Father left daughter in hot car until she died so as not to wake her up

A father is accused of murdering his two-year-old daughter by leaving her in a hot car for several hours while the temperature reached 42 degrees Celsius and he remained in the house.

Chris Scholtes, 37, told police that his daughter, Parker Scholtes, was sleeping in the back seat of his car when they returned to their Arizona home on Tuesday, Marana police said.

“Christopher told investigators he did not want to wake his daughter so she could continue sleeping in the car. Christopher then went into the house,” police said.

“He left the car in the driveway with the engine running, the air conditioning on and the child sitting inside.”

Parker’s mother, 35-year-old Erika Scholtes, arrived at the home in the 5100 block of W Paytons Court in Marana around 4 p.m., found the woman unresponsive, and called 911. The mother performed CPR until emergency responders arrived and took Parker to Banner University Medical Center Tucson.

The toddler’s death was confirmed in the hospital where the mother works as an anesthesiologist.

When Parker’s mother found her, the air conditioning was no longer on and the car engine was not running.

Detectives searched the Scholtes’ home that night and found surveillance camera footage showing Parker had been left in the car for about three hours – significantly longer than the less than an hour they had initially thought the case had been.

“This incident is a stark reminder of how dangerous it is to leave children unattended in a car,” police said.

“Even on relatively mild days, the temperature inside the vehicle can rise rapidly and lead to potentially fatal consequences within a matter of minutes.”

Chris was charged Friday morning with first-degree murder and child abuse in connection with the death of his daughter.

He is being held at the Pima County Adult Detention Center.

Chris had posted pictures of his daughter online, including one of a drawing she had made herself, and captioned it “Artist in Need.”

“She poses a menace to society, with a crooked hat to match her attitude and her vicious pit bull ready to attack,” he wrote in the caption.

In another photo of himself sleeping and holding his daughter, Chris wrote: “Now that’s what I call fatherly comfort.”

Parker leaves behind her parents and two older sisters.

Her death came just weeks after a six-year-old girl in Bradenton, Florida, died after being left locked in an overheated car by her mother’s boyfriend.

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