An Arizona father faces up to 30 years in prison after his negligence resulted in his young daughter’s death.
Christopher Scholtes, 38, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder with a domestic violence enhancement, and a charge of child abuse, according to KPNX-TV in Phoenix.
His daughter, Parker, was just 2 years old.
BREAKING: Christopher Scholtes, Marana father facing 1st degree murder after daughter died in hot car, is being offered a SECOND plea deal before his trial Monday. He rejected 1st deal in March. Hearing set for tomorrow. I obtained information sent to victims in the case. @KVOA pic.twitter.com/RX32EmcC0P
— Chorus Nylander KVOA (@CNylanderKVOA) October 21, 2025
The incident happened in July 2024 on a sweltering day in Marana, Arizona, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
Scholtes was running some errands that morning with young Parker in the car.
First, he stopped at a convenience store, where he allegedly shoplifted some beer.
Then he stopped at another grocery store, where he stole two more beer cans.
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He got home around 12:53 p.m. and, not wanting to wake his daughter, left her in the car with the engine and air conditioning running.
Inside the house, Scholtes made his two older girls some lunch before gaming on his PlayStation, according to Law & Crime.
Around 2:00 p.m., he browsed online for men’s clothing and searched for pornography, according to court documents.
His wife, Erika, returned from work around 4:00 p.m., when she asked her husband where their daughter was.
Parker had been in the car for three hours at that point.
The couple ran outside and found that the engine had stopped running, along with the air conditioning. It was 109 degrees Fahrenheit that day.
Scholtes’ wife, who is a doctor, tried reviving their daughter inside the house, but to no avail.
The Tucson Fire Department arrived and took Parker to the hospital.
She was pronounced dead around 5:00 p.m.
Video footage showed officers talking with Scholtes shortly after his daughter died.
The day after Parker Scholtes, 2, died after being left in a car in her family’s driveway in Marana, Arizona, her older siblings were interviewed by investigators. Their father, Christopher Scholtes, was arrested and charged. Law&Crime’s Angenette Levy @angenette5 reports. pic.twitter.com/gxjgsnzi3O
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) August 21, 2024
But it was a tragedy waiting to happen.
Scholtes reportedly had a history of carelessness.
“I told you to stop leaving them in the car. How many times have I told you,” Erika Scholtes reportedly texted her husband the day of the incident. “We’ve lost her. She was perfect.”
Scholtes will spend 20 to 30 years in prison, depending on his sentencing, which is scheduled for Nov. 21.
“The loss of Parker is unbearable, it’s a pain we carry every moment,” Parker’s grandmother, Cynthia King, told KPNX-TV.
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