Arizona Doctor's Husband Who Left Daughter, 2, to Die In Sweltering Car 'Was Distracted by Porn, Playing Video Games and Drinking Beers'
Christopher Scholtes allegedly left his 2-year-old daughter trapped in a hot car
Oct. 16 2025, Published 12:53 p.m. ET
An Arizona father was reportedly too wrapped up in playing video games and watching pornography to remember that his 2-year-old daughter was still inside his hot car, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Christopher Scholtes is charged with first-degree murder for the tragic death of his young child, Parker, after he left her to nap in her caseat in sweltering 90-degree heat in July 2024.
Scholtes is charged with first-degree murder.
Scholtes is scheduled to head to trial later this month. The father of three allegedly left his youngest child in the car after running some errands and getting "distracted."
A new court filing accuses the 38-year-old of cracking open a few beers he shoplifted earlier in the day, playing games, and searching for porn on his PlayStation – all while the toddler napped.
Scholtes has said he left the car running and the air conditioning on, but after an extended period of time, the vehicle shut off.
Medical examiners said temperatures in the 2003 Acura climbed as high as 109 degrees over the three hours Parker was trapped inside.
The Toddler's Mom Found Her.
It wasn't the first time he was accused of forgetting about his kids in the car.
Parker’s mother, an anesthesiologist, discovered her daughter in critical condition in the car with the AC off when she came home around 4 p.m.
The toddler was rushed to the same hospital where her mother works, and was declared dead an hour later.
Scholtes admitted he was aware that the car engine in his vehicle turns off after 30 minutes, at which point there would be no air conditioning.
It's Happened Before
His wife, Erika, discovered the toddler's body when she came home.
This wasn't the first time Scholtes left one of his children in a closed car.
According to a criminal complaint, investigators also alleged that the two surviving daughters, who were 6 and 9 at the time, said in interviews that their father had previously left them alone in the car on other occasions.
His 16-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.
In a text message after Parker's incident, his wife, Erika Scholtes, allegedly wrote: "I told you to stop leaving them in the car. How many times have I told you?"
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Body cam footage showed Scholtes in distress while the cops were at the scene.
Still, Erika has stood by her man during all of this, and the couple, along with their two surviving daughters, raised eyebrows when a judge granted their request to take a family vacation to Maui earlier this year.
In May, his defense team successfully argued for a temporary change in his bail conditions, allowing him to vacation with the family for more than a week.
Judge Kimberly Ortiz approved Scholtes' request to vacation despite prosecutors’ objections, with conditions including no unsupervised contact with children and regular check-ins.
Scholtes has pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. He previously turned down a plea deal that would have reduced his charges to second-degree murder, carrying a maximum sentence of 25 years.
Instead, he now faces either life in prison or the death penalty if found guilty.
