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

[Arkay]

That article is certainly eye-opening.

Gee, what a tough decision for a father to make… “should I watch my child, or should I watch adult films? Oh, yeah, adult films. My toddler can wait in the car since it’s only 109° outside.”

That and all the other details of the life he chose to live as a father of four daughters, all of whom he neglected, the youngest left to fend for herself, trapped in a furnace until she died.

Plus the addictions, plus the shoplifting, plus the compulsive gaming in lieu of taking care of his children.

Yes I know I don’t know the wife, but I simply cannot understand how either she or the grandmother could try to soothe and comfort him in light of what he’d done.

This was a pattern, not an anomaly. They should’ve instead rejected him totally and kicked his azz instead.

JMO

 

[iamshadow21]

That article is certainly eye-opening.

Gee, what a tough decision for a father to make… “should I watch my child, or should I watch adult films? Oh, yeah, adult films. My toddler can wait in the car since it’s only 109° outside.”

That and all the other details of the life he chose to live as a father of four daughters, all of whom he neglected, the youngest left to fend for herself, trapped in a furnace until she died.

Plus the addictions, plus the shoplifting, plus the compulsive gaming in lieu of taking care of his children.

Yes I know I don’t know the wife, but I simply cannot understand how either she or the grandmother could try to soothe and comfort him in light of what he’d done.

This was a pattern, not an anomaly. They should’ve instead rejected him totally and kicked his azz instead.

JMO

There comes a point where a person makes a choice to put their manchild abusive boo first, or their utterly vulnerable, innocent kids.

She made her choice many years before Parker was even born. There weren't just red flags, she was living in a whole soviet rally worth of them, and still, she comforts the waste of space who murdered her kid and pleads for his safety and comfort.

She chose him, over and over, and her text rebukes of his behaviour are just empty, because they were never followed with action to protect her children. She knew exactly what he was doing, and yet he was free to do it as many times as he wanted.

MOO

 

[AZDesertGal]

There comes a point where a person makes a choice to put their manchild abusive boo first, or their utterly vulnerable, innocent kids.

She made her choice many years before Parker was even born. There weren't just red flags, she was living in a whole soviet rally worth of them, and still, she comforts the waste of space who murdered her kid and pleads for his safety and comfort.

She chose him, over and over, and her text rebukes of his behaviour are just empty, because they were never followed with action to protect her children. She knew exactly what he was doing, and yet he was free to do it as many times as he wanted.

MOO

How and why anybody could make such decisions just does not compute in my mind. A two year old child didn't get to live her life. She baked to death because her caretaker prioritized playing on the computer over her life. He endangered the other children. I'm trying to think of a word that is sufficient to describe it, but don't think there is one.

 

[mickey2942]

There comes a point where a person makes a choice to put their manchild abusive boo first, or their utterly vulnerable, innocent kids.

She made her choice many years before Parker was even born. There weren't just red flags, she was living in a whole soviet rally worth of them, and still, she comforts the waste of space who murdered her kid and pleads for his safety and comfort.

She chose him, over and over, and her text rebukes of his behaviour are just empty, because they were never followed with action to protect her children. She knew exactly what he was doing, and yet he was free to do it as many times as he wanted.

MOO

I am not sure what the word is for this, but it is as though you ignore everything that doesn't match your fantasy in your head about a "perfect" marriage, relationship...cognitive dissonance.

I know, because I did this for decades. It has a lot to do with how you are raised, the most graphic illustration of this is probably the scene from the movie, "Prince of Tides". Where the escaped prisoners broke into the home..and after that, the mother and children sat at the dinner table, like nothing happened. Anything that is not perfect, just ignore it.

 

[MsMarple]

Chris seems to have quite a list of addictions:
-Alcoholic.
-Drives at high speeds while drunk.
-Video games.
-Adult sex material.
-Shoplifter.
-Chronic child neglect.
-Child abuse of oldest daughter.
-Pathological liar.
-Former cocaine user.

And that’s what he himself admits to. Yet he somehow managed to hook up with a doctor who, at least until recently had a bright future. She’s going to have her hands full for a while until her husband’s case resolves and even then her reputation in the community may be permanently damaged.

Judging from the time frame it appears they were married while she attended medical school, possibly in an arrangement where he would take charge of the house duties and care for the kids. This should have been the beginning of a wonderful life as they reaped the rewards of Erika’s hard work. Such a shame.
MOO

Dad's troublesome behavior preceded Marana girl's hot-car death, court records show

Parker Scholtes, 2, died in July after being left in a hot car for hours in the driveway of he family's Marana home.

tucson.com

 

[realanastasia]

Dad's troublesome behavior preceded Marana girl's hot-car death, court records show

Parker Scholtes, 2, died in July after being left in a hot car for hours in the driveway of he family's Marana home.

tucson.com

The whole article is full of OMG moments, but i was especially struck by the fact that the whole neighborhood was aware of the parental negligence at the Scholtes’ home, to the point where one neighbor preemptively decided her child would never be permitted to be under (at least the father’s, but possibly the mother’s too) supervision AND another reached out to local police immediately following Parker’s death to emphasize that it was not an anomaly, but only the end point of a loooong history of bad parenting (and, again, I am getting the impression from the neighbors’ remarks in this article that both parents were viewed as negligent, not just the father—the fact that no one interviewed for the article had one positive thing to say about the mother was pretty remarkable, IMO.

This is not to say that I think she is equally to blame for her child’s death, because THAT was the result of the reckless and selfish choices made by the father on July 9, but (IMO) the attempts to outright lie about her husband to the judge (in order to get her husband home) was just another example of how she may have enabled his bad decision-making over the years leading up to Parker’s death. And IMO the “coaching” of the surviving children prior to their interviews with LE (to paint their Dad as a good father who just found it “hard to multi-task”!) was also a type of emotional/psychological abuse, and I just can’t imagine it could have happened without her tacit approval so I find it hard to look at her with pure sympathy, either.

 

[LadyL]

Some new information ( to me at least) in article below:


“Christopher Scholtes admitted he had a lot of bad habits — that he was an addict who drove at high speeds with his three daughters in the car after he’d been drinking and that he let them nap inside the vehicle on blistering hot days while he played video games and watched *advertiser censored*, court records show.
In text messages he exchanged with his wife, Erika Scholtes, he admitted to all these practices in the months leading up to their 2-year-old daughter’s death.”

“Scholtes had been trying to schedule a doctor’s appointment and decided to drive down to their office with Parker since he was having trouble reaching the doctor by phone, investigation documents say. On his way back home from the office, he stopped at a gas station and a grocery store.”

“Surveillance footage from both businesses show he went in alone, meaning Parker was possibly left in the hot car both times, and that he shoplifted beer in both stores.”


“Finally, he pulled into their home’s driveway at 12:53 p.m., just in time to meet his two older girls arriving home from the trampoline park, even though he initially told investigators he reached home by 2:30 p.m. Upon their arrival, with Parker sleeping in the backseat, he decided to let her nap in the car, he told investigators, and he and the two girls went inside.”

“After this, the older girls had lunch and played quietly in the house, they told investigators, while their parents texted about a Christmas vacation.

Scholtes surfed the internet for men’s clothing at Nordstrom and for *advertiser censored* from 2:02 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., the investigation document says.“

Dad's troublesome behavior preceded Marana girl's hot-car death, court records show

Parker Scholtes, 2, died in July after being left in a hot car for hours in the driveway of he family's Marana home.

tucson.com

I may have said this already but
it just keeps getting worse ...

 

[LadyL]

"Let" Them or "Made" Them Nap in Car on "Blistering Hot Days?"

snipped for focus @IDK. Thx for your post & link* w some detail that's also new to me.

So CS said I "let" them not "made" them. I doubt that they were always NAPPING during those car-as-a-cage sessions.

Who says to themselves - Can't reach doctor by phone to schedule an appmt. so I'll drive there (and bring toddler-dau w me)? Okay, it's possible. Who was the intended appt for --- CS or one of the dau's? Or maybe a pretext for a diff. kind of errand?

I wonder if records of phone calls or texts, or email or patient-portal-communications support his claim of trying to reach the doctor.

I don't recall TWO shoplifting stops. Or multiple neighbors' specific stmts about various events indicating negligence of CS.

____________
* Dad's troublesome behavior preceded Marana girl's hot-car death, court records show

this is also new to me and as far as I'm concerned, is evidence for a charge against Erika:

After all, she told the judge, his last arrest was 15 years ago for a DUI charge. She said she told police there had been no issues of this nature or other critical incidents involving her kids and her husband in the past.

she knew there were prior critical incidents of this nature according to her texts!!!

 

[LadyL]

and this ... omg

Investigators’ records show the girl saying “she would frequently be slapped, thrown, have her hair pulled, have her head pushed into walls, and be picked up by her shirt or her arm.”

Dad's troublesome behavior preceded Marana girl's hot-car death, court records show

Parker Scholtes, 2, died in July after being left in a hot car for hours in the driveway of he family's Marana home.

tucson.com

 

[MollyDDD]

How and why anybody could make such decisions just does not compute in my mind. A two year old child didn't get to live her life. She baked to death because her caretaker prioritized playing on the computer over her life. He endangered the other children. I'm trying to think of a word that is sufficient to describe it, but don't think there is one.

Diabolical.

 

[KMouse]

Was CS calling his doctor to make an appt. for himself? What was so important that he couldn't wait until he got through on the phone. I would love to see this guy's prescription history.
Like everyone else here I am sickened by the latest information but not surprised. The neighborhood chat group must be lit.

 

[scapa]

The whole article is full of OMG moments, but i was especially struck by the fact that the whole neighborhood was aware of the parental negligence at the Scholtes’ home, to the point where one neighbor preemptively decided her child would never be permitted to be under (at least the father’s, but possibly the mother’s too) supervision AND another reached out to local police immediately following Parker’s death to emphasize that it was not an anomaly, but only the end point of a loooong history of bad parenting (and, again, I am getting the impression from the neighbors’ remarks in this article that both parents were viewed as negligent, not just the father—the fact that no one interviewed for the article had one positive thing to say about the mother was pretty remarkable, IMO.

This is not to say that I think she is equally to blame for her child’s death, because THAT was the result of the reckless and selfish choices made by the father on July 9, but (IMO) the attempts to outright lie about her husband to the judge (in order to get her husband home) was just another example of how she may have enabled his bad decision-making over the years leading up to Parker’s death. And IMO the “coaching” of the surviving children prior to their interviews with LE (to paint their Dad as a good father who just found it “hard to multi-task”!) was also a type of emotional/psychological abuse, and I just can’t imagine it could have happened without her tacit approval so I find it hard to look at her with pure sympathy, either.

Yep.

Seeming more and more like a professional version of Jennifer Soto -- albeit under very different case circumstances, but with more children left at risk.

And, unlike JS, a mandated reporter with significantly exposure to the risks and potential adverse outcomes of his ongoing behaviour. I can't imagine how this might be regarded on the wards and in the OTs I'm in, let alone the teaching rounds. Absolutely shocking, and possibly a significant impediment to her career going forward. Confirmation of these details in court might and likely would be for myself or surgical colleagues, but we work in a very different health service.

 

[tlcya]

Security footage shows Scholtes at a convenience store on West Twin Peaks Road from 12:07 p.m. to 12:10 p.m. July 9, where he walked to the beer cooler and grabbed three cans of beer. He spent a couple of minutes in the restroom, exiting with fewer beer cans than he went in with, and left the store without paying for them. It is unknown if he consumed any beer in the bathroom.

Scholtes then drove to a grocery store on North Thornydale Road, where cameras showed him entering alone at 12:40 p.m. He spent seven minutes in the store before he went to self-checkout to pay for two jars of salsa, tortillas, tortilla chips and iceberg lettuce. The video shows him shoplifting two more cans of beer.

Dad's troublesome behavior preceded Marana girl's hot-car death, court records show

Parker Scholtes, 2, died in July after being left in a hot car for hours in the driveway of he family's Marana home.

tucson.com

Shoplifted beer TWICE on the day Parker died. Makes me wonder just how long and how often he had been in the habit of sneaking beer via shoplifting.

I do not understand WHY on earth his wife would continue to minimize his behaviors and support him. It's insane to me. SMH

 

[tlcya]

“He still drinks too much beer, and he keeps leaving us in the car when my mom told him to stop doing this,” one of the girls told the interviewer. “That’s how he made my baby sister die.”

Dad's troublesome behavior preceded Marana girl's hot-car death, court records show

Parker Scholtes, 2, died in July after being left in a hot car for hours in the driveway of he family's Marana home.

tucson.com

Parker's big sister has more sense in her pinky toe than anyone else in that household JMO

 

[iamshadow21]

“He still drinks too much beer, and he keeps leaving us in the car when my mom told him to stop doing this,” one of the girls told the interviewer. “That’s how he made my baby sister die.”

Dad's troublesome behavior preceded Marana girl's hot-car death, court records show

Parker Scholtes, 2, died in July after being left in a hot car for hours in the driveway of he family's Marana home.

tucson.com

Parker's big sister has more sense in her pinky toe than anyone else in that household JMO

Parker's big sister is a parentified kid who is going to need intensive therapy to even begin to process the complete and utter failure of the two 'responsible adults' in her home to even begin to parent her and her siblings.

I know that kids often have less of a filter, but it makes me so angry that the responsibility for truth telling is falling on those kids who are still living with their abusers. I cannot understand not removing him from the home at a bare minimum. The mum cannot be trusted to not leave him unsupervised with them.

MOO

 

[tlcya]

First we've also hear of his prior actions of leaving his children in the car alone being reported to police in 2019. before Parker was even born. sigh. so preventable. all the way around.

In 2019, a wellness call was made by a woman outside a local pizza restaurant who noticed Scholtes’ young children alone inside the vehicle. A police report states the caller said she had been waiting outside the vehicle for 15 minutes before she phoned police.

Although the children didn’t look in distress, she said she was concerned. Scholtes eventually was allowed to leave with his girls.

Dad's troublesome behavior preceded Marana girl's hot-car death, court records show

Parker Scholtes, 2, died in July after being left in a hot car for hours in the driveway of he family's Marana home.

tucson.com

 

[steeltowngirl]

I bet CS was shoplifting beer so his wife didn’t see receipts showing how much he was drinking.

How does this mess of a couple still have custody of the remaining children? They are surely in danger.

Oh.. and this part is stunning.

Although the girls were told to “tell the truth” by family members, they also briefed the young girls on what to say when they met with interviewers, the children said. Interview notes state relatives directed one sister to say her dad was a good dad and that it was an accident.

“This was not on purpose, how he made her die. He did it on accident, it was a mistake on accident,” one daughter told interviewers.

Dad's troublesome behavior preceded Marana girl's hot-car death, court records show

Parker Scholtes, 2, died in July after being left in a hot car for hours in the driveway of he family's Marana home.

tucson.com

 

[Curiosum]

Yep.

Seeming more and more like a professional version of Jennifer Soto -- albeit under very different case circumstances, but with more children left at risk.

And, unlike JS, a mandated reporter with significantly exposure to the risks and potential adverse outcomes of his ongoing behaviour. I can't imagine how this might be regarded on the wards and in the OTs I'm in, let alone the teaching rounds. Absolutely shocking, and possibly a significant impediment to her career going forward. Confirmation of these details in court might and likely would be for myself or surgical colleagues, but we work in a very different health service.

Are you practicing outside of the US or just outside of Banner?

 

[Normancita]

When is his trial?

 

[tlcya]

A case management hearing is scheduled for next month and pretrial conference is in October.
Arizona father pleads not guilty in daughter’s hot car death

I believe that hearing is set for October 11 at 9am but having trouble accessing the court site to confirm.