A two-year-old Arizona toddler's life was cut short after she was left in a car for over three hours, while her father got "distracted" playing video games. Parker Scholtes' dad, Christopher Scholtes, 37, is now facing a murder charge.
Christopher, a father of three, claimed he left the kid in the car for only 30 minutes because he did not want to wake her up after they returned from shopping.
However, court documents and surveillance footage tell a different story. He left her inside their 2023 Acura MDX for more than three hours in the Arizona heat while he played video games on his PlayStation inside their home.
Christopher's wife, a doctor, returned home and discovered the little girl's lifeless body in the car, reported KPLCTV.
Christopher told police he arrived at their home around 2:30 pm and parked outside because the garage was cluttered with exercise equipment. He claimed he forgot Parker was still in her car seat until Erika, his wife, came home at 4 pm and discovered their daughter's body. However, surveillance footage shows he arrived shortly after 12:30 pm, leaving Parker in the car in 109-degree weather for over three hours.
According to the complaint, Christopher "got distracted playing his game and putting his food away." He admitted to leaving the air conditioning on for Parker but knew it would shut off automatically after 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, his other two children told police their dad regularly left all three siblings alone in the car while he was in the house. Text messages between Christopher and his wife also reveal a history of similar incidents. "I told you to stop leaving them in the car," Erika's text to her husband read. "How many times have I told you?"
In court on Friday, when Christopher was charged with murder and child endangerment, Erika pleaded with the judge to release her otherwise "perfect" husband, calling the death of their child "a big mistake."
She requested that her husband be allowed to return home to support their family during a difficult time and said that the recent incident does not define her husband's character. “I just want the girls to see their father – that I don't have to tell them tonight that they're going to have to endure another loss,” she pleaded, as per the NY Post.
Authorities have since charged Christopher Scholtes with murder and the judge set bail at $25,000, despite the prosecution's request for a $1 million bond.
