Arizona dad arrested for murder after allegedly leaving daughter, 2, in hot car for three hours during 109-degree heatwave
An Arizona man was arrested and charged with murder for allegedly leaving his 2-year-old daughter inside a sweltering car for three hours during a 109-degree heatwave this week, cops announced Friday.
Christopher Scholtes, 37, was identified as a suspect in the Tuesday death of his toddler, whom he left in a car in the driveway outside of his home in Marana, Ariz. — approximately 22 miles northwest of Tucson.
He was arrested early Friday and charged with second-degree murder and child abuse, according to the Marana Police Department.
Detectives obtained a search warrant for surveillance footage from a neighbor, which showed the girl had been inside the car for three hours, cops said.
The police were called to the home just after 4 p.m. Tuesday after the child’s mother arrived home to find her daughter unresponsive inside a car that was turned off with no air conditioner running.
The mom performed CPR on the tot until first responders arrived and unsuccessfully performed life-saving measures before taking her to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Scholtes allegedly told cops he arrived home with his daughter asleep in the car in her car seat.
Not wanting to wake her up, Scholtes said he left her in the running car with the AC on while he went inside, according to the police.
On Wednesday, Marana Police Capt. Tim Brunenkant said they sought to determine when the car and AC turned off.
Scholtes was being held at the Pima County Adult Detention Center.
“This incident is a stark reminder of the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles,” the Marana PD said in a statement.
“The temperature inside a vehicle can rise rapidly, even on relatively mild days, leading to potentially fatal outcomes within minutes.”
“The Marana Police Department and our entire community feel this heartbreaking loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by this tragic incident,” the statement concluded.
On Tuesday, when temps hit a record-setting high of 111 degrees, it would only take roughly 20 minutes for a car to heat up to 140 degrees and just 40 minutes to reach 150 degrees, ABC15 reported at the time.
The name of Scholtes’ lawyer was not immediately known.
