An Arizona man facing first-degree murder charges in the hot car death of his 2-year-old daughter has been granted court approval for a family vacation in Hawaii.
Christopher Scholtes, 37, requested vacation time with his family in early April and received approval for a trip to Hawaii in May, according to KSBY.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Scholtes’ toddler died in a hot car parked outside their Marana home, where she was reportedly left for three hours. Initially, Scholtes was charged with second-degree murder.
His 16-year-old daughter told KVOA that her father often left her alone in the car—sometimes for hours at a time—when she was as young as 7.
“Actually, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. [Once,] I had to go sit out in the car for four to five hours and continuously had to restart the car and had only eaten once that day,” she told the news outlet.
According to an interim complaint, Scholtes’ other two children, ages 9 and 5, said it was typical for Scholtes to leave them alone in the vehicle. They added that on the day in question, Scholtes “got distracted by playing his game and putting his food away” while their sister was in the car.
Despite objections from prosecutors, Pima County Judge Kimberly Ortiz approved Scholtes’ 10-day vacation with a few conditions. Scholtes is to have no unsupervised contact with his children and is required to contact Pretrial Services before, during, and after his trip.
Scholtes is awaiting trial, which is scheduled for October 2025. He faces the possibility of life in prison, according to KGUN.
