Christopher Scholtes, the Arizona dad convicted of murder after the death of his 2-year-old daughter in 2024, has reportedly died by suicide. In July 2024, Scholtes had been running errands with his daughter Parker. The little girl fell asleep in the car, and instead of waking her to bring her inside, the dad left her to sleep in the car with the air conditioning on. He became “distracted” in the home, however, playing video games and reportedly searching porn sites, forgetting about Parker. The girl was found in the car by his wife, and Parker later died. As a result, Scholtes was charged with second-degree murder and child abuse.
According to records from the Maricopa County coroner, 38-year-old Christopher Scholtes died on November 5, 2025, People reported. He was found by police around 5:22 a.m. An autopsy will be performed, but the results likely won’t be available until early 2026.
Scholtes was supposed to be turning himself in that morning ahead of his scheduled sentencing on November 21, AZ Family reported.
“We expected to be in court this morning because the father had accepted a plea agreement to second-degree murder which could have carried as much as 30 years in prison,” Pima County Attorney Laura Conover shared in a statement shared by the outlet. “But instead of coming in to take account for what has occurred here, we have been informed and we have confirmed that the father took his own life last night.
“This is obviously extraordinarily complicated and we extend our deepest sympathies and sorrow to all the loved ones who have suffered the loss of this beautiful baby girl and now another loss to his family,” Conover added in the statement.
Sergeant Brian Bower of the Phoenix Police Department confirmed to People that Scholtes was found “deceased inside a vehicle.” Bowser also said the car “was parked inside a closed garage” and Scholtes’ death is being investigated as a “suicide death.”
Only weeks before his death, Scholtes pleaded guilty to second-degree murder shortly before his criminal trial was set to start. The plea was part of a deal he made with prosecutors that would have him serve 20 to 30 years in prison, per People. If he would have gone to trial and been convicted, he could have been sentenced to life or given the death penalty.
Scholtes was home on bail ahead of his trial, the court allowing him to spend two more weeks at home with his wife and two surviving daughters before he had to report to prison. Earlier this year, he was also allowed to go on a family vacation to Hawaii, AZ Family reported.
According to multiple reports, including People, Scholtes’ surviving daughters, who were 6 and 9 at the time of their little sister’s death, said their dad had left them in the car alone regularly. In a criminal complaint filed after Parker’s death, Scholtes’ wife scolded him for repeating his behavior via text.
“I told you to stop leaving them in the car, how many times have I told you,” she wrote, according to KVOA. “We’ve lost her, she was perfect,” she shared about the toddler.
“Babe our family. How could I do this. I killed our baby, this can’t be real,” Scholtes replied.
