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

[imstilla.grandma]

Scholtes was arrested and booked Friday morning at the Pima County Adult Detention Center, according to police.

"This incident is a stark reminder of the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles. The temperature inside a vehicle can rise rapidly, even on relatively mild days, leading to potentially fatal outcomes within minutes," read a statement from police. "We urge all parents and caregivers to remain vigilant and take every precaution to ensure the safety of their children."

Pima County dad charged with murder after toddler in hot car for 3 hours died

The 2-year-old girl was left in the car for three hours while the father was inside the Oro Valley home, police say.

www.azcentral.com

 

[Boots38]

I agree. Her affect was odd. Unemotional (or perhaps without the emotion we’d expect). Curious what the texts said. Assume he’s done it before (not just once), and assume she criticized him and told him not to do it (she’s a Dr at a hospital, she sees worst case scenarios daily). I’d lose my **** the first time my spouse did it. Can’t imagine if this was an ongoing thing tho.

In an earlier post, someone suggested she should be held negligent if she knew about his history and continued to let him be the main caregiver. I thought that was a harsh response. But now that I’ve had time to let this info sink in, I have to agree.

Unemotional? I'm guessing she didn't want to be seen because she was a mess, swollen eyes from crying or total lack of desire to get all dressed up for court hearing because of her emotional state. I believe that this is an extremely horrible and unfortunate mistake that this family will struggle to get through. This is all my opinion. MOO

 

[Boots38]

Assume family will step in to care take. I imagine court and police officers will be checking on him. I can’t imagine a scenario where he won’t serve jail time. If I were him, I’d plead guilty immediately and start the sentence. Then he can be around when the kids are still at home. His life is already going to a living hell regardless. May as well get it done.

There’s a good documentary about babies being left to die in cars on Amazon Prime - Fatal Distraction. Cooper Harris’ mom is in it as well as other parents/couples. It’s amazing the forgiveness a lot of the offenders received.

I don't believe police have the time to continuously check in on people released on bond. MOO. It's up to the person on bond to abide by the conditions of release themselves not to be babysat by law enforcement who are busy with their day to day jobs. All my personal opinion.

 

[BrownRice]

Unemotional? I'm guessing she didn't want to be seen because she was a mess, swollen eyes from crying or total lack of desire to get all dressed up for court hearing because of her emotional state. I believe that this is an extremely horrible and unfortunate mistake that this family will struggle to get through. This is all my opinion. MOO

I assumed she didn’t want to be seen because she’s a hospital physician and wanted to keep her identity private.

I do not envy her. She is in a horrible situation and is a victim as well.

 

[Inthedetails]

It strikes me as being very arrogant and chauvinistic, in a way that I've seen men can be, especially when it's a woman telling them to stop.

They immediately file the alarm and reprimand from the woman in the 'ignore' pile, and continue to do the thing, with a large degree of smugness and satisfaction that they're 'getting away with' doing the thing, and wasn't she ridiculous to tell him to not do the thing, because it's fine and he was right.

And now a baby is dead.

I've mostly seen it surrounding cars, actually. Men deliberately driving dangerously to scare their partner and persisting in doing it, putting their lives at risk. I've seen it with dangerous and neglectful parenting, but never in this specific variant. I cannot fathom the degree of selfishness you have to have to put your child's life second to having a immature reaction to a very reasonable demand from your partner over that child's safety.

MOO

I agree. Interesting point about the car.

I have a hunch he thought using the car as a locked crib was a brilliant way to streamline the job of taking care of kids.

If the little one didn't die in the car that day, he would've done the same thing again.

jmo

 

[imstilla.grandma]

According to the interim complaint, Scholtes’ other two children, ages 9 and 5, said that their father had left all three children alone in the vehicle regularly and stated that “he got distracted by playing his game and putting his food away,” when their sister was in the car.

The vehicle was parked in direct sunlight with the car seat on the driver’s side of the vehicle, which was a west-facing window. Scholtes knew that he had left his 2-year-old daughter in the vehicle.

Police said Scholtes told officers he took his daughter on some errands and then went home. She was asleep in her car seat, so he left her in the vehicle while he went inside.

He claimed he left the vehicle running with the AC on. When he went back outside, the car was off and his daughter was unconscious.

Scholtes told investigators he usually parked the vehicle in a garage but didn’t on July 9 because exercise equipment was in the way.

Father may have been distracted by PlayStation when toddler died in hot car

A 2-year-old girl died last week after she was left in a vehicle in Arizona. Now, authorities say her father, 37-year-old Christopher Scholtes, may have been playing a video game when his daughter died.

www.mysuncoast.com

*excuse...I hope he didn't try to shift the blame a bit to the mom if it was her equipment.

 

[NuttMegg]

Absolutely. Such a bizarre exchange from both of them. I can't even imagine having the presence of mind to pick up my phone after the death of my child, let alone caused by me or my partners negligence?!

I don't know how long after her death these texts were sent. But surely after such a traumatic event you'd just be in a hole of despair. At the most doing the bare minimum to care for your other children.

The texts were exchanged on the way to the hospital, while the baby's body was also enroute. After the mother had tried cpr.

 

[KMouse]

I feel so bad for the other two children. They are old enough to remember the day their sister died and the reason. They'll remember being left in the car themselves. That's a lot to work through as they get older. I hope that the Mother will take them to therapy.

 

[BrownRice]

I feel so bad for the other two children. They are old enough to remember the day their sister died and the reason. They'll remember being left in the car themselves. That's a lot to work through as they get older. I hope that the Mother will take them to therapy.

And they probably witnessed mom performing CPR on her poor little body, so that will be in their memories for years to come.

So horrible. Mom may be in complete shock. Will be curious if she truly forgives him in the long term. Their perfect toddler suffered an excruciating death due to his extreme neglect.

 

[Ruby_PA]

I don't understand the laziness of this guy, how incredibly reckless he was. How can you take these precious gifts and be so reckless with their lives?? For what? A game??
I was a single mother in school full time or working full time from the time my kid was 4 months old. It never even crossed my mind to leave her anywhere outside of my field of vision for any reason ever. When she was 4 years old I had to temporarily use her grandfather as a babysitter while I was at work. It only happened twice because I found out he was leaving her outside "to play", alone in his yard that was bordered by a very wide & fast moving river. The river was literally down the hill on the side of his yard. FOUR YEARS OLD. I just don't understand people.

 

[Chimera]

The vehicle was parked in direct sunlight.
…
According to the court documents, at no time between 12:53 p.m. and 4:08 p.m. is Scholtes seen on the security video going outside to the vehicle to check on the little girl.

'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

The two older children told police the dad regularly left the children in the car. They said he got distracted by playing his game and putting food away.

On the way to the hospital that day his wife sent a text saying she told him to stop doing that. He answered “Sorry Babe.”

Bbm.
What a flippant reply.
Also shows he'd done this regularly.
Awful, awful, awful.
Their baby girl is dead.
Omo.

 

[al66pine]

Exercise Equipmt in Garage? Toddler in Hot Car

Not saying Father should have left car w toddler in garage, but does it seem that he may have prioritized PROTECTING EXERCISE EQUIPMENT over SAFETY OF HIS DAUGHTER?

Or prioritized VIDEO GAMES? Or ?

_________________________
Info from here. @imstilla.grandma TYVM

.... the interim complaint,...
The vehicle was parked in direct sunlight with the car seat on the driver’s side of the vehicle, which was a west-facing window. Scholtes knew that he had left his 2-year-old daughter in the vehicle.
Scholtes told investigators he usually parked the vehicle in a garage but didn’t on July 9 because exercise equipment was in the way.

Father may have been distracted by PlayStation when toddler died in hot car

A 2-year-old girl died last week after she was left in a vehicle in Arizona. Now, authorities say her father, 37-year-old Christopher Scholtes, may have been playing a video game when his daughter died.

www.mysuncoast.com

*excuse...I hope he didn't try to shift the blame a bit to the mom if it was her equipment.

 

[callmehenry]

I don't understand the laziness of this guy, how incredibly reckless he was. How can you take these precious gifts and be so reckless with their lives?? For what? A game??
I was a single mother in school full time or working full time from the time my kid was 4 months old. It never even crossed my mind to leave her anywhere outside of my field of vision for any reason ever. When she was 4 years old I had to temporarily use her grandfather as a babysitter while I was at work. It only happened twice because I found out he was leaving her outside "to play", alone in his yard that was bordered by a very wide & fast moving river. The river was literally down the hill on the side of his yard. FOUR YEARS OLD. I just don't understand people.

I’m glad your story had a better ending

 

[mickey2942]

The dynamics here are interesting. MOO, is that anyone who leaves a child in the car, and the child dies, should be charged with murder.

I don't really understand "prosecutorial discretion" in charges for this. So many people who KILL their children this way, don't get charged, and there is basically a "pass" for murder. There are SO many cases like that. I remember the Social Worker a few years, he killed TWO children, twins, and didn't get charged.

Yes, I have read the articles about "forgetting" kids in the car. I don't understand it. Geez, leave your keys, cellphone, jacket, wallet, purse in the back with the child. And in this case, the father DELIBERATELY left his child in the car and just forgot about how long it was...seriously?!

MOO. I am just tired of the inconsistencies with this situation. Charge everyone with murder or charge no one.

 

[SMK777]

MOO. I am just tired of the inconsistencies with this situation. Charge everyone with murder or charge no one.

SBM
Yes, it’s perplexing that in the recent case of the Santee, CA death of the 2 month old girl left for 9 hours in the car, that there have been no charges and no updates.

 

[threesevenninefour]

I disagree, I believe that there are definitely situations where otherwise devoted parents make a fatal error due to a change in routine or even just a series of very unfortunate events. I think those cases are evident for what they are though— in this case, Scholtes obviously knew that the girl was in the car and should’ve known the dangers associated with leaving her there. He made the CHOICE to leave her out in a hot car and, as a result, that poor baby died while he sat inside in an air-conditioned room playing video games.

I always link this old Washington Post article because reading it years ago really opened my eyes to the reasons why many parents accidentally leave their children in cars, even if it seems unfathomable. I wouldn’t feel right charging the types of parents in these stories with murder—their lives are already a living hell because of their honest (but catastrophic) mistakes in the first place. I think that’s why prosecutorial discretion is important, though definitely imperfect.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/fatal-distraction-forgetting-a-child-in-thebackseat-of-a-car-is-a-horrifying-mistake-is-it-a-crime/2014/06/16/8ae0fe3a-f580-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html

 

[Quim The Extraordinaire]

IMO MOO ETC

I shared a rental car — a recent Chevy Equinox — with colleagues this week while on travel.

Every time the car was turned off, a message was displayed on the central dash reminding the driver to not leave children or pets in the car.

We had neither with us. I still approved of the alert.

IMO MOO ETC