An Arizona man who pleaded guilty to murder charges after leaving his 2-year-old daughter to die in a sweltering hot car for hours as temperatures climbed to 109 degrees Fahrenheit has killed himself, officials said Wednesday.
Christopher Scholtes, 38, was found dead in his home Wednesday, the day he was set to appear in court for his sentencing, Pima County Attorney Laura Conover announced at a press conference.
"This little girl's voice was nearly silenced because justice was not served appropriately this morning," Conover said. "But it has not and will not be silenced due to the hard work of the people who work here at the Pima County Attorney's Office."
Online records for the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s office confirm that Scholtes died. He is survived by two other children and his wife.
The 2-year-old girl died in a car outside her family's home July 9, authorities said. Security footage from nearby homes shows that she was left alone in the car for about three hours, according to officials.
Scholtes initially told police that when he arrived home that day, his daughter was asleep in her car seat and he did not want to wake her, according to a news release from the Marana Police Department. He added that he left his daughter inside the car seat with the vehicle running in the driveway and the air conditioner turned on, before going inside the house, according to the release.
The air conditioner was not on, according to authorities. A complaint later filed by prosecutors said that Scholtes knew the car and the AC automatically shut off after 30 minutes.
Prosecutors said that Scholtes, who was unemployed, found the child dead in the car shortly after his wife, a doctor, came home from work and wondered where she was.
The 2-year-old girl was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital, officials said.
Scholtes was arrested July 12. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and child abuse charges in October and was expected to spend up to 30 years in prison, according to Conover.
Court documents later revealed that Scholtes was distracted by video games on the day his daughter died and "regularly" left his kids alone in the car.
Scholtes' wife texted him “I told you to stop leaving them in the car, How many times have I told you,” as his 2-year-old daughter was being transported to the hospital, according to a documents.
He responded, “Babe I’m sorry!"
"How could I do this. I killed our baby, this can’t be real,” he added in a later text to his wife, according to the documents.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
