Dad who ‘left daughter in hot car until she died said he didn’t want to wake her up’
A father allegedly murdered his two-year-old daughter by leaving her in a hot car for several hours as the temperature reached 109 degrees Fahrenheit as he stayed inside their home.
Chris Scholtes, 37, told cops that his daughter, Parker Scholtes, was asleep in the back seat of his car when they got back to their Arizona home on Tuesday, said the Marana Police Department.
‘Christopher told detectives he did not want to wake his daughter up so she could continue sleeping in the vehicle. Christopher then went inside the residence,’ stated police.
‘He left the vehicle on and running in the driveway, with the air conditioning on and the child inside.’
Parker’s mother, Erika Scholtes, 35, arrived at the home on the 5100 block of W Paytons Court in Marana around 4pm to find her unresponsive and called 911. The mother administered CPR until first responders arrived and transported Parker to Banner University Medical Center Tucson.
The toddler was pronounced dead at the hospital, where her mother is employed as an anesthesiologist.
When Parker’s mother found her, the air conditioner was no longer on and the car was not running.
Detectives searched the Scholtes’ home that night and found CCTV footage showing that Parker had been left in the car for roughly three hours – far longer than the less than hour time frame they first believed was the case.
‘This incident is a stark reminder of the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles,’ police stated.
‘The temperature inside a vehicle can rise rapidly, even on relatively mild days, leading to potentially fatal outcomes within minutes.’
Chris was charged on Friday morning with second-degree murder and child abuse in connection with his daughter’s death.
He is being held at Pima County Adult Detention Center.
Chris had posted pictures of his daughter online, including one with a drawing she made and captioned it ‘struggling artist’.
‘Raising a menace to society, hat tilted like her attitude, and her vicious pit bull ready to attack,’ he wrote as the caption.
In another photo of him sleeping and holding his daughter, Chris wrote, ‘I call this one A Fathers Comfort.’
Parker is survived by her parents and two older sisters.
She died just a few weeks after a six-year-old girl left locked in a hot car by her mother’s boyfriend died in Bradenton, Florida.
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