Christopher Scholtes, an Arizona man convicted of murder after leaving his tot daughter inside a hot car, has died.
According to News 4 Tucson, Scholtes, 38, was scheduled for a court hearing on Wednesday, at the Pima County Superior Court, but failed to show up.
Scholtes had been ordered to turn himself on Wednesday, with sentencing to happen on November 21, as part of a plea agreement.
Deputy County Attorney Kim Hunley told the outlet that the “it was unexpected this morning” and that a news release will be sent out.
BREAKING: Christopher Scholtes, Marana father who pleaded guilty to the murder of his daughter for leaving her in a hot car, has died. That’s according to Maricopa County Coroner records. He was supposed to be arrested per plea deal today. @KVOA pic.twitter.com/s3cXu14ZzH
— Chorus Nylander KVOA (@CNylanderKVOA) November 5, 2025
Arizona’s Family that Scholtes was found dead at a home on 7th Street and Northern Avenue in Phoenix, at around 5 a.m. Wednesday morning.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office stated that he died on November 5.
Scholtes pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder, along with intentional child abuse likely to cause death or serious physical injury, in connection with the July 9, 2024, death of Parker Scholtes, 2.
The Arizona Republic reports that in March 2025, Scholtes rejected a plea deal for second-degree murder. The deal would have landed him behind bars from 10 to 25 years, without the possibility of parole.
He was facing up to 30 years in prison when he failed to appear for Wednesday’s court hearing.
Previous Video Coverage
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Scholtes left Parker in a vehicle parked outside the family’s Marana home in the driveway, with temperatures that day surging to 109 degrees.
Scholtes claimed he left the air conditioning on and that he never intended to harm his daughter.
Scholtes’ other two children, ages 9 and 5, said Scholtes usually left them alone in the vehicle to play. On the day of the incident, Scholtes got distracted while their sister was still in the car, the children said.
The timeline of events Scholtes gave investigators did not match security video obtained from a neighbor. The video confirmed Scholtes left Parker in the vehicle for three hours, not one hour, as he had claimed.
Scholtes also claimed he arrived home with the children at around 2 p.m., but security footage showed the vehicle arriving at 12:53 p.m. and not leaving again.
Before he returned home, he allegedly stole alcohol from a store. When he returned to the residence, he watched pornography, played video games and sent his wife text messages, Tucson.com reports.
At around 4 p.m. that day, Scholtes’ wife, Dr. Erika Scholtes, arrived home, discovered Parker unresponsive and performed CPR. She then called 911.
Scholtes claimed his phone was supposed to ping when the car overheats or shuts off, but that didn’t happen.
“I told you to stop leaving them in the car. How many times have I told you?” Scholtes’ wife later said in a text message.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Christopher and Parker Scholtes/Facebook]
