MARANA, Ariz. (Scripps News Tucson/Court TV) — An Arizona father is facing charges after a 2-year-old girl died after being left in a hot car .
Christopher Scholtes, 37, is charged with second degree murder and child abuse.
Scholtes was arrested Friday morning and released that night to pre-trial services without any bond requirements. A judge agreed Scholtes is not a flight risk but release conditions forbid him from being alone with his two other daughters.
Police investigate the scene where a 2-year-old girl died after being left in a hot car in Marana, Arizona. (Scripps News Tucson)
The family’s car has become a key piece of evidence in the murder investigation. Police said when Scholtes saw his daughter was asleep in the back seat, he left her there and went into the house.
He said he’d done it before, leaving the engine and air conditioning on, and she was fine, but on this day the car, and the air conditioning stopped.
According to a news release , surveillance video showed the child had been left in the car for approximately three hours.
At 4 pm, the child’s mother, who is a doctor, came home and found the girl. She tried to revive her daughter. Paramedics tried too and rushed the girl to Banner UMC where she was declared dead.
Search warrants show detectives are checking the electronics of the car, which could show when it was running, when it was parked and when the air conditioning was on.
Investigators are checking other electronics, including cell phones, a laptop computer and a Play Station 5. Authorities said the items could help document what Scholtes was doing and when he was doing it.
Detectives are also checking the child’s iPad. They think its GPS can help establish how long she was left in the car, what she was doing while in the car, and if she was using her tablet or asleep.
This story was originally published by Scripps News Tucson, an E.W. Scripps Company.
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