Dad charged with first degree murder after daughter, two, died in hot car allowed to go on holiday before trial

A judge has allowed Christopher Scholtes to take a trip to Hawaii before his trial date.

Prosecutors allege that he left his youngest child, two-year-old Parker Scholtes, sleeping inside the family's car that was parked in the driveway of their home for several hours. On that day, in July 2024, the temperature outside was reportedly 42c and the dad-of-three was supposedly "distracted" playing video games, leading to the fatal incident.

It was the afternoon of Tuesday July 9 when firefighters and officers in Arizona, United States, were called to a property after the little girl was found unresponsive in a vehicle. Attempts were made to resuscitate her and she was taken to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Pima County Superior Court Kimberly Ortiz granted defendant Scholtes' holiday request last month. This request came from his lawyer, who said he planned to travel to Maui, Hawaii, from May 1 to May 9 this year with his wife and their two daughters.

Although the trip was sanctioned by the courts, stipulations required Scholtes to maintain regular contact with pre-trial services and avoid any unsupervised time with his children.

This controversial permission from the judge was met with dismay. Pima County's top prosecutor Laura Conove criticised the court's leniency, as reported by Tucson's NBC affiliate KVOA.

Laura Conove is reported to have said to the station: "The public record would show that the defendant and his counsel requested permission from the court to travel out-of-state. Our prosecutors strenuously objected. The court granted permission over our objection."

Back in July 2024, police confirmed that Scholtes had arrived home earlier on the fatal day while Parker was asleep in the car. He left her inside to sleep in her car seat with the air conditioning running and went inside the home.

Parker’s mum, Doctor Erika Scholtes, then returned home several hours later and discovered her daughter in the car. The vehicle was no longer running and the AC had turned off, and she called 911 immediately.

37-year-old Scholtes was charged with second degree murder and child abuse, and taken to Pima County Adult Detention Center. A grand jury then elevated the charge against him to first-degree murder. Scholtes pleaded not guilty to the charges during a court appearance on Thursday August 8.

The escalation of charges from second-degree to first-degree murder indicates that prosecutors believe Scholtes' actions were intentional. While second-degree murder typically involves reckless behaviour leading to death, first-degree murder requires premeditation and intent.

Surveillance footage showed Parker had been in the car for about three hours. According to police, Scholtes’ other children, aged five and nine, told investigators that their father had been playing PlayStation that afternoon.

The children also reportedly informed police that their father would often leave them in the car with the air conditioning running, despite knowing that the vehicle automatically shut off after 30 minutes.

Text messages between Christopher and Erika at the time of the incident reveal Erika berating her husband for leaving their children in the car, saying, "I told you to stop leaving them in the car. How many times have I told you?"

Scholtes responded, "Babe, I'm sorry!" Erika's response was heartbreaking: "We've lost her. She was perfect." Scholtes later texted, "Babe, our family. How could I do this? I killed our baby. This can’t be real."

If convicted of first-degree murder, Scholtes faces a life sentence. While the death penalty is an option under Arizona law, local news outlet KGUN9 reports that the Pima County Attorney’s office typically does not pursue it.

Scholtes and Erika had celebrated their 10th anniversary shortly before Parker’s death.