Heartbreaking Photos Reveal How Christopher Scholtes' Daughter, 2, Was Desperate to Live After He Left Toddler to Die in Boiling Hot Car
Parker Scholtes tried desperately to escape her father's car.
Nov. 25 2025, Published 7:40 p.m. ET
Graphic photos show the struggle two-year-old Parker put up as she tried desperately to escape the boiling hot Arizona car in which she was trapped, RadarOnline.com can report.
Parker was left to die in her tiny car seat, while her father, Christopher Scholtes, was inside their home drinking beers and looking at online porn – oblivious to the tragedy unfolding outside.
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.
Now, new 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.
Inside the blue 2023 Acura MDX with red trim was the forward-facing car seat, still in place. Below it on the floor was a pink iPad and a pink sandal.
Parker's Emotional Struggle to Escape
Handprints reveal Parker's struggle to free herself.
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.
Scholtes' Car Was Forced to Park Outside
A pink iPad and tiny pink sandal were found beneath the car.
According to police reports, Scholtes explained the car was usually parked in the family's garage. However, after his wife, Erika, 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 RadarOnline.com 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.
That was the same hospital Parker was rushed to, where she was pronounced dead less than an hour later.
History of Abuse Allegations
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A Peloton Father's Day gift necessitated the car being parked outside.
Parker's then 6 and 9-year-old siblings would later tell investigators their dad had a disturbing habit of "forgetting them in the car" and leaving them often without food or water for hours at a time.
In a text message after Parker's incident, his distraught wife allegedly wrote, "I told you to stop leaving them in the car. How many times have I told you?"
Scholtes was previously investigated nine times on allegations of neglect, as well as physical and emotional abuse against his eldest teenage daughter, whom he shares with his ex-wife, between June 2014 and December 2020.
However, in every one of the cases, the allegations were eventually deemed unsubstantiated, as there was not enough evidence to support them.
The teen had just sued her dad and Erika days earlier for abuse and neglect, and claimed they used her to falsely apply for free government benefits and money. She has promised to continue her legal action against her step-mom.
