Christopher Scholtes left his 2-year-old daughter to die in a car, authorities say. (Mug shot: Pima County; screenshot: KOLD)
An Arizona father allegedly left his 2-year-old daughter in a hot car for about three hours on day that reached temperatures as high as 111 degrees.
The defendant, Christopher Scholtes, 37, faces charges of second-degree murder and child or vulnerable adult abuse. Prosecutors requested a bond of $1 million, and but the defense argued that he was a low flight risk, lacked a criminal history besides a DUI charge from 15 years ago, and had no history of violence or danger to the community, according to Tucson NBC affiliate KVOA and CBS affiliate KOLD. (KVOA reported he was released with no bond; the NY Post reported the judge set a $25,000 secured bond.)
Cops in the Tucson-area town of Marana said they and the Northwest Fire District responded Tuesday to a home in the 5100 block of W. Paytons Court regarding a report of an unresponsive child who had been left in a vehicle.
Defendant Scholtes allegedly told police he arrived home and that the child, his 2-year-old daughter, had been sleeping in her car seat.
Scholtes allegedly said he did not want to wake her, so he left her in the vehicle with the air conditioning on.
Authorities claim his story did not sync up with the facts of the case.
Scholtes said they returned home at around 2 p.m., cops said in the KOLD report. Footage, however, showed the vehicle arriving at 12:53 p.m. The wife returned home from work at about 4 p.m. Police said she arrived to discover the vehicle was no longer running and the AC was off.
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“9-1-1 was called, and the mother performed CPR until NWFD and MPD arrived,” police wrote. “NWFD performed life-saving measures, and the child was transported to Banner University Medical Center. Unfortunately, the child was pronounced deceased.”
Police detectives received a search warrant the night of the incident, and they described finding surveillance footage from nearby homes. Investigators said they determined the girl had been left in the vehicle for approximately three hours.
Defendant Scholtes was arrested Friday morning and booked into Pima County Adult Detention Center.
The mother, Erika Scholtes, spoke on his behalf in the hearing on Friday. She wanted him home for the grieving process.
“This was a big mistake and I think that this doesn’t represent him,” she said, according to video obtained by KVOA. “And I just want that the girls to see their father so that I don’t have to tell them tonight that they’re going to endure another loss.”
Pretrial services reportedly scored defendant Scholtes in the lowest possible risk. The judge noted his strong ties to the community and lack of a criminal history. A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 1.
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