Neighbours make shocking claim about dad who left daughter, 2, to die in hot car while he looked at porn

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide and child abuse which some readers may find distressing.

The neighbours of disgraced dad Christopher Scholtes made a shocking claim to police after he took his own life.

The 38-year-old father was arrested after he left his two-year-old daughter, Parker, alone in a car in Phoenix, Arizona, as the temperature soared in July 2024.

Parker sadly died after being left in the vehicle, while Scholtes played video games and allegedly searched for porn for two minutes.

It was his wife, Erika, who made the horrifying discovery when she came home three hours later.

Officials said he died by suicide ahead of his sentencing, after pleading guilty to the murder of the little girl.

Now, it has emerged that neighbours of the father made a bombshell claim to police following his arrest after the incident.

Christopher Scholtes had pleaded guilty to the murder of his daughter, Parker (Pima County)

Despite his wife Erika standing by him and supporting him throughout the trial, neighbours have alleged he was having an affair with a married woman.

According to the Daily Mail, police incident reports feature neighbours mentioning him having a 'special relationship' with someone else.

They claimed it was a 'common consensus' in the neighbourhood that the pair were allegedly having an affair.

It was alleged 'some of the moms thought something was going on' and they were worried that police would not be told the truth by the woman in order to protect him.

Neighbours also claimed that they had to regularly hold 'search parties' when the children or pets got out, allegedly due to Scholtes sleeping instead of looking after them, 'or something else happens'.

Another of their children ran to a neighbour's house after Parker was found, with the child crying: “Mommy and daddy are calling 911 and mommy is giving her CPR,” according to the police report.

Scholtes had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and intentional child abuse, and was expected to receive a 20 to 30 year prison sentence.

He was found dead the morning he was due to attend court to hear his fate.

The youngster tragically died after she was left in a car as temperatures soared (YouTube/Law & Crime Network)

Scholtes had told police he 'lost track of time' while drinking and gaming, while the temperature inside the car soared.

Erika had also texted him previously: “You haven’t shown me you can stop putting the girls in danger or not treat me badly,” she wrote on 11 March, months before Parker died.

Following the tragic death of the little girl, Erika messaged him angrily: “I told you to stop leaving them in the car. How many times have I told you?”

Scholtes responded: “Babe I'm sorry! ... Babe our family. How could I do this. I killed our baby, this can't be real.”

His teenage daughter from another relationship had also tried to sue him before his death for his alleged mistreatment of her.

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.