An Arizona man who pleaded responsible to leaving his 2-year-old daughter to die in a automotive of their sweltering driveway whereas he watched porn inside has now additionally died — and his demise is being investigated as a suicide, in line with experiences.
Christopher Scholtes was listed as lifeless by the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s workplace Wednesday, in line with ABC 15. His demise is being investigated by Phoenix police as a suicide, AZFamily reported.
He was attributable to report back to jail, however by no means arrived on the listening to the place he was scheduled to be taken into custody.
Scholtes pleaded responsible in October to second-degree homicide and was anticipated to be sentenced to as a lot as 30 years in jail this month, however was attributable to report back to jail earlier than the time period was formally handed down.
Scholtes’ demise comes greater than a 12 months after his younger daughter, Parker, was discovered lifeless within the driveway of their Marana residence on a scorching July afternoon in 2024, when the temperature soared to 109.
He claimed to have left the toddler within the automotive for half-hour with air-con on as a result of he didn’t wake her from a nap, however court docket data later revealed he left the little lady within the automotive for 3 hours – and even admitted that he was conscious the automotive would shut off robotically after half-hour.
Scholtes was inside watching porn, taking part in video video games and ingesting beer whereas his daughter roasted to demise outdoors.
The little lady was discovered when Scholtes’ spouse got here residence — and he or she later berated him for not listening to her warnings that one thing like this was going to occur if he didn’t cease leaving his kids within the automotive.
“I instructed you to cease leaving them within the automotive,” she wrote in a flurry of enraged texts after the demise. “What number of occasions have I instructed you?”
The grieving mom added within the alternate that their 2-year-old was “good.”
His older daughters, who he shared with a special lady, even instructed investigators that he typically left them within the automotive, and would overlook about them after being distracted by his video video games.
His oldest daughter, who will flip 18 later this month, sued him final week over emotional misery.
Scholtes was initially supplied a plea deal within the spring, however rejected it.
If you’re battling suicidal ideas or are experiencing a psychological well being disaster and dwell in New York Metropolis, you’ll be able to name 888-NYC-WELL without spending a dime and confidential disaster counseling. When you dwell outdoors the 5 boroughs, you’ll be able to dial 988 to succeed in the Suicide & Disaster Lifeline or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
