Christopher Scholtes: Arizona Man Who Admitted Killing Daughter Found Dead Ahead of Sentencing

Liputan6.com, Jakarta Christopher Scholtes, 38, who was scheduled to face sentencing for second-degree murder and child abuse of his daughter, Parker Scholtes, was found dead in a home in Phoenix, Arizona.

His body was discovered on the morning of November 5, 2025, after police responded to an emergency call at approximately 5:22 a.m. local time, as reported by AZ Family.

Scholtes' death happened the same day he was scheduled to surrender to custody as part of a previously agreed-upon plea agreement.

The official cause of Christopher Scholtes' death remains under investigation by the Maricopa County Coroner's Office.

However, initial reports and confirmation from Pima County District Attorney Laura Conover indicate that Scholtes died by suicide the previous evening.

On November 5, 2025, Christopher Scholtes was found dead at a residence in Phoenix.

This discovery occurred hours before he was supposed to report to authorities to begin his sentence, as per the terms of his plea agreement.

A preliminary investigation by Phoenix police and confirmation from District Attorney Laura Conover indicate that Scholtes' death is being investigated as a suicide.

Authorities have not released further details regarding the circumstances of the discovery or any evidence pointing to the suspected suicide.

“We expected to be in court this morning because the father had accepted a plea agreement to second-degree murder which could have carried as much as 30 years in prison,” Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said in a statement.

“But instead of coming in to take account for what has occurred here, we have been informed and we have confirmed that the father took his own life last night.”

NEW: Arizona man who left his two-year-old daughter to die in a hot car while he watched p*rn and played video games, found deceased.Christopher Scholtes was set to report to prison on Wednesday, but never arrived at the hearing.Scholtes had pleaded guilty to second-degree… pic.twitter.com/qy3CgB8L9y

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) November 5, 2025

Christopher Scholtes had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and child abuse.

These charges relate to the death of his 2-year-old daughter, Parker Scholtes, in July 2024.

Parker died after being left in a hot car in the driveway of their family home in Marana, Arizona.

The temperature inside the car reached 109 degrees Fahrenheit, or approximately 42.7 degrees Celsius.

Investigators determined that Parker had been left in the vehicle for nearly three and a half hours.

Scholtes admitted to leaving his daughter in the car with the air conditioning on because she was asleep.

However, he later went inside and forgot about her presence due to distraction.

Further reports revealed that Scholtes was playing video games and searching for pornography inside the house while his daughter was in the hot car.

Surveillance footage from a neighbor's house also confirmed that the child had been left in the vehicle for three hours.

Scholtes' wife discovered the child after returning home and warned him via text message not to leave children in the car.

Scholtes' two other children even told authorities that their father frequently left their three children in the car.

Christopher Scholtes was arrested on July 12, 2024, after his daughter's death.

His legal proceedings continued until October 2025, when he accepted a plea agreement just days before his trial was to begin.

Under this agreement, Scholtes faces a prison sentence of between 20 and 30 years without the possibility of parole.

If he chooses to proceed with the trial, he could potentially face life in prison or even the death penalty.

During the legal proceedings, Scholtes briefly made headlines in May 2025, when a judge allowed him to take a week-long trip to Maui.

However, he was not allowed unsupervised contact with his two surviving children.

Last week, Scholtes' older daughter, who would have turned 18 this month, filed a lawsuit against him, accusing him of causing severe emotional distress.