**Arizona Dad’s Guilty Plea in Toddler’s Death Celebrated as ‘Justice’**
*Published Oct. 23, 2025, 7:20 p.m. ET*
An Arizona father’s sudden guilty plea in the tragic death of his 2-year-old daughter, who was left to bake in a hot car while he played video games and surfed for pornography, is being hailed as “justice” for the deceased toddler, RadarOnline.com can exclusively report.
### Guilty Plea Details Revealed
Christopher Scholtes initially pleaded not guilty to the charges related to the 2024 death of his daughter, Parker. However, just days before his trial was scheduled to begin, he accepted a plea deal and changed his plea to guilty on lesser charges.
The Pima County Attorney’s Office shared exclusively with RadarOnline.com:
> “Today, Christopher Scholtes accepted a plea agreement and pled guilty to one Count of Second-Degree Murder and one Count of Intentional/Knowing Child Abuse under Circumstance Likely to Cause Death or Serious Physical Injury. Under the terms of the plea, the sentences imposed by the judge are going to run consecutively, and Scholtes will face a sentencing range of 20 to 30 years of ‘flat time.’”
This means Scholtes will not face life in prison, but he will be required to serve the full sentence without eligibility for early release.
The statement continued:
> “We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of our prosecutors, victim advocates, and staff for their collaboration with local law enforcement on this complicated and high-profile case. This is yet another reminder to the community that the Pima County Attorney’s Office will do everything we can to get justice for victims and prosecute those who have caused harm to others, especially those who are most vulnerable.”
Scholtes is scheduled to be sentenced on November 21. He will be allowed to remain out of custody until November 5, when the court will decide if and when he will be taken into custody.
### How Scholtes’ 2-Year-Old Daughter Died
As RadarOnline.com has reported, Christopher Scholtes, a father of three, left his youngest child alone in the car after running errands and returning home. Prosecutors revealed that the 38-year-old man cracked open several beers—shoplifted earlier that day—while playing video games and searching for pornography on his PlayStation, all while the toddler remained inside the vehicle.
Scholtes later admitted he knew that the car engine would shut off after 30 minutes, causing the air conditioning to stop working.
Parker’s mother, an anesthesiologist, found her daughter in critical condition inside the car with the AC off when she arrived home around 4 p.m. The toddler was rushed to the hospital where her mother worked but was declared dead approximately one hour later.
### Past Abuse Allegations Surface
Medical examiners reported that temperatures inside the 2003 Acura reached as high as 109 degrees during the more than three hours Parker was trapped inside.
This was not the first time Scholtes had left one of his children alone in a car. After Parker’s incident, his wife Erika allegedly sent him a frantic text message saying, “I told you to stop leaving them in the car. How many times have I told you?”
Their two surviving daughters, then aged 6 and 9, reportedly told interviewers that their father had left them alone in the car on multiple occasions. Additionally, Scholtes’ 16-year-old daughter from a previous marriage claimed he frequently left her alone inside cars without food for hours, leading to intervention by Child Protective Services, which ultimately removed her from his custody.
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*This tragic case serves as a sobering reminder of the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles and the devastating consequences of neglect.*
https://radaronline.com/p/christopher-scholtes-guilty-plea-daughter-die-car-justice-arizona-dad/