An Arizona dad has been charged with murder after he was accused of recklessly causing the death of his 2-year-old daughter.
Christopher Scholtes (pictured above) is making headlines for the worst reasons. According to a criminal complaint obtained by DailyMail.com, the 37-year-old father of three got home one day and decided to leave his toddler, Parker, in the car to avoid waking her. He claimed to have gotten to his Marana home in the blazing sun around 2:30 p.m. and left his baby girl in the Acura for around 30 minutes, but police believe the child may have been left in there for upwards of THREE HOURS.
Needless to say, the poor child succumbed to the heat much faster than that, as the temperatures in the AZ desert were around 120 degrees that day — and the car was allegedly parked in direct sunlight. It’s despicable he thought he could leave the child in the car in those temperatures for even five minutes! He allegedly got distracted while putting away groceries — then sat down and started playing his PlayStation and just forgot to go get Parker.
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It wasn’t until 4 p.m. that his wife, anesthesiologist Erika Scholtes, returned home and stumbled upon the horror scene. She was faced with discovering her own baby’s body lying lifeless in their car.
Around 4:16 p.m. when it was still 109 degrees out, Erika made a 911 call alerting police of what she discovered. As she was on her way to the hospital with the 2-year-old, she exchanged a gut-wrenching text conversation with Christopher. According to reports, she said:
“I told you to stop leaving them in the car, how many times have I told you … We’ve lost her, she was perfect.”
To which her husband replied:
“Babe I’m sorry! How could I do this. I killed our baby, this can’t be real.”
How could he do this?! “Babe I’m sorry” is never going to take away that child’s suffering in her last moments…
The man’s two other kids, aged nine and five, reportedly ratted him out to the cops saying he often left all three of them in the hot car alone. They confessed he “got distracted by playing his game and putting his food away” and that’s when he forgot about Parker.
The father told police in a statement that he left the a/c on for the little one, but admitted he was aware the Acura would automatically turn itself off after around 30 minutes. He also maintained his story about arriving home at 2:30, despite police having video evidence from surveillance cameras he arrived around 12:53 p.m. According to local outlet KPTV, law enforcement confiscated his PlayStation among other electronics for their investigation.
In court Monday, his grief-stricken wife still begged the judge to go easy on him. The 35-year-old doctor told the court during a remote appearance:
“I’m just asking if you can allow him to come home to us so we can all start the grieving process … so that he can bury our daughter with us this upcoming week, and [so] that we can go through this poor process together as a family … This was a big mistake and I think that it doesn’t represent him. I just want that the girls to see their father so that I don’t have to tell them tonight that they’re going to endure another loss.”
Heartbreaking. This poor mother shouldn’t have to be navigating such horror alone… but it doesn’t sound like he’s taken enough responsibility either…
The judge ended up agreeing to let Christopher go until his hearing in August, for the sake of his wife and family. He’s been charged with second-degree murder and child abuse in relation to the toddler’s death.
Such a terrible, totally preventable situation. Our hearts go out to Erika and her children. May Parker rest in peace.
[Image via Pima County Sheriff’s Department]
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