The father slated to go to prison for allowing his 2-year-old daughter to die in a hot car failed to appear at a hearing to take him into custody. The Maricopa County Medical Examiner lists Christopher Scholtes as dead —- one of the cases that office is investigating.
Scholtes moved to Maricopa County from Marana after the incident that left him facing murder charges in the death of his 2-year-old child.
After rejecting a plea deal, Scholtes agreed to accept one after all. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. The sentence was not to be imposed until later this month, but it would have been between 20 and 30 years in prison with no chance of parole.
Even though he had not been formally sentenced, with prison time a certainty, Christopher Scholtes was to appear in Judge Kimberly Ortiz' court to be taken into custody pending the formal sentencing.
Judge Ortiz took the bench, then immediately recessed the court. A few minutes later, prosecutors and Scholtes' defense attorney hustled out of an apparent meeting in chambers.
Judge Ortiz vacated the hearing but affirmed the sentencing hearing set for Nov. 21.
None of the attorneys would explain what happened. A representative of the Pima County Attorney’s Office said to expect a statement later in the day.
Investigators say the day 2-year-old Parker Scholtes died, she spent almost three-and-a-half hours strapped in a car seat in temperatures well over 100 degrees; while her father sat in the living room drinking, playing video games and watching pornography.
Text messages from Scholtes’ wife show her reminding him she’d told him many times to stop leaving their children in the car.
The Maricopa Medical Examiner's office said a report on his death will be available in 90 days.
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
