Arizona toddler who died of heat exposure left in 108.9-degree car by video game-playing dad: cops
An Arizona toddler who died from heat exposure was left in a car that reached scorching temperatures of nearly 109 degrees — while her distracted dad allegedly played video games, authorities said.
Parker Scholtes, 2, was found dead in a Honda SUV parked outside her home in the Tucson suburb of Marana — where her father, Christopher Scholtes, left the tot to nap for more than three hours on July 9, according to police.
By the time first responders discovered the girl’s lifeless body, the temperature in the vehicle had soared to 108.9 degrees, according to an autopsy report released to the Arizona Republic Wednesday.
The toddler’s cause of death was officially found to be “environmental heat exposure” and the manner was listed as accidental, the paper reported.
Christopher Scholtes, 37— who was allegedly inside the home playing PlayStation video games while the girl died — was charged three days later with second-degree murder, authorities said.
Scholtes first claimed he left his daughter in the car with the air conditioner blasting for 30 minutes after returning home from shopping at around 12:30 p.m. because he didn’t want to wake her.
But court records later showed he zoned out on video games for more than three hours, until his doctor wife came home at 4 p.m. and was horrified to find the child unconscious inside his SUV.
The distracted dad later acknowledged that he knew the vehicle’s engine would automatically shut off after 30 minutes, the Arizona Republic reported, citing his arrest report.
Scholtes’ two other daughters told police their dad sometimes left them alone in the car while he “got distracted by playing his game and putting away his food,” according to the arrest report.
As the little girl was rushed to a hospital, Erika Scholtes, an anesthesiologist, admonished her husband for the dangerous move.
“I told you to stop leaving them in the car, how many times have I told you,” she texted him.
She later wrote, “We’ve lost her, she was perfect.”
Scholtes replied: “Babe I’m sorry. How could I do this. I killed our baby, this can’t be real.”
Scholtes said he forgot the girl was still in her car seat before his wife came home and made the devastating discovery amid a triple-digit heatwave.
A judge set Scholtes’ bail at a $25,000 bond.
His preliminary hearing is set for Thursday.
