Christopher Scholtes Accused of First Degree Murder of Girl in Car

Charges against Christopher Scholtes elevated to first-degree murder.
Surveillance footage contradicts his story.
Wife defends the accused’s innocence.

A grand jury has elevated the murder charge against the father who allegedly left his 2-year-old daughter to die in a hot car while he played PlayStation.

Christopher Scholtes, 37, is now charged with first-degree murder following the indictment in Pima County, Arizona, according to KGUN.

In the state of Arizona, first-degree murder is the only crime punishable by the death penalty. Additionally, he still faces a charge of child abuse.

Authorities said Scholtes came home and left the victim, his 2-year-old daughter Parker, in his vehicle.

Contradictions in Christopher Scholtes’ Statement about the Incident

Christopher Scholtes, 37, of #Marana, #Arizona, has been charged with first-degree murder and child abuse for allegedly leaving his 2-year-old daughter Parker in a hot car for 3 hours while he played PlayStation. Parker’s body temperature reached 108.9°F when found. #RIP 🙏 #TrueCrime pic.twitter.com/QhE3D7X2An

— True Crime Updates (@TrueCrimeUpdat) August 5, 2024

He claimed he didn’t want to wake her, so he left her there with the air conditioning on.

However, surveillance footage did not match his story, officials said.

Police stated that he arrived home at 12:53 p.m., although he claimed he arrived around 2 p.m.

His wife, Erika Scholtes, came home from work around 4 p.m.

Police said she discovered that the vehicle was no longer running and the air conditioning was off.

She spoke on his behalf at the bail hearing, saying the death was a mistake and did not represent him, according to a video obtained by KVOA.

However, court documents indicated that her text messages showed he had previously left their children in the car unsupervised.

“I told you to stop leaving them in the car, how many times have I told you?” she wrote while Parker was on her way to the hospital, KVOA reported.

Authorities said they spoke with Scholtes’ other two daughters, aged 5 and 9, who confirmed that he often left them alone in the car.

In this case, they told police that Scholtes came home after running errands and then «got distracted playing his video game and putting away his groceries,» according to KOLD.

You might also be interested: María Gómez Pérez: Where is she now?

Surveillance footage did not show Scholtes checking the vehicle or his daughter, police wrote in an affidavit, according to USA Today.

“When she asked where the 2-year-old was, he began checking the rooms in the house and then realized he had left her in the vehicle,” they said.