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

[mickey2942]

Some people have a fixation with the idea of remaining a family regardless of how damaging or dysfunctional the family actually is

Or some sort of codependent addiction to drama. It is not unlike people who stay with abusers or alcoholics. They say it is because marriage is forever. But MOO is that the ongoing drama is a seductive addiction.

 

[Kittypoo]

The safest choice was to leave him and take their kids with her. Let him figure out how to sort it out. She’s a doctor! She had the means to support herself and her kids. Single, divorced and widowed moms do it all the time.

JMO

Just wondering if she’s still practicing. I wouldn’t want her treating me!
JMO

 

[realanastasia]

Not to defend the wife, but he may be one of these hopeless cases when any decision would have negative consequences. If she hired a nanny, he’d hit on a nanny, and to put all girls into a daycare would mean, he’d be blacking out in the evenins. The safest choice would be to put him into a dual diagnosis rehab and pay mom to help her, I guess, but you can’t put anyone into a rehab against his wish.

Or—perhaps—the safest choice would’ve been to divorce him.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Or—perhaps—the safest choice would’ve been to divorce him.

Divorce often means shared custody, and your ex will have overnight visits alone with the children, and you have even less influence over your ex's parenting.

 

[mickey2942]

Divorce often means shared custody, and your ex will have overnight visits alone with the children, and you have even less influence over your ex's parenting.

I don't think that would be an issue now.

 

[Arkay]

I don't think that would be an issue now.

I agree.

IF he were even allowed time with his children in a divorce, after what he’s done I’m quite sure there would be supervised visitation only.

But I doubt he would be allowed to see them in any event. Obviously he is diametrically opposite of a loving and protective father.

JMO

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I don't think that would be an issue now.

I agree. But I meant for anyone thinking divorce should have been an easy decision before this happened.

 

[Dotta]

Divorce often means shared custody, and your ex will have overnight visits alone with the children, and you have even less influence over your ex's parenting.

With documented DUI with kids in a car
I'm not sure such an addict parent would ever be given custody.

Perhaps only supervised visits.

After all,
children's safety is the most important.

JMO

 

[ChatteringBirds]

With documented DUI with kids in a car
I'm not sure such an addict parent would ever be given custody.

JMO

That's how it should be, but look at all of the abusive parents mentioned on Websleuths who did get their children back. Just wanted to mention it, for all who wonder why E. stayed with him -- it's maybe one reason. To guarantee full-time access to her daughters.

On a side note, if she had not been there, coming home from work, asking about Parker, imagine how many more hours Parker would have stayed in that car.

Still, because of those text messages, I think if they were a different socioeconomic class, it's possible E. would be facing some kind of charges.

 

[iamshadow21]

That's how it should be, but look at all of the abusive parents mentioned on Websleuths who did get their children back. Just wanted to mention it, for all who wonder why E. stayed with him -- it's maybe one reason. To guarantee full-time access to her daughters.

On a side note, if she had not been there, coming home from work, asking about Parker, imagine how many more hours Parker would have stayed in that car.

Still, because of those text messages, I think if they were a different socioeconomic class, it's possible E. would be facing some kind of charges.

Yeah, that poor kid who got killed by the alligator a few weeks ago, when we found out he had a TBI and broken legs as an infant from the woman who had custody of him... and she got him back. It only took her ten years to kill him for good.

No second chances for deliberate, callous abusers. That's the only way to avoid dead kids. When he got in trouble for abusing his eldest daughter, he never, ever should have been trusted with the other three on his own. Not without permanent changes in behaviour and attitude.

MOO

 

[sunspun]

That's how it should be, but look at all of the abusive parents mentioned on Websleuths who did get their children back. Just wanted to mention it, for all who wonder why E. stayed with him -- it's maybe one reason. To guarantee full-time access to her daughters.

On a side note, if she had not been there, coming home from work, asking about Parker, imagine how many more hours Parker would have stayed in that car.

Still, because of those text messages, I think if they were a different socioeconomic class, it's possible E. would be facing some kind of charges.

I've wondered if she sent that text message to him from the ambulance on the way to the hospital, thinking that it could shield her from criminal responsibility in Parker's death. Maybe she thought if she made it clear that at least SHE knew it was wrong to leave her in the car that she wouldn't be seen as culpable, unlike him. Because she did make that clear when she said, "I told you not to leave them in the car. How many times have I told you!" She's telling whoever reads it that she knew it was wrong, and that she wasn't ok with it, and that she had told him that before.

Maybe she thought this would help absolve her from criminal liability, when what it actually did was show that she KNEW he did this, and that she still allowed him to be alone with her children, despite the fact that she knew the risks of that.

Judging by the responses here by WS members after reading that text, it only made her look worse, and I think the authorities will view it in the same way that it seems people here do. She may have thought sending him that text at that time would help her own case, but it didn't. It can and should be used as evidence against her. IMO

 

[Charlot123]

Agree on the hitting on a nanny. And most unlikely he'd consent to rehab, especially since he was *still* getting away with excuses like "but they were *asleep* while I was speeding drunk". Ugh. He seems the type to just find another sucker-mommy type to keep him housed, fed, clothed, drunk, and with lots of toys for gaming and . Makes you wonder why she was so desperate, doesnt it? What was going on there?

They have been together for a long time. As in any codependent relationship, there might have been oversharing at one moment. I suspect that he could be merely manipulating her all the time. But, what do we know? Current situation is surely not expected or normal, but specifically this makes me wonder why she stands by him.

ETA. Didn't ES mention in one of her texts CS treating herself badly, too? The kids, and her? One really wonders what was happening in that family. CS's behavior is that of a raging addict, but i am slow to pass judgment on ES, not because i condone her...just counting a medical school, residence, work, three children. She was not a weak woman. She might have either felt constant fear, or was cornered. Why, remains to be seen.

 

[OneLove]

With documented DUI with kids in a car
I'm not sure such an addict parent would ever be given custody.

Perhaps only supervised visits.

After all,
children's safety is the most important.

JMO

If only, though. Small town family court judge where I did social work was himself a substance abuser and rarely if ever even allowed evidence of such in court.

 

[realanastasia]

I had not realized that the home outside which Parker was left to die by her degenerate father was originally only in Erika's name; she added Chris, apparently, in April 2023.

The couple appears to have very recently (June 2025) sold that home to a real estate management (rental) company/LLC called BRP Rental Properties. https://www.homes.com/property/5160-w-paytons-ct-tucson-az/03j38q1djec03/

I am guessing--because I do not want to sleuth minors--that BRP are the three first initials of the three Scholtes daughters, including Parker (but--by virtue of only being 3 initials--obviously excluding the eldest daughter from Chris' previous marriage) because Chris Scholtes is listed as the "company contact" per the info here. The company itself was only registered with AZ in May 2025: https://www.bizapedia.com/az/brp-rental-properties-llc.html#google_vignette

Oh, and around the same time, Chris and Erika bought a new house in Phoenix, which was quickly transferred into the ownership of the LLC. https://www.homes.com/property/309-e-hayward-ave-phoenix-az/nkth1ec4lr5fn/


IANAL, but I imagine this choice was motivated by the desire to "protect" the family's ownership of the homes/their financial assets in light of the pending trial. I guess it is pragmatic, but, boy, I sure don't know if buying/selling real estate and taking luxury family vacations would be MY priorities if I were married to a derelict man-child who carelessly murdered my tiny beautiful daughter. IMO, of course.

 

[mickey2942]

Murder in Arizona law - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

13-1105 - First degree murder; classification

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-a-adair-395a4120

Christopher Scholtes attorney, Marc Adair. He went to a law school in California, of course...a "non traditional law school". Not exactly someone I would choose to defend me in a murder trial.

Why California Western

www.cwsl.edu

And he had been in trouble with the Arizona bar....more than one time.

https://www.azcourts.gov/Portals/0/101/Oct%202015/Adair%20Marc%20A.pdf

https://www.myazbar.org/AZAttorney/PDF_Articles/AZAT0104LawyerReg.pdf