A Tragic Sequence of Events
A father from Arizona, Christopher Scholtes, has died by suicide on the very day he was scheduled to be taken into custody for the death of his two-year-old daughter, Parker. The 38-year-old's body was discovered by officers from the Phoenix Police Department just before 6am on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.
Scholtes had recently accepted a plea agreement for the second-degree murder of his young daughter, an incident that occurred during a sweltering day in July 2024. He was expected to face a prison sentence of 20 to 30 years.
The Fateful Day and Legal Aftermath
Pima County Attorney Laura Conover addressed the media, confirming the tragic turn of events. "We expected to be in court this morning because the father had accepted a plea agreement... But instead of coming in to take account for what has occurred here, we have been informed and we have confirmed that the father took his own life last night," she stated.
Conover described the situation as "complicated" and extended her condolences to Scholtes' family, specifically addressing his two surviving daughters who have now lost both a sister and their father within two years.
The incident that led to this tragedy took place on a day when temperatures soared to a blistering 42 degrees Celsius. Prosecutors alleged that Scholtes left his daughter, Parker, in the family car while he consumed beer, played video games, and watched adult content inside their home.
A History of Warnings and a Fatal Error
Court records and text messages reveal a disturbing pattern of behaviour. Scholtes confessed to authorities that he had left Parker in the car with the air conditioning running for approximately 30 minutes after she fell asleep on a journey home from shopping.
He later admitted that he was aware the car's engine would automatically switch off after half an hour. It was his wife, Erika, an anaesthesiologist, who discovered their unconscious daughter upon returning home from her shift at Banner University Medical Center.
Text messages presented in the case show that Erika had previously warned her husband about this very danger, texting him, "I told you to stop leaving them in the car, how many times have I told you," as Parker was being rushed to the same hospital where her mother worked.
Further investigations revealed that two of Scholtes' other daughters had told police he frequently left them in vehicles and became "distracted playing games" while performing tasks like putting away groceries.
Initially pleading not guilty, Scholtes had turned down a plea deal in March 2025 that carried a minimum 10-year sentence. However, in October 2025, he accepted the harsher agreement. In a final legal blow, he was sued the previous week by his eldest daughter, now 17, and his wife Erika for emotional distress, assault, battery, and fraud.
