An Arizona man charged with murder after allegedly killing his two-year-old daughter by leaving her in a hot car during a heat wave for hours is an “incredible father” and a “pillar of the community,” his wife told a judge.
Anesthesiologist Erika Scholtes, 35, called her infant daughter’s death a “huge mistake” during a court hearing Friday for Christopher Scholtes, who has pleaded not guilty to the death of his youngest daughter, Parker.
Authorities said Scholtes, 37, of Marana, Arizona, left Parker in a car in her family’s driveway for hours Tuesday in 111-degree temperatures.
“I’m just asking if you can allow her to come home with us so we can all begin the grieving process so she can bury our daughter with us next week and we can go through this whole process together as a family,” Erika Scholtes pleaded with the judge.
“It was a huge mistake and it doesn’t represent him,” she added. “I just want the girls to see their father, so I don’t have to tell them tonight that they’re going to have to endure another loss.”
It is not a risk to the community, he insisted.
He was arrested early Friday and charged with second-degree murder and child abuse, according to the Marana Police Department.
Scholtes appeared in court later that day. The judge entered a plea of not guilty and the father of three was released to attend pretrial services, according to a report.
The judge set secured bail at $25,000, denying the state’s request for a higher bail of $1 million.
In audio provided by KVOA TV, Ms. Scholtes can be heard calmly asking the judge to allow her husband to return home while he awaits his preliminary hearing on Aug. 1, so the family can grieve together for the dead boy.
Police were called to the home shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday after the girl’s mother arrived home to find her daughter unconscious inside a car that was turned off and had no air conditioning working.
Parker’s mother performed CPR on him until emergency services arrived. The boy was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Scholtes allegedly told police she came home with her daughter asleep in the car seat.
Scholtes said he left her in the car running with the air conditioning on and got inside so he wouldn’t wake her, police said. At one point, the car turned off.
Scholtes originally told police she drove home with her daughter at 2 p.m., but video footage from a neighbor indicated she arrived home at 12:53 p.m., KOLD TV reported.
Temperatures that day hit a record 111 degrees in Marana, meaning it would only take about 20 minutes for a car to heat up to 140 degrees and just 40 minutes to reach 150 degrees, ABC15 reported.
Marana Police Capt. Tim Brunenkant told reporters that Parker’s death was still under investigation.
“We don’t know the circumstances, we are trying to find out. When those temperatures occur, especially this week, when they reach 43 degrees Celsius, it will be a tragedy.”
Aside from a DUI charge from 15 years ago, Scholtes has no criminal record.
One of the conditions of Scholtes’ release is that he have no unsupervised contact with children.
His wife told the court she will take an extended leave from work, KVOA reported.
It was not immediately clear what Christopher Scholtes does.
