Arizona Dad Whose Daughter, 2, Died in Hot Car While He Searched for Porn Is Found Dead Ahead of Sentencing

An Arizona man who recently admitted to killing his 2-year-old daughter after leaving her in a hot car was found dead on the morning of Nov. 5, according to Maricopa County Coroner records.

Authorities identified the man as Christopher Scholtes, 38. His cause of death remains under investigation, and an autopsy is pending, with results expected in early 2026.

Sgt. Brian Bower of the Phoenix Police Department said officers discovered Scholtes’s body after responding to a call around 5:22 a.m. The Pima County Attorney’s Office has not yet commented on his death.

Scholtes’s passing came on the same day he was scheduled to turn himself in following a court hearing, after which he was expected to remain in custody until his November 2 sentencing.

Plea and Case Background

Just days before his trial, Scholtes unexpectedly pleaded guilty to murder in connection with the hot car death of his toddler. Under the plea deal, prosecutors said he faced 20 to 30 years in prison without the possibility of early release. Had he proceeded to trial, he could have faced life imprisonment or the death penalty.

The father of three was accused of leaving his youngest child in a car parked in the family’s driveway on July 9, 2024, while he sat inside playing video games, according to court documents. Investigators also alleged that he briefly searched for pornography on his PlayStation during that time, though a judge later ruled this information inadmissible at trial.

When Scholtes’s wife arrived home three hours later, she discovered their daughter unresponsive in the car. The criminal complaint noted that the interior temperature had reached 109 degrees.

Body camera footage captured Scholtes admitting to police that he had left his daughter in the car. He reportedly told officers that she had fallen asleep, and he left her inside with the air conditioning on before becoming distracted and forgetting about her.

The complaint stated that Scholtes was aware his car’s engine automatically shut off after 30 minutes, which would have ended the air conditioning.

Prior Incidents and Family Accounts

Investigators later interviewed the couple’s two surviving daughters, ages 6 and 9, who allegedly said their father had previously left them alone in the car. A text message from Scholtes’s wife appeared to echo this concern as their daughter was being rushed to the hospital:

“I told you to stop leaving them in the car. How many times have I told you?”

Scholtes had been released on bail with a restriction barring unsupervised contact with children. However, he was later granted permission to travel to Hawaii with his wife and surviving daughters ahead of his trial.

He is survived by his wife and two children. His attorney did not respond to requests for comment.