GUILTY Arizona girl, 2, left in car by father on 109-degree day and is found dead #2 (guilty plea, father found dead 5 November 2025 before sentencing)

[rsteen]

It was predicted on this thread that CS taking his own live rather than face prison was a risk in leaving him at large. If random WebSleuths commenters could predict this outcome, why didn't the judge?

 

[SMK777]

It was predicted on this thread that CS taking his own live rather than face prison was a risk in leaving him at large. If random WebSleuths commenters could predict this outcome, why didn't the judge?

Absolutely.

 

[duckduck]

It appears CS took his life in the family home, which just illustrates what a narcissist he is. "Look what you made me do to my family?" It's not hard to discern their address in Phoenix. The owner name is the same as the LLC that the Marana house was transferred to. The company name is xyP. You can glean one daughter's name from the indictment. Her first initial is y (not her real initial), so I wonder if xyP stands for oldest daughter, middle daughter, Parker. If so, I find it soooooo distasteful that they are trying to protect assets under the name (literally) of their murdered daughter. Obviously this is speculation on my part.

 

[abyquinn]

I haven't kept up with this one, but it's interesting how the prevailing impression is "he took himself out".

My brain, of course, is insisting on speculating about other possibilities.

Who would you be looking at closely hours before he was going to be locked up for 30 years? (I know it was probably going to be much less but since it will never happen now I can pretend the judge was going to snap out of it and do the right thing.)

 

[mickey2942]

I think there is a very good chance that Christopher’s attorney put him through a mock cross-examination and it did not go well.

I think it was the complete and thorough investigation by the Marana police department. It was over, 200 pages (?), of ongoing events that showed CS as a complete self centered, sociopath. With no feelings for anyone but himself.

As I noted previously, I wondered who was going to testify for the Defense aside from a paid "expert". No one was going to have any pity for a thief who stole beer, had an affair with a neighbor, and left his daughter to cook in the car. He didn't even have a job. He had ONE job, watch his own kids, which he couldn't do.

 

[Weki]

I had completely forgotten about this case until I saw the CourtTV tweet just now and immediately came rushing in here. I didn't even know he had pled guilty to 2nd degree murder. Wow. I was so sure he and his ride or die were gonna fight this out and play poor grieving family faced with tragic circumstances being persecuted by the state. My first thought was also suicide.

The first thing they do with newly sentenced defendants is put them on suicide watch. Anyone facing that much time will be depressed enough to consider it so I don't understand how you let a man facing that much time go home after he pled guilty?? I'm asking the same questions as all of you. Amazing that the judge let him go after the plea hearing.

I also didn't realize he was watching p*** while babygirl cooked to death in the car. I thought it was only video games. Ugh.

JMO

 

[Chimera]

Apparently the father has committed suicide:

Death of Arizona dad Christopher Scholtes after leaving 2-year-old daughter to die in hot car while he watched p*rn probed as suicide​

*******New York Post link below seems to be blocked due to websleurh blocking the word "" in link *******

https://nypost.com/2025/11/05/us-ne...hter-to-die-in-hot-car-while-he-watched-🤬🤬🤬🤬/

https://nypost.com/2025/11/05/us-news/arizona-dad-christopher-scholtes-dead-after-leaving-2-year-old-daughter-to-die-in-hot-car-while-he-watched-/

It shows as a working link if you ___ the last word ?
I already linked it and didn't notice outside of the emojis.
Hope this link works for everyone.
Imo.

 

[Charlot123]

I’m actually shocked by this. I thought that he would run and that he thought too highly of himself to take himself out. We can be sure that his final act included no remorse for Parker; he was terrified of going to prison and he took the coward’s way out. Selfish to the end.

All JMO.

I am not surprised. He would have fared poorly in prison, much better to have his last hedonistic stay in a tropical paradise and then take own life.

I hope that the kids didn’t see him. From a logical standpoint, doing it early today spares the children of having a felon father. Emotionally it will take a while for all of them to adjust, but maybe for the girls it is a better option.

For him, too. I think it was something foolproof, he won’t take risks there.

I hope he left a letter.

 

[SMK777]

https://nypost.com/2025/11/05/us-news/arizona-dad-christopher-scholtes-dead-after-leaving-2-year-old-daughter-to-die-in-hot-car-while-he-watched-/

It shows as a working link if you ___ the last word ?
I already linked it and didn't notice outside of the emojis.
Hope this link works for everyone.
Imo.

Thanks for that!

 

[Chimera]

It was predicted on this thread that CS taking his own live rather than face prison was a risk in leaving him at large. If random WebSleuths commenters could predict this outcome, why didn't the judge?

Exactly !
Guess we should be grateful he didn't take the lives of the rest of the family ?
That could've been a risk, though.
Sometimes men or women at the end of their rope will lash out.
That judge's decision needs to be questioned at the very least, imo !

 

[SMK777]

Exactly !
Guess we should be grateful he didn't take the lives of the rest of the family ?
That could've been a risk, though.
Sometimes men or women at the end of their rope will lash out.
That judge's decision needs to be questioned at the very least, imo !

I agree: Family murder-suicide was a real possibility.

 

[Charlot123]

Who would you be looking at closely hours before he was going to be locked up for 30 years? (I know it was probably going to be much less but since it will never happen now I can pretend the judge was going to snap out of it and do the right thing.)

He did it himself, no doubt. He eased the burden on his wife and children. He avoided punishment from the society, but there are different ways to view it. Mostly, I think it is easier for the girls to adjust to visiting the grave than to visit dad in prison. Or so I hope. They’ll need a lot of therapy, of course. Wishing them well.

 

[LifeIsAMystery]

It appears CS took his life in the family home, which just illustrates what a narcissist he is. "Look what you made me do to my family?" It's not hard to discern their address in Phoenix. The owner name is the same as the LLC that the Marana house was transferred to. The company name is xyP. You can glean one daughter's name from the indictment. Her first initial is y (not her real initial), so I wonder if xyP stands for oldest daughter, middle daughter, Parker. If so, I find it soooooo distasteful that they are trying to protect assets under the name (literally) of their murdered daughter. Obviously this is speculation on my part.

I was also struck by that. The poor children!

 

[sunspun]

Do you think ES knew he was going to do it? Like I wonder if they actually discussed it and she was fully aware of the plan... I tend to think yes.

 

[iamshadow21]

Predictable, selfish, and traumatic for those around him.

Exactly like the original crime.

And the court did absolutely nothing to prevent it. Well, they've saved money on his trial and imprisonment.

MOO

 

[threesevenninefour]

Pima County Attorney's Office confirms Christopher Scholtes took his own life

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) - The Pima County Attorney's Office has confirmed that Christopher Scholtes, the Marana father that pleaded guilty for the murder of his 2-year-old daughter after leaving her

www.kvoa.com

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) - The Pima County Attorney's Office has confirmed that Christopher Scholtes, the Marana father that pleaded guilty for the murder of his 2-year-old daughter after leaving her to die in a hot car, took his own life.

[…]

The full video of Conover's statement can be found on the Pima County Attorney's Office YouTube page.

 

[NuttMegg]

Interesting, says "last night". From link in above post.So he did it last night but was found at 5 a.m.

"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," Conover said."

 

[airportwoman]

Exactly !
Guess we should be grateful he didn't take the lives of the rest of the family ?
That could've been a risk, though.
Sometimes men or women at the end of their rope will lash out.
That judge's decision needs to be questioned at the very least, imo !

I honestly don't think he was interested enough in them to even think about doing that, on purpose anyway.

 

[AnyNameIWish]

This is so heartbreaking for the remaining little girls who don't know what is happening and mom could very well be twisting things around... I'm glad the statement didn't just leave it as pity for the coward who couldn't face what he did.

Mom needs to have protected all her girls better.

"I told you to stop leaving them in the car.. How many timesI have I told you"

We now know he took his own life in the evening of 11/4. His court date was 11/5 in the morning.

You can't convince me E didn't know.

 

[Arkay]

Once we were informed he was dead we all inferred it was a suicide, as it seemed too coincidental that he’d randomly die otherwise in his last few hours of freedom.

I still speculate that he shot himself in the head, although it’s true as some here have said, he might have instead swallowed enough pills to overdose.

I think pills would be riskier if he was apparently so determined to escape his punishment. Maybe he’d have thrown up? Or misjudge the amount necessary to die?

I really don’t know and also don’t remember if he in fact owned a gun. I know the facts will eventually come out.

Parker’s death is on Chris (and goodbye to that sorry excuse for a man), but IMO he’s been surrounded by incompetence and enablers for a long time.

Erika tut-tutting at him rather than taking decisive action to protect the children, and a judge who allowed this monster to continue at home with his surviving victims, swanning about in Hawaii, buying a new home, etc.

Had he been locked up while awaiting trial, he’d most likely still be alive, because he does strike me as someone who would rather die than live with the consequences, and a judge should’ve taken this possibility into account.

I’m only sorry for his surviving daughters because this, for them, is going to be another haunting piece in the forlorn jigsaw puzzle of their young lives.

IMO