MARANA, Ariz. (KGUN) — Last year on July 9, police lined a neighborhood in Marana. It was on that day that Parker Scholtes died after being left in a car on an extremely hot day.
The father, Christopher Scholtes, is facing first-degree murder charges with a trial set for October 2025.
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On Wednesday, Cynthia King, Parker Scholtes’ grandmother, had a memorial for her granddaughter that brought together about 25 people.
“From the moment she was born, I used to come into their house and call her hi Smiley, and she just was joyful,” King said. “We would watch Barbie movie over and over and over again, and we just were good together.”
On July 9, 2024, she got a phone call from her daughter, Scholtes’ mother, and she rushed over to their house.
“I drove to the house, and pounding on the steering wheel, not understanding, not believing,” King remembered.
According to court documents, for over three hours, Parker was left in the car with a temperature of 109 degrees that day. Also in those documents, they said her father, Christopher Scholtes, was playing video games when his wife came to ask where Parker was.
King chose to have the memorial during the exact hours Parker would have been in the car, from about one to four in the afternoon.
“Even though it was in the middle of the week and the hottest, part of the day, I wanted to make sure that we honored her memory by being here during those times,” King said.
King handed out bags with pins in remembrance of Parker and flyers to raise awareness about leaving children in the car.
“I have turned my grief into action,” she commented.
When asked about Scholtes, King did not hold back how she felt about his actions that day. She mentioned he showed signs from previous behavior.
“Yes,” she said. “I think he needs to be incarcerated….I just have prayer and hope in the justice system.”
Back in March, Christopher Sholtes rejected a plea. In October, he’s facing a first-degree murder trial.
Last year, nationwide, the National Safety Council cited a San Jose State University study that said there were 39 child heatstroke deaths in cars. This year, the study said there have already been 14.
To further raise awareness, King handed out purple lights to people in the neighborhood so they can put them outside of their homes. It’s a color that has been used in California to raise awareness about the dangers of hot car deaths.
“Feeling what my little family’s pain of losing a little one….I can’t imagine another family going through that,” King said.
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Andrew Christiansen is a reporter for KGUN 9. Before joining the team, Andrew reported in Corpus Christi, Texas for KRIS6 News, Action 10 News and guest reported in Spanish for Telemundo Corpus Christi. Share your story ideas with Andrew by emailing andrew.christiansen@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, or Twitter.

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