A father who pleaded guilty in the death of his toddler after leaving her in a sweltering car for hours outside their former home in Marana died by suicide, hours before he was to surrender to authorities for what was likely to be years behind bars.
The body of Christopher Scholtes, 38, was received by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office sometime early Wednesday, records show.
Christopher Scholtes
Scholtes died by suicide, Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“We expected him to be in court this morning,†Conover said in her statement. “But instead of coming in to take account for what has occurred here, we have been informed, and we have confirmed, that the father took his own life last night.â€
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Phoenix police confirmed they are investigating a death that was reported about 5:22 a.m. in the neighborhood where the Scholtes family now lives, records show.
Scholtes was facing up to 30 years in prison under a plea agreement in the death of his daughter, Parker.
He was to surrender Wednesday morning, even though his sentencing was set to take place on Nov. 21, in Pima County Superior Court.
Conover said in her recorded statement that the case was “extraordinarily complicated†and that justice was not “served appropriately this morning.â€
She also spoke words aimed directly at the older sisters of the child who died, who have now lost a sibling and a father.
Pima County Attorney Laura Conover on Wednesday released a video statement about the death by suicide of Christopher Scholtes, who faced years in prison in his daughter’s hot-car death.
“May you be surrounded by love. May you receive all of the support you deserve and need, and then some,†Conover said, looking into the camera. “May you know and believe that you can survive this and thrive.â€
Scholtes was arrested for second-degree murder following the death of 2-year-old Parker in July 2024. After his arrest, he was released without bond and never spent a day behind bars in connection with the case. Scholtes was also allowed to travel to Hawaii on a family vacation, over the prosecution’s objection.
A grand jury indictment later elevated his charge to first-degree murder. Scholtes was offered a plea agreement that would have let him plead guilty to a reduced charge, but he rejected it.
Last month, mere days before his first-degree murder trial was set to begin, Scholtes accepted a second agreement to plead guilty to second-degree murder and felony child abuse. The agreement capped the maximum prison time at 30 years.
Conover said then that the sentences imposed by the judge would run consecutively, and Scholtes faced between 20 and 30 years in prison. The agreement also required him to serve 100% of his sentence, her office said.
According to text messages sent between Scholtes and his wife leading up to Parker’s death, the father’s drug and alcohol use had become a thorn in the marriage. She admonished Scholtes on multiple occasions for leaving the girls in the car and driving with them while under the influence. Those demands were ignored on July 9, 2024, when records show Scholtes left Parker buckled in her car seat on a 109-degree day for more than three hours.
When police arrived, Scholtes told Marana investigators that he thought Parker was inside the house playing with her sisters while he spent time searching online for video games, clothing and pornography.
About 4 p.m., Erika Scholtes, a doctor, arrived home from work and realized Parker was missing when she went to greet her children, records say.
The toddler was found limp inside her dad’s vehicle. Erika Scholtes immediately began CPR, according to a 911 call made by Scholtes. Paramedics rushed Parker to the hospital, but it was too late. She was pronounced dead.
Police searched the Scholtes’ home, electronic devices and the vehicle in which Parker died. It led to Scholtes’ eventual arrest.
Video surveillance from neighbors’ homes, a local convenience store and grocery store helped track Scholtes’ trip around town with Parker in the back seat while his older daughters spent the morning at a local trampoline park with friends.
Scholtes can be seen during this time shoplifting beer from both businesses while Parker was left to wait in the car.
Security footage also showed Scholtes at a convenience store on West Twin Peaks Road from 12:07 p.m. to 12:10 p.m. July 9, where he walked to the beer cooler and grabbed three cans of beer. He spent a couple of minutes in the restroom, exiting with fewer beer cans than he went in with, and left the store without paying for them. It is unknown if he consumed any beer in the bathroom.
Scholtes then drove to a grocery store on North Thornydale Road, where cameras showed him entering alone at 12:40 p.m. He spent seven minutes in the store before he went to self-checkout to pay for two jars of salsa, tortillas, tortilla chips and iceberg lettuce. The video shows him shoplifting two more cans of beer.
Finally, he pulled into their home’s driveway at 12:53 p.m., just in time to meet his two older girls arriving home from the trampoline park. He initially lied to investigators, saying he reached home about 2:30 p.m.
Parker’s body temperature had reached 108 degrees, the medical examiner report said. She died of heat exposure.
On her way to the hospital with Parker, Erika wrote her husband in distress.
“I told you to stop leaving them in the car. How many times have I told you,†Erika wrote from inside the ambulance with Parker 30 minutes after she was found. “We’ve lost her. She was perfect.â€
Parker was declared dead about 5 p.m.
During forensic interviews an older daughter seemed keenly aware of the situation happening around her.
“He still drinks too much beer, and he keeps leaving us in the car when my mom told him to stop doing this,†one of the girls told the interviewer at the time. “That’s how he made my baby sister die.â€
Conover in Wednesday’s statement tried to assure the siblings there’s room to rise from tragedy.
â€May you not feel tied down by what happened here, but rather lifted up by your baby sister’s wings from above.â€
