Chris Scholtes faces second-degree murder charges after his two-year-old daughter died in a hot car in Marana, Arizona. Investigation reveals child was left for three hours.
Quick Read Points:
- Chris Scholtes charged with second-degree murder after his two-year-old daughter was left in a hot car for three hours.
- The toddler was found unresponsive by her mother, Erika Scholtes, and later pronounced dead at the hospital.
- Security footage revealed Parker had been left in the car for approximately three hours, not the initially reported one hour.
- The incident highlights the rapid temperature rise in vehicles and the dangers of leaving children unattended.
- Marana Police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the child’s death and the car’s air conditioning failure.
Bollywood Fever: An Arizona father, Chris Scholtes, has been charged with second-degree murder after leaving his two-year-old daughter, Parker Scholtes, in a hot car for approximately three hours. The incident occurred outside their home in Marana, north of Tucson, where temperatures soared to 109°F.
Police reported that Parker’s mother, Erika Scholtes, discovered the unresponsive child in the back seat of the blue Honda Acura SUV when she returned home. Initial police statements suggested the toddler had been left in the car for less than an hour, but security footage later revealed it was closer to three hours.
Chris Scholtes, 37, told investigators that he left Parker in the car with the air conditioning running because she was asleep and he did not want to wake her. He then went inside their house. At some point, the car and air conditioning turned off, causing the temperature inside the vehicle to rise rapidly.
Upon discovering Parker, Erika performed CPR until paramedics arrived. The child was rushed to Banner University Medical Center Tucson, where Erika works as an anesthesiologist. Unfortunately, Parker was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Marana Police charged Chris Scholtes with second-degree murder and child abuse on Friday. He is currently held at the Pima County Adult Detention Center. “Marana Police detectives were granted a search warrant the night of the incident and conducted a thorough investigation,” police said. “Video surveillance from nearby residences confirmed the child had been in the vehicle for approximately three hours.”
Sheriff Chad Chronister emphasized the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles, stating, “The temperature inside a vehicle can rise rapidly, even on relatively mild days, leading to potentially fatal outcomes within minutes.”
Parker was born in October 2021 and had already experienced numerous family outings, including a trip to Disneyland and vacations to Cancun and Europe. Scholtes often shared photos and videos of Parker and their family on social media, depicting a loving and active family life.
Marana Police Captain Tim Brunenkant acknowledged the ongoing investigation, noting that they are still determining the exact timeline of events and how long the car’s air conditioning was off. “We are doing the interviews, and we are trying to determine if this was a mistake, ‘Is it an accident? Is that possible?’ We’ll have to determine that,” he stated.
Brunenkant stressed the importance of never leaving children alone in cars, especially in extreme temperatures, to prevent such tragic outcomes.
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