An Arizona man has admitted guilt in the death of his 2-year-old daughter, who died after being left in a hot car.
Christopher Scholtes, 38, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and child abuse.
Scholtes initially turned down a similar deal from prosecutors, which only required him to plead guilty to the murder charge. Choosing to decline the first offer came at a cost, because he would have faced 10 to 25 years in prison had he agreed to the deal at that time.
The Pima County Attorney’s Office shared that Scholtes will now face 20 to 30 years in prison, with no chance of getting out early.
Scholtes was arrested after his daughter died on July 9, 2024. He left her in the car while he played video games inside.
His wife found the child when she got home, about three hours after Scholtes had returned from errands with her. The car’s inside temperature was 109 degrees Fahrenheit that afternoon.
Body camera footage shows Scholtes telling police he left his daughter in the car with the air conditioning on because she was asleep. He said he forgot about her because he got distracted.
Scholtes knew that the car’s engine, and therefore the air conditioning, would turn off automatically after 30 minutes, according to the complaint.
Investigators interviewed Scholtes’ other two daughters, ages 6 and 9 at the time. They said that their father had left them alone in the car before.
Scholtes was let out on bail but told not to be alone with children. However, he was later allowed to go to Hawaii with his wife and other daughters before his trial.
His sentencing is scheduled for November 21, and he must turn himself in on November 3.
