A southern Arizona man convicted in the 2024 hot car death of his 2-year-old daughter was found dead by suicide in Phoenix early Wednesday morning, authorities confirmed.
The Phoenix Police Department said 38-year-old Christopher Scholtes was discovered around 5 a.m. in a neighborhood near Third Street and Northern Avenue. The Pima County Attorney’s Office later announced that Scholtes took his own life the night before he was due in court for sentencing.
Scholtes had recently pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the case and faced a 20- to 30-year sentence without parole. He failed to appear for his scheduled court hearing on Wednesday morning.
“This is an extraordinarily tragic situation,” said Pima County Attorney Laura Conover, who expressed condolences to both families affected by the loss.
The case stemmed from a July 2024 incident in Marana, near Tucson, where Scholtes’ young daughter died after being left for several hours in a parked car as temperatures soared past 100 degrees. Investigators said Scholtes left the child unattended while he remained inside the home.
The child’s mother discovered her unresponsive in the vehicle later that day. Emergency crews transported her to Banner University Medical Center in Tucson, where she was pronounced dead.
Scholtes was arrested three days later and was later relocated to Maricopa County while awaiting sentencing. The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office is expected to release a full report on his death within 90 days.
