From the Daily Mail: A doctor’s husband was inside his home watching pornography while his two year-old daughter was dying outside in a hot car, a court heard.
Christopher Scholtes, 37, is charged with the first-degree murder of two year-old Parker in Marana, Arizona, last July after leaving her to nap in 90F heat.
His alleged X-rated behavior was addressed at a court hearing in Tucson on Tuesday, 15 months after the little girl baked to death outside.
Prosecutors wanted to produce the shocking claim, alleged in court documents, as evidence for jurors at Scholtes’s upcoming murder trial.
A judge banned them from doing so but said that jurors could be told of previous instances where Scholtes allegedly left his children in a car unattended.
The report explains that Scholtes had left his 2003 Acura running with the air-conditioning on, and left the little girl napping in the car, while he went inside his home.
Scholtes allegedly lost track of time while entertaining himself in the house, as he played on his PlayStation, drank booze, and watched pornography.
Meanwhile, the vehicle shut off, and the temperature rose inside the car, reaching 108.9 degrees F. when first responders arrived and found the child dead.
However, the judge said Tuesday that prosecutors cannot tell jurors what Scholtes was doing inside his home.
But the judge did allow prosecutors to show the jury texts between Scholtes and his wife Erika that reveals that he had a pattern of leaving their sleeping children in the car, including the following exchange:
As Parker was rushed to the hospital, Erika texted Scholtes saying: ‘I told you to stop leaving them in the car, how many times have I told you.’
She later added: ‘We’ve lost her, she was perfect.’
Scholtes replied: ‘Babe I’m sorry! How could I do this. I killed our baby, this can’t be real.’
The couple’s two other children, then aged nine and five, reportedly told police their father regularly left all three siblings alone in the car.
Little Parker had been asleep in the car as her father drove home. He reportedly made two stops – at a gas station and a grocery store – and left her alone in the car while he went inside each place. Then when he arrived home, he left her sleeping in the car again.
While she baked to death in the car, he drank beer he had picked up from the previous stops.
The trial is scheduled to start on October 27.
Below is a news report on the case soon after it happened last year:
Arizona dad Christopher Scholtes, 37, is facing a murder charge in the death of his 2-year-old daughter after being left to die in a hot car.#CourtTV – #ChristopherScholtes pic.twitter.com/TpU6eRjfWp
— Court TV (@CourtTV) July 17, 2024
Christopher Scholtes’ trial starts on Oct. 27. He faces charges of first-degree murder and child abuse. The Pima County Court’s recent ruling allows evidence of past acts to show intent, but excludes references to alcohol use to avoid prejudice. https://t.co/HvUKrjjkU7
— KVOA News 4 Tucson (@KVOA) October 14, 2025
READ MORE from the Daily Mail.
Follow us on X (Formerly Twitter.)
The DML News App: www.X.com/DMLNewsApp
