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

[tlcya]

just wow. So Chris has been neglectful in this specific way for years and years. Sheesh, his daughter is correct, it is amazing a child hasn't died until now under his care.

 

[tlcya]

Yes, she lived with them for 4 years until she tried to take her life. Child Protective Services removed her from the home.

Crazy, CS fought for custody then proceeded to behave in his usual manner and stuck her in the car for hours on end. It makes me ask if he fought for custody in order to dodge child support.
MOO

yes, this poor kid, very sorry for her loss. She's had a lot of turmoil in her short life, glad she has mom's friend there to care for her.

 

[mickey2942]

Yes, she lived with them for 4 years until she tried to take her life. Child Protective Services removed her from the home.

Crazy, CS fought for custody then proceeded to behave in his usual manner and stuck her in the car for hours on end. It makes me ask if he fought for custody in order to dodge child support.
MOO

Great guy. MOO is that many parents want custody, joint custody, to avoid paying child support.

 

[callmehenry]

Anyone know of a way to read the interview with his older daughter? I’m UK and the site is restricted!

 

[tlcya]

summary of the interview w Parker's half sister:

She is 16 and unnamed in the article.

She never met her father until she was five. at that point a bitter custody battle was waged over her. Eventually CS won full custody and she lived with him and ES for four years. She has diabetes and describes that he was in the habit of her sitting in the car,, sometimes for hours at a time since age seven. Once she was in the car for 4 to 5 hours and kept having to restart it herself. She claims that day she had only eaten once, much earlier in the day, which is not good for someone suffering from diabetes.

She never wanted to live with him, eventually depression caused her to attempt to end her life. After that incident CPS finally removed her from CS and ES home. She was then returned to her mom's custody but mom then subsequently died after a battle with cancer. She now resides with an unnamed best friend's mother.

She says she is only shocked that a child hasn't died in a car sooner under his care.

her interview establishes that this has been a long standing practice for CS to leave small children unattended in a car.

Edited to correct an item (thanks for catching @al66pine)

 

[ChatteringBirds]

This man didn't bond with his children nor did he enjoy being a dad, did he. Psychologically I wonder what's wrong and why his current wife accepts it. Did she ever have a healthy relationship to see what it's actually supposed to be like?

 

[al66pine]

Legal Guardian of CS' Oldest Dau.

summary of the interview w Parker's half sister:

She is 16 and unnamed in the article.

She never met her father until she was five. at that point a bitter custody battle was waged over her. Eventually CS won full custody and she lived with him and ES for four years. She has diabetes and describes that he was in the habit of her sitting in the car,, sometimes for hours at a time since age seven. Once she was in the car for 4 to 5 hours and kept having to restart it herself. She claims that day she had only eaten once, much earlier in the day, which is not good for someone suffering from diabetes.

She never wanted to live with him, eventually depression caused her to attempt to end her life. After that incident CPS finally removed her from CS and ES home. She was then returned to her mom's custody but mom then subsequently died after a battle with cancer. She now resides with an unnamed good friend of her mother's.

She says she is only shocked that a child hasn't died in a car sooner under his care.

her interview establishes that this has been a long standing practice for CS to leave small children unattended in a car.

@tlcya TYVM for the summary from July 29-30 article.*
Thx to @Bounceycat & @MsMarple for initially posting link.

Article stated that woman that CS' oldest dau now lives w is
".... her legal guardian named [deleted by me al66pine], she is her best friend's mother...."

Not "a good friend of her mother's."
Perhaps other MSM worded it that way, & it's a small-ish point.

_____________________

N4T Investigators: Half-sister of 2 year old killed in hot car speaks out in exclusive interview

For the first time one of Christopher Scholtes' daughters is speaking publicly after the tragic death of his two year old daughter Parker earlier this month.

www.kvoa.com

 

[Herat]

This man didn't bond with his children nor did he enjoy being a dad, did he. Psychologically I wonder what's wrong and why his current wife accepts it. Did she ever have a healthy relationship to see what it's actually supposed to be like?

It's one thing to be watching TV while babysitting the kids. You can still hear them and see them, go looking for them during commercials.

It's another entirely to be completely absorbed for what must be hours in VR headset. No way are you actually caretaking those little children. LE needs to carefully get statements from the surviving children about what exactly he was doing, how often he behaved like this, and what they did or didn't do around him during these times.

The house could go on fire and a fire alarm might not even be loud enough to distract him. He wouldn't be able to hear screams of a child falling into a pool, or even a car alarm.

Absolute intentional negligence. He needs to go to prison, if these facts are true.

He should NEVER be in charge of children again and I am shocked that CPS hasn't stepped in to remove him from the home.

 

[MsMarple]

Crime Online has picked up the half-sister’s story and reports some of her interview:

‘I’m Surprised it Didn’t Happen Sooner’: Teen Speaks Out Against Dad Who Played Video Games While Tot Died in Hot Car

The 16-year-old daughter of an Arizona man is speaking out three weeks after he allegedly left his 2-year-old daughter to die in a hot car. On July 9, Christopher Scholtes’ toddler died in a hot car parked outside their Marana home, where she was reportedly left for three hours. Scholtes has...

www.crimeonline.com

P.S., has it been verified that a VR headset was seized by LE? All I’ve read so far was that a PlayStation 5 and some gaming controllers were taken (and the remains of a drink) but I may have missed it.

Scholtes is due back in court on August 1 which is tomorrow, perhaps we’ll receive more information.

ETA: I found a list of items from an earlier report. It says a gaming headset which could simply be headphones for certain games but possibly a VR headset.

Among the items police seized:
A PS5 gaming system
A remote control
A gaming headset
A drink left on the coffee table
A laptop
An iPad tablet

Father of Marana girl who died in hot car faces murder, child abuse charges

The girl's father was arrested and jailed on suspicion of second-degree murder and child abuse, Marana police say.

tucson.com

 

[mickey2942]

So, I don't know what to think about LEO taking the drink off of the table. Was CS tested for being past the legal limit? He was at his own home.

How many people have a beer or glass of wine while taking care of their kids? If the child dies, do you get charged with...not sure, drinking while at home with kids?

 

[tlcya]

So, I don't know what to think about LEO taking the drink off of the table. Was CS tested for being past the legal limit? He was at his own home.

How many people have a beer or glass of wine while taking care of their kids? If the child dies, do you get charged with...not sure, drinking while at home with kids?

I am assuming they were looking for any sort of explanation as to how a grown SAHD "forgets" his toddler in the driveway for that long.

and yes, impaired parents who are the cause of their child's death are subject to LEOs questioning whether that impairment played a role in the child's death. even if at home. If one is in charge of small children, driving or at home, one isn't supposed to be so impaired said children die on your watch.

 

[vlbay]

So, I don't know what to think about LEO taking the drink off of the table. Was CS tested for being past the legal limit? He was at his own home.

How many people have a beer or glass of wine while taking care of their kids? If the child dies, do you get charged with...not sure, drinking while at home with kids?

if you're intoxicated in the middle of the day and leave your baby in the car for four hours when it's 109 degrees out....yes, this will be used as evidence against the baby's death being ruled an accident.

 

[LifeIsAMystery]

WHAT? Her account of his treatment of her is terrible. Juvenile Type 1 diabetes is nothing to mess with or treat casually by neglecting it.

If this is true- WOW.

Agree. But ES knew who he was and kept having kids and leaving them in his care "hardly seeing them" by her own account. She is a doctor and knew of his treatment of a T1 child in THEIR HOME. He likely got her mom to pay HIM support. That poor lady recently passed, no wonder the teen did not return to live with her surviving parent. Smh, it just gets worse and worse.

 

[LifeIsAMystery]

Wow, is right. Did she live with CS and his current wife? Seriously, I wonder if he had "Xanny the Nanny" for his toddler. That is why I am hoping that there is a full blood screen done.

Yes, she lived with him and his doctor wife who knew how he was treating his T1 young daughter.

 

[Herat]

So, I don't know what to think about LEO taking the drink off of the table. Was CS tested for being past the legal limit? He was at his own home.

How many people have a beer or glass of wine while taking care of their kids? If the child dies, do you get charged with...not sure, drinking while at home with kids?

This is a murder investigation. It is entirely appropriate to drug and alcohol test the arrestee.

 

[airportwoman]

Agree. But ES knew who he was and kept having kids and leaving them in his care "hardly seeing them" by her own account. She is a doctor and knew of his treatment of a T1 child in THEIR HOME. He likely got her mom to pay HIM support. That poor lady recently passed, no wonder the teen did not return to live with her surviving parent. Smh, it just gets worse and worse.

I have a feeling that I wouldn't want this woman checking out my groceries at the store, let alone giving me anesthesia!

 

[Angelcat13]

Agree, that is due to the mom though. She was the one who advocated for him to be back in the home.

I’m sorry, and maybe the mom could be considered a victim, but if she knew that he used the car as a babysitter IMO she could be considered complicit in Parker’s death or, at the very least, child neglect and/or endangerment.

Sorry, but if my husband did this he’d be rotting in jail and I’d be helping to make sure he stayed there and never had access to my children again! It would be different if this was a true case of “forgotten child”, but this case appears to be far from this.

My heart goes out to the children, but I’m sorry I have ZERO sympathy for mom - especially since her pleas to have him released could pose further risk to the girls - physically and or psychologically.

 

[Angelcat13]

summary of the interview w Parker's half sister:

She is 16 and unnamed in the article.

She never met her father until she was five. at that point a bitter custody battle was waged over her. Eventually CS won full custody and she lived with him and ES for four years. She has diabetes and describes that he was in the habit of her sitting in the car,, sometimes for hours at a time since age seven. Once she was in the car for 4 to 5 hours and kept having to restart it herself. She claims that day she had only eaten once, much earlier in the day, which is not good for someone suffering from diabetes.

She never wanted to live with him, eventually depression caused her to attempt to end her life. After that incident CPS finally removed her from CS and ES home. She was then returned to her mom's custody but mom then subsequently died after a battle with cancer. She now resides with an unnamed best friend's mother.

She says she is only shocked that a child hasn't died in a car sooner under his care.

her interview establishes that this has been a long standing practice for CS to leave small children unattended in a car.

Edited to correct an item (thanks for catching @al66pine)

I wonder why she “didn’t meet him until she was five”? Did her mom have concerns about his fitness as a parent?

 

[Angelcat13]

It's one thing to be watching TV while babysitting the kids. You can still hear them and see them, go looking for them during commercials.

It's another entirely to be completely absorbed for what must be hours in VR headset. No way are you actually caretaking those little children. LE needs to carefully get statements from the surviving children about what exactly he was doing, how often he behaved like this, and what they did or didn't do around him during these times.

The house could go on fire and a fire alarm might not even be loud enough to distract him. He wouldn't be able to hear screams of a child falling into a pool, or even a car alarm.

Absolute intentional negligence. He needs to go to prison, if these facts are true.

He should NEVER be in charge of children again and I am shocked that CPS hasn't stepped in to remove him from the home.

I hope LE has been recording ALL interactions with the girls because I am afraid that he (and maybe even mom) will do his best to get them to change what they have said so far. IMO, he is narcissistic and only cares about what happens to HIM and could care less how all of this affects his kids or anyone else.

 

[MsMarple]

I’m sorry, and maybe the mom could be considered a victim, but if she knew that he used the car as a babysitter IMO she could be considered complicit in Parker’s death or, at the very least, child neglect and/or endangerment.

Sorry, but if my husband did this he’d be rotting in jail and I’d be helping to make sure he stayed there and never had access to my children again! It would be different if this was a true case of “forgotten child”, but this case appears to be far from this.

My heart goes out to the children, but I’m sorry I have ZERO sympathy for mom - especially since her pleas to have him released could pose further risk to the girls - physically and or psychologically.

Now that it appears that dad was using the car as a babysitter nearly as far back as a decade ago I 100% agree with you. His behavior wasn’t recent and it wasn’t isolated, he’s been doing it for years and his wife chose to simply tell him to stop. Yet he kept doing it and she knew.

Those poor children. Only their parents stood between safety and harms way and they failed.
MOO