A two-year-old is dead after her father left her in a car in 100-degree heat as he was “distracted by playing video games,” according to court documents obtained by USA Today. Christopher Scholtes, 37, of Arizona, left his daughter in the car as he went inside to put groceries away and play video games.
Scholtes said his daughter was sleeping when they got back from running errands, and he didn’t want to wake her, so he left her in the car with the air conditioning running. He told police he “wanted her to remain in the vehicle while she slept,” but the air conditioning switched off after 30 minutes, the documents say. Police are now saying the child was left in the vehicle for about three hours at the home in Marana, Arizona.
Scholtes did not realize he forgot about his daughter until after his wife Erika came back from work a few hours later, the documents state. Together, they found their daughter unresponsive in the car. They attempted life-saving measures before she was transported to a local hospital where she died.
While the toddler was on the way to the hospital, Scholtes is said to have texted Erika, saying, “Babe I’m sorry! … Babe our family. How could I do this. I killed our baby, this can’t be real.”
Police seized a PlayStation 5 and other electronics as part of the investigation, while Scholtes’ vehicle was also taken by authorities. Authorities are now examining the PS5 and Scholtes’ laptop to attempt to determine what Scholtes was doing while his child was left in the vehicle.
Scholtes is facing charges for second-degree murder and child abuse.
