Haunting Video Shows Father Playing Video Games as 2-Year-Old Daughter Dies After Being Left in Hot Car

Newly released bodycam footage has revealed the disturbing reaction of an Arizona father, Christopher Scholtes, 37, after police confronted him about leaving his young daughter, Parker, to die in a scorching-hot car while he played video games. The footage captures Scholtes becoming defensive and questioning the severity of the situation, asking, “So I’m being treated like a murderer?”

The tragic incident occurred on July 9, when police responded to Scholtes’ home and found his 2-year-old daughter, Parker, in critical condition inside the family car. Scholtes claimed he had left her in the car with the air conditioner on for just half an hour because he didn’t want to wake her. However, the situation quickly escalated when police informed him that his home might be considered a crime scene. Scholtes raised his voice, repeatedly asking if he was being treated as a murderer.

The bodycam footage obtained by Inside Edition shows a visibly distressed Scholtes pacing around his home with his head in his hands as officers attempted to save his daughter. “Please, baby, please,” he pleaded, later adding, “I can’t believe this,” as he spoke on the phone, his voice cracking with emotion. Despite the officers’ efforts, Parker was in dire condition, with one officer telling Scholtes, “She’s very hot right now. We’re going to do everything we can.”

Parker was discovered by her mother, an anesthesiologist when she returned home around 4 p.m. and found her in the car with the AC off. Scholtes initially told police he had left Parker outside for “no more than 30, 45 minutes” and claimed to have checked on her throughout. However, court documents later revealed that he had allegedly left her in the car for over three hours. This was not an isolated incident; Scholtes reportedly had a habit of leaving his three daughters in the car while he became distracted by playing video games and other activities.

Text messages between Scholtes and his wife, Erika Scholtes, highlight previous warnings. “I told you to stop leaving them in the car,” Erika texted him after the tragedy. “How many times have I told you?” Their other children confirmed to police that their father regularly left them in the car, according to a criminal complaint. Additionally, Scholtes’ 16-year-old daughter from a previous marriage revealed to KVOA-TV that he often left her alone in cars for hours, leading to her being taken away by Child Protective Services.

Scholtes has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder charges and remains free on bail. His wife has asked the judge to allow him to return home so they can “start the grieving process” together, describing the incident as a “big mistake” that “doesn’t represent him.”