Teen daughter speaks out for first time after dad left sister, 2, to die in hot car while looking up porn
The father was found dead the day before he was due to hand himself in for sentencing
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide and child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
The teen daughter of Christopher Scholtes has spoken out for the first time after he left her half-sister to die in a hot car while allegedly looking up pornography.
The 38-year-old was arrested on 9 July 2024 after two-year-old Parker’s tragic death and was found dead earlier this month.
Christopher was due to hand himself in to authorities to remain in custody ahead of his sentencing, but died the day before.
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The father was facing at least 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to the murder of his toddler.
Having gotten home form a shopping trip, he accidentally left Parker inside the hot car in Arizona as temperatures climbed to over 40C.
And apparently, his eldest daughter ‘knew’ Christopher was going to die.
After leaving the two-year-old in the car, the father is said to have played video games and prosecutors also alleged he searched for porn on his PlayStation, but a judge barred them from mentioning this if the case had gone to trial.
His wife, Erika, then discovered the child when she got home, three hours later. Court documents claim she had texted him to say she had previously reminded him to ‘stop leaving [their kids] in the car' while Parker was rushed to hospital.
“Babe I'm sorry! ... Babe our family. How could I do this,” he responded. “I killed our baby, this can't be real.”
And one of their elder daughters told police: “He keeps leaving us in the car when my mom told him to stop doing this. That’s how he made my baby sister die.”
Christopher’s cause of death is under investigation as Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said in a statement that the situation is ‘obviously extraordinarily complicated’.
The man’s eldest daughter, 17, is from a previous relationship and she has sued him and his wife for emotional distress, assault, battery and fraud, as well as damages for the death of her half-sister.
Erika hasn’t faced any charges over her daughter’s death and she has not been accused of any wrongdoing by officials.
Lindsey Eisenberg, the teen’s former guardian, said she has ‘suffered immensely from Christopher and Erika’.
According to The New York Post, her lawsuit also alleges that her father falsified a conservatorship to access government assistance in her name.
It reportedly reads: “As a result, Plaintiff suffered severe emotional distress, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideations, post traumatic stress, and long-term psychological harm.”
Following her dad’s death, Eisenberg said the 17-year-old intends to continue to pursue the suit against Erika. And apparently, she displayed no visible emotion when learning of his passing.
Eisenberg told the Daily Mail: “She said, ‘I knew he was going to do this, I knew he was going to commit suicide’. Then she asked if her sisters were OK.”
It’s claimed that authorities investigated Christopher nine times between June 2014 and December 2020 as allegations included neglect and physical and emotional abuse.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website https://harmless.org.uk.
Jess Battison