'Porn-Watching' Arizona Dad's Neighbor Details Gruesome Moment His Dead Body Was Found in a Car... the SAME Day He Was Set to Be Thrown Behind Bars for Decades for Daughter's Death
An Arizona dad killed himself in a way that echoed how his daughter tragically died.
Dec. 3 2025, Published 4:00 p.m. ET
Neighbors of the Arizona man who left his two-year-old daughter trapped inside his hot car to die say the tragic aftermath could have been "even worse," RadarOnline.com can report.
Christopher Scholtes left his napping daughter, Parker, strapped to her car seat in boiling heat, as he went inside his home to drink beer, play video games, and search for porn.
Christopher Scholtess' Eerily Similar Death
Christopher Scholtes left his daughter Parker to broil still strapped to her car seat.
Scholtes was arrested and charged with the murder of his daughter. He had agreed to a last-minute plea deal to avoid life in prison, but committed suicide the night before he was expected to report to prison.
In a sad and ironic twist, the 38-year-old killed himself in a car as well, with the Maricopa County medical examiner confirming he died of carbon monoxide suffocation in the family's garage.
A horrified neighbor recalled the moment Scholtes' wife, Erika, the couple's nanny, and their children found his body in his red Honda S2000 convertible.
"They were all standing looking at the car, and he was already in the car, dead at that time," the neighbor told the Daily Mail. "All of a sudden, (Erika) started walking around, and this other lady pulled up all frantic, and they ran up to the door."
The police and fire department soon showed up, but by that time, the deadly gas fumes had started to spread, putting the rest of the family at risk.
"I don't know how far (the fumes) went into the house, but the kids were there, the family was there," the neighbor added. "It could have been bad."
Daughter Parker's Body Was Discovered By Her Mom
Scholtes was found dead in his red Honda S2000 convertible in his garage.
Parker was discovered in July 2024, trapped inside the family's other car, a blue 2023 Acura MDX. According to police reports, Scholtes explained the car was usually parked in the family's garage. However, after his wife bought him a Peloton treadmill for Father's Day three weeks earlier, the hulking machine took the car's place indoors, forcing Scholtes to park outside.
As Radar has reported, Parker was trapped in the car until after 4 pm, when Erika arrived home from her work at Banner University Medical Center in Tucson.
Heartbreaking photos from the investigation into Parker's death reveal the suffering she was forced to endure inside her dad's SUV.
Tiny handprints scratching the rear driver's side window show where Parker was sitting, strapped into her car seat.
Christopher Scholtess 'Forgot' About His Daughter
Handprints reveal Parker's struggle to free herself from her father's other car.
Parker was napping in her car seat when Scholtes came home from a beer run. As he exited the vehicle, he reportedly did not want to disturb his sleeping daughter and went inside.
There, he quickly became distracted by the beer he had just shoplifted, along with his video games and porn searches, and "forgot" he left his daughter in the burning sun.
Investigators said temperatures that hot July day in 2024 climbed as high as 109 degrees... while temps inside the car topped out at over 149 degrees.
Parker's window faced west, taking in the direct heat of the summer sun.
Previous Disturbing Incidents
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A pink iPad and tiny pink sandal were found beneath the car.
This disturbing incident wasn't the first time he left a child alone in a baking car. In a text message after Parker's incident, Erika allegedly texted him in a panic, "I told you to stop leaving them in the car. How many times have I told you?"
His two surviving daughters, who were 6 and 9 at the time, reportedly said in interviews that their father had previously left them alone in the car on other occasions.
While his 17-year-old daughter from a previous marriage also claimed he frequently left her alone inside cars without food for hours at a time, even to the point where Child Protective Services took her away from him.
