Arizona girl, 2, left in car by father on 109-degree day and is found dead

[tlcya]

Detectives obtained security video that showed Scholtes arriving home and parking in his driveway at 12:53 p.m. Scholtes went inside the family's home joined by the child's two siblings, aged 5 and 9.

'I told you to stop leaving them in the car': AZ dad charged in toddler's hot car death often left children in car, records say

Christopher Scholtes is facing felony charges of domestic violence, second-degree murder and domestic violence-child abuse.

www.12news.com

to add to that from the same article - the toddler's two older sisters aged 5 and 9 revealed the following:

Police talked to the Scholtes' two older children and it was discovered that he "regularly" left the children alone in the vehicle, according to the documents.[referring to a regular/repeated practice]

The document reveals that the children said Scholtes "got distracted by playing his game and putting food away" while their sister was in the vehicle. [referring to that day]

 

[AislingGray18]

Jesus, he was told, over and over, including THAT DAY to stop doing it.

IMO, this is flat out Murder. He comes off as an entitled man baby. he had one job. One job. Keep his kids alive, and he not only failed, he purposefully did something he knew was illegal, even after being chastised, more than chastised, told explicitly to STOP doing it, and playing video games was more important than his child's life, safety and comfort.
He should never be around any child ever again smh

 

[Inthedetails]

She obviously trusted him so if he told her he wasn't doing it anymore then what else was she to do other than believe him?

There was the option to not trust him and hire a babysitter and/or send to daycare.

It's sort of like being married to an active drug user who promised not to use while caring for the kids fulltime after being caught using drugs while caring for the kids. You wouldn't believe they were capable of caring for the kids, period.

Help was as close as hiring someone who could manage responsibility. I was babysitting for families at 15 and managed the responsibilities way (way!) better than this lump.

jmo

 

[Allabouttrial]

Jesus, he was told, over and over, including THAT DAY to stop doing it.

SBM

Was he told that day??

 

[Allabouttrial]

There was the option to not trust him and hire a babysitter and/or send to daycare.

It's sort of like being married to an active drug user who promised not to use while caring for the kids fulltime after being caught using drugs while caring for the kids. You wouldn't believe they were capable of caring for the kids, period.

Help was as close as hiring someone who could manage responsibility. I was babysitting for families at 15 and managed the responsibilities way (way!) better than this lump.

jmo

You're right I was trying to play devil's advocate.

 

[MsMarple]

SBM

Was he told that day??

The quoted texts were sent by the mother to her husband while she was on the way to the hospital after the girl was discovered unresponsive. It wasn’t clear in some reports.

 

[Allabouttrial]

The quoted texts were sent by the mother to her husband while she was on the way to the hospital after the girl was discovered unresponsive. It wasn’t clear in some reports.

Thank you. Yeah that's how I read it too.

 

[Inthedetails]

You're right I was trying to play devil's advocate.

Sorry - I'm a bit blinded by outrage to have caught that.

jmo

 

[AislingGray18]

SBM

Was he told that day??

Yes his wife texted him but IDK when but yes it was that day

 

[AislingGray18]

There was the option to not trust him and hire a babysitter and/or send to daycare.

It's sort of like being married to an active drug user who promised not to use while caring for the kids fulltime after being caught using drugs while caring for the kids. You wouldn't believe they were capable of caring for the kids, period.

Help was as close as hiring someone who could manage responsibility. I was babysitting for families at 15 and managed the responsibilities way (way!) better than this lump.

jmo

Well said, and aptly put.

 

[KMouse]

SBM

Was he told that day??

I believe the wife texted him while she was on the way to the hospital with the child. Not sure when or how many times she had brought this up with him. Not sure why an adult needs to be told not to leave children in a car.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I think it is not clear whether she warned him on that exact day, but she shouldn't have had to say it more than once.

I wonder if she subconciously sent the texts, including on the way to the hospital, as a way to create more evidence. She doesn't seem to want to leave him or leave him in jail; she doesn't want to hurt her other daughters.

Now her hard-earned money will go to attorneys.

But it seemingly wasn't true when she said in court that this behavior wasn't representative of him. IMO.

 

[Allabouttrial]

I wonder if she subconciously sent the texts, including on the way to the hospital, as a way to create more evidence. She doesn't seem to want to leave him or leave him in jail; she doesn't want to hurt her other daughters.

SBM

She landed him in it by sending those texts at the same time exonerating herself because he did tell the police they have both left her in the car before.

 

[Rachelxx2]

I agree, it’s difficult to know the tone in a text, but in every way “Sorry, babe” strikes me as appropriate for maybe forgetting to take out the trash or something on that level.

Instead he trashed his daughter’s life. I would expect agony.

The mother apparently isn’t directly responsible this time, but I am 100% incredulous that she knew this was his ongoing practice and she merely verbally admonished him. No, Dr. Mom, if you knew about this there were a thousand other plans you could have made to ensure your children’s welfare.

JMO

He sounds like a man child not a very good look.

 

[Artis]

I remain infuriated, and, as a former SAHM myself, I'm insulted! The lack of responsibility is staggering.

Even if the child wasn't kept in the car, three hours without hearing from a 2-yo in your care is a LONG TIME! Even if she were in her air-conditioned bedroom, you'd check on her before three hours had passed.

He didn't even bother to check or wonder if his child was okay. She was his responsibility, and it doesn't look like he even thought of her.

jmo

Kind of guy if they'd had a pool, he'd leave kids free to go out there and drown.

 

[MissMalowe]

The text mom sent dad on the way to the hospital was:

"I told you to stop leaving them in the car, How many times have I told you”

Even if I remove all the other facts and admissions we know of this case, just this one text would confirm the following for me (imo)

1. "them" = he has been leaving all 3 of the kids in the car, not just the 2 year old. Or, at least also left the older children in the car when they were younger/in the past, which means this issue may have been going on for many years.

2. This has been an on-going issue that he has continued to do despite mom's warnings.

3. Mom is aware he has continued to do it despite her warnings, as the text infers there have been many conversations/warnings about this issue specifically.

Mom has my sympathy in that SHE wasnt the one who left the toddler in the car but she seems to be aware or to have at least suspected he was still doing it despite telling him not to.

if this had been a daycare, and that facility had a habit of leaving the small kids in the car, parents would be absolutely horrified, pull their children from that daycare, and take legal action.
if a parent chose to keep their child at that daycare with the same employees and it continued to be a known issue, the parents would be thought to be absolutely stupid....what did they expect? I don't have an expectation that mom should have immediately divorced him the first time she found out he was STILL doing this, but at the least, she should have sought out alternative care or an additional caregiver to be in the home.
They had the financial means to do this- guess going on those family vacations and couples vacation was a more fun thing to invest in.....

 

[SugarQueen]

I may have missed it……. I’m wondering if the father left the kids in the car at the store?

 

[Herat]

I have great sympathy with an exhausted, distracted parent who accidentally leaves a child in the back seat after a long and trying day at work, when their mind is consumed with the day's problems, and it might be dark outside so it isn't so apparent that the child has been left behind.

I am sensing there is a pattern here:

Parker was previously left alone in the car with a tablet for entertainment while a parent (usually the father) was inside. At times it appears the child would fall asleep in the car, essentialy taking a nap.

This all sounds like it was convenient for the parent. Child is not bothering the parent who is playing video games. Parent doesn't have to actively put the child down for a nap, which can be a struggle if the child is fussy. Parent has more time to themselves, without having the interruption of the child crying or fussing or such.

This occurs in Arizona. Notorius for unbearable summer heat even without a heatwave.

 

[BrownRice]

Well the kids ratted him out. He has a pattern of negligence. I certainly hope the case goes thru the system and he is convicted. I’m sure it will make a horrible situation worse for his wife and kids, but he definitely needs to be in prison. This wasn’t a mistake. He purposefully left her in the car. AND left her iPad in there with her so if she woke up, he still wouldn’t need to get her.

His wife said he was a pillar of the community. lol.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

But newly released court records show he fiddled with video games for more than three hours — until his horrified doctor wife came home and found the girl dead inside his car, KPLC-TV News reported.

Arizona dad ‘distracted’ by PlayStation while daughter, 2, died in hot car — as mom’s texts reveal alarming pattern: ‘How many times have I told you?’

Newly revealed court records show that Christopher Scholtes played video games for more than three hours while his toddler daughter died inside his sweltering car outside on July 9.

nypost.com