Despite the serious murder charge against him, the wife of the accused man has remained supportive, describing the incident as a “big mistake.” Published on October 16, 2025, and updated shortly thereafter, the article discusses Christopher Scholtes, who faces first-degree murder and intentional child abuse charges after leaving his 2-year-old daughter, Parker, in a hot car while he engaged in video games and searched for pornography.
On July 9, 2024, Scholtes, 38, allegedly spent over three hours playing video games and drinking beer while Parker slept inside their 2003 Acura, where temperatures soared to 109°F (43°C), according to a criminal complaint obtained by People magazine. His trial is scheduled to begin on October 27, where he will face these serious charges.
The prosecution had sought to present evidence of Scholtes’ alleged pornography search during the trial, but Judge Kimberly Ortiz denied this request. She ruled that the prosecution could not introduce testimony regarding the defendant’s search for pornography on the PlayStation prior to the discovery of his daughter’s body. Furthermore, any witnesses called by the prosecution are also barred from mentioning this two-minute search during the trial.
Initially, Scholtes claimed that after returning home from shopping around 12:30 p.m., he chose not to wake his sleeping daughter and left her in the car with the air conditioning on. However, court records later revealed that he became engrossed in video games until his wife, Erika, returned home at 4 p.m. and found their daughter unconscious in the vehicle. Parker was taken to Banner University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.