Arizona Dad Christopher Scholtes Found Dead Ahead of Sentencing in the Murder of His 2-Year-Old Daughter
One of the other children, who filed a lawsuit against the now-deceased father, said that he had abused and neglected them.
A two-year-old child died as a result of a catastrophe that occurred in a town northwest of Tucson in 2024. Her father, who was found guilty of her death and was scheduled to get a sentence, has now been discovered dead.
At a news briefing on November 5, 2025, Pima County Attorney Laura Conover revealed the update, which comes more than a year after the tragedy.
In July 2024, what became of the little girl?
On a sweltering Tuesday afternoon in Marana, Arizona, the tragedy began just after 4 p.m. when authorities received a call about a child who was unconscious inside a parked car.
Northwest Fire District paramedics and responding officers raced to the peaceful residential area and discovered young Parker Scholtes unconscious in her father’s vehicle.
Parker was ultimately declared dead despite frantic attempts to save his life both on the scene and on the way to the hospital.
Authorities claim that Christopher Scholtes, Parker’s father, told them he had gone home earlier that day and had made the decision not to wake his sleeping daughter.
He said he went inside the home with the intention of letting her relax, leaving the car running with the air conditioner on.
However, the car was gone by the time he got back, which was between thirty and an hour later. His daughter was still at that point.
Dr. Erica Scholtes, Parker’s mother, found her child unconscious, the car quiet, and the air still when she got home. Christopher made a disturbing 911 call that caught the ensuing terror.
“No! “Please, 9-1-1, 9-1-1!” he exclaimed. “My infant was in the vehicle. She doesn’t respond. Dear God, dear God!”
A dispatcher said, “And this was in the driveway?” Christopher was heard to reply, “Yes.” The respondent questioned, “Is she still breathing?” Christopher said, “No, she’s not breathing right now,” in a panicked tone.
“All right. The dispatcher then remarked, “We need to start CPR right now,” to which Christopher replied, “Yes, we are.” Yes, we are beginning CPR.
“I must listen to CPR. They have to figure it out for me. “One, two, three,” shot back the respondent.
“My wife is a doctor,” Christopher added, repeating the counts. She’s at home. Christopher described how the car had shut off when Erica asked her husband what had happened.
The respondent then asked, “Is she breathing yet?” to which Erica and Christopher both said, “No!” “My God!
“Baby, baby!” the father cried. Erica could be heard quickly counting chest compressions as the dispatchers continued to walk the parents through CPR: “Three, four, five, six, seven, eight.”
Surveillance footage from neighboring homes showed that she had been in the car for around three hours, with temperatures outside reaching 109 degrees, despite Christopher’s claims that he had returned to the vehicle between thirty and an hour after she had left his daughter inside.
Her body temperature was a deadly 108 degrees when it was recorded by authorities. Christopher was taken into custody by police on Friday and accused of second-degree murder and child abuse.
Evidence, according to detectives, indicated that he was preoccupied after entering the car, allegedly by playing video games and putting food away, while his daughter was left stranded in the hot vehicle.
Which Pima County Attorney Laura Conover provided an update on the case?
The story of her father ended abruptly and hauntingly, many months after Parker’s untimely death. Before he could appear in court, Christopher was discovered dead.
“Because we have received so many media inquiries this morning, I will deliver the following information to the best of our ability and knowledge at this hour,” Laura said.
She described how detectives from Marana Police and the seasoned prosecutors in her office had done a great deal of work to unearth the whole extent of what transpired on that sweltering July day.
According to the lawyer, a Pima County grand jury had indicted Christopher for first-degree murder after the inquiry because of the child abuse evidence.
Laura mentioned that Christopher had accepted a plea deal for second-degree murder, a penalty that carries a maximum term of 30 years in jail. “We expected to be in court this morning,” Laura stated.
“But instead of coming in to take account for what has occurred here,” she went on, “we have been informed and we have confirmed that the father took his own life last night.”
After that, Laura offered her sincere condolences to everyone impacted by the double loss. “This is obviously extraordinarily complicated, and we extend our deepest sympathies and sorrow to all the loved ones who have suffered the loss of this beautiful baby girl, and now another loss to his family,” she said.
“This little girl’s voice was nearly silenced because justice was not served appropriately this morning,” Laura said, “but it has not and will not be silenced due to the hard work of the people who work here at the Pima County Attorney’s Office.”
Laura spoke directly to Parker’s surviving siblings as the briefing came to a close, her words resonating with hope and compassion in the midst of grief.
“May love be all around you. I hope you get all the help you need and deserve, and more. May you understand and have faith in your ability to live and prosper,” she said.
“And when you look back on this time as the years follow, may you not feel tied down by what happened here, but rather lifted up by your baby sister’s wings from up above.”
What Unsettling Information About Christopher Scholtes Was Revealed?
Following Christopher’s death, previously undisclosed or obscure information regarding his actions in the days preceding Parker’s murder has become more apparent, presenting a picture of purported carelessness that went much beyond a single disastrous error.
Prosecutors said in a motion for admissibility that People was able to obtain that Christopher had searched for pornography on his PlayStation while his daughter was stuck in the hot car outdoors. But in the end, Judge Kimberly Ortiz prohibited the evidence from being used during the trial.
She further stated in her decision that witnesses who were asked to testify were also not allowed to bring up the “two-minute search” that took place on July 9, 2024.
Prosecutors tried to reveal more information before the trial than just this. Christopher’s two surviving kids, who were six and nine years old at the time, showed concerning behavioral tendencies during interviews.
In a text message received while Parker was being taken to the hospital, Christopher’s wife also seemed to accept the pattern of the two girls telling authorities that their father had previously left them alone in a car.
Erica’s message was, “I told you to stop leaving them in the car,” “How many times have I told you?”
Christopher had previously in the year pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and child abuse, turning down a previous plea bargain before ultimately consenting to a lesser charge of second-degree murder.
In the months before to his trial, the judge had also allowed him to take his wife and daughters to Hawaii.
Why Did a Daughter of Christopher Scholtes Bring a Lawsuit Against Her Father?
But Parker’s passing wasn’t the end of the tragedy. Beyond the death of his youngest child, Christopher was already dealing with growing accusations of abuse and incompetence before to his death.
His adolescent daughter sued Christopher and her stepmother, Erica, in Maricopa County in October, alleging emotional anguish, assault, violence, and fraud.
The teenager allegedly told News 4 Tucson, “He left a child in a hot car for the first time with me when I was younger than seven.”
The lawsuit, which was submitted by Lindsay Eisenberg, her former guardian, describes years of psychological, emotional, and physical abuse that occurred between 2016 and 2021.
Lindsay claims that between 2014 and 2020, the teen filed numerous complaints with the Arizona Department of Child Safety, which were looked into but never proven.
The daughter maintains, however, that her experiences were genuine and gravely harmful. Her words, “It genuinely has changed me as a person,” “I will never be the same person I was before.” The lawsuit is still pending after Christopher’s death and demands damages of over $50,000.
What Other Terrifying Information Was Revealed?
A more complete and somber picture emerged when investigators looked more closely at the events leading up to Parker’s murder.
The moment officers arrived at Christopher’s house to take him into custody was seen on police body cam footage. He was clearly upset, and he started to cry.
After exclaiming, “So, I’m being treated like a murderer?!?” he said, “I just lost my baby.”
“I know that, and I know this isn’t easy for you,” the officer said coolly. I’m trying to be direct and honest with you because of this, okay?”
As more evidence came to light, the emotional roller coaster grew more intense. In the wake of the incident, Christopher reportedly confessed to his wife, “Baby, I’m sorry! How could I accomplish this? It’s not possible that I killed our baby.
According to reports, Erica had vehemently supported her husband in court, calling their daughter’s death an error on his behalf. However, Parker’s older siblings also told authorities that they had been abandoned in cars on other occasions, sometimes all three at once.
“He still drinks too much beer, and he keeps leaving us in the car when my mom told him to stop doing this,” a girl stated.
“That’s how he made my baby sister die.”
Witness accounts and security footage also showed that Christopher had stopped at a grocery store and a gas station the day Parker died, leaving her alone in the car while he stole alcohol, some of which he allegedly drank while his daughter was dying outside.
We would like to offer our deepest sympathies to Parker’s mother, older sisters, and any loved ones who are grieving this terrible loss.
As they grieve, we wish them healing. Rest in peace, Parker, my dear. You arrived too soon with your angel wings.
