arizona for over three hours as he played video games.
“I warned you not to leave them in the car,” doctor Erika Scholtes reportedly told her husband in text messages following the tragic event on July 9.
“Babe, I’m sorry,” the alleged murderer said. “My love, our loved ones. What am I missing that would make this task less daunting? I murdered our child; this is not real.
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Erika Scholtes used the word “perfect” to describe Parker throughout the painful conversation.
Tragic death ‘a tremendous mistake,’ says wife of Arizona man charged with murder for abandoning daughter in hot car for hours
Christopher Scholtes informed the authorities that he reached their Marana, Tucson, house at about 2:30 in the afternoon and had to park outside due to the garage being overrun with workout equipment.
His wife returned home at 4 o’clock in the afternoon and made the terrible discovery, and he said he had forgotten the child was still in her car seat.
However, according to KPLC, detectives checked surveillance footage and found that he left Parker in the car for over three hours in over 109-degree weather after he arrived outside the residence just after 12:30 p.m.
Families Scholtes—Christopher, Erika, and their three daughters. The youngest, Parker, passed away on July 9th, after being left in a hot car outside their house for hours.
The third kid of the marriage, Christopher Scholtes, “got distracted playing his game and putting his food away” (as stated in the complaint), while the other two children of the couple informed the police that their father frequently left them in the car while he was at home.
According to the report, the preoccupied father admitted to authorities that he had left Parker’s air conditioner on in the vehicle, but that he was aware it would turn off after 30 minutes.
Christopher Scholtes was facing murder and child endangerment charges in court on Friday. His wife, describing the tragic error as “a big mistake,” urged the judge to release him pending trial.
The judge was told by her that she was pleading with him to return home so that the family could begin to grieve, that he could attend the burial of their daughter this coming week, and that they could all go through this together.
“This is not representative of him; it was a major error,” Erika Scholtes stated. “I desire nothing more than for the girls to see their father—to avoid the burden of having to inform them tonight that they will face yet another setback.”
The judge issued a $25,000 bond instead of the $1 million that the prosecutors had requested.
Juniper Calloway is a dedicated journalist with 3 years of experience in covering hard-hitting stories. Known for her commitment to delivering timely and accurate updates, she currently works with MikeandJon Podcast, where she focuses on reporting critical topics such as crime, local news, and national developments across the United States. Her ability to break down complex issues and keep audiences informed has established her as a trusted voice in journalism.
