[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
In a gut-wrenching turn of events that feels almost too dark to comprehend, the Arizona father whose horrifying negligence led to his young daughter’s death in a sweltering car has now been found dead himself.
You will probably recall the story of 38-year-old Christopher Scholtes — the Arizona dad whose 2-year-old daughter Parker perished in the family’s driveway last summer after being left in their parked car under blistering Arizona heat.
Court documents from the time revealed that back on July 9, 2024, Scholtes returned home from errands with his toddler but never brought her inside. Instead, he went into the house, fired up his PlayStation, and reportedly spent time playing video games and then searching for pornography. Yes, really. When his wife Erika returned home hours later, she discovered the unthinkable: their little girl, still strapped in her car seat, had died in the searing triple-digit heat.
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Well, Scholtes himself was discovered dead very early on Wednesday morning. His death came just weeks after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his daughter, and just HOURS before he was scheduled to surrender to authorities in regards to sentencing for the crime that shocked and enraged the nation.
He’d been expected to face somewhere between 20 and 30 years in prison after his plea last month. But according to multiple media reports on Wednesday, Phoenix police officers were called to Scholtes’ home around 5:22 a.m. that morning. There, they found the father deceased.
While the official cause of death remains under investigation, sources close to the case told TMZ that authorities are considering carbon monoxide poisoning as a possible cause of death, with detectives reportedly investigating the incident as a possible suicide at this early stage.
Whoa…
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to several outlets later on Wednesday that they will perform an autopsy on Scholtes’ body, though results are not expected until sometime in early 2026. TMZ also reports that the Pima County Attorney’s Office in Tucson believes that Scholtes actually died very late on Tuesday night, for whatever that’s worth.
Pima County District Attorney Laura Conover released a statement about the matter on Wednesday night, per the New York Post, ABC 15 News, and others. In it, she said she’d been able to confirm the death by suicide, and slammed Scholtes for not facing up to his punishment for his daughter’s tragic passing:
“Instead of coming in to take account for what has occurred here, we have been informed, and we have confirmed, that the father took his own life last night.”
ABC 15 News further reported on Wednesday that there was apparently some confusion at the courthouse after Scholtes failed to show up for the hearing at which he had been directed to hand himself over to police. Courthouse officials there were apparently unaware that he had died just hours before, that outlet and others report.
Now, this shocking event closes the chapter on a case that has left a deep scar on everyone who followed it. A young child lost her life in unimaginable circumstances. And her father — the man responsible — is now gone, too.
Scholtes leaves behind his wife and their two surviving children, the three of them left to deal with the unimaginable aftermath.
Here’s more from one of Scholtes’ final court appearances just weeks before his death:
If you have sincere cause to suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
[Image via Pima County Sheriff’s Department]
The post Shocking Twist! Dad Whose Daughter Died In Hot Car While He Was Searching Porn? He’s Been Found Dead! appeared first on Perez Hilton.