Anguish for Arizona doctor mother after two year-old girl died in hot car ‘when toddler’s father made tragic mistake’

A two-year-old girl died in a hot car outside her home after being left there for at least 30 minutes on a day with temperatures of 42 degrees Celsius.

Father Chris Scholtes, 37, told police he entered the home in Marana, north of Tucson, Arizona, and left the car and air conditioning running.

But he returned around 4pm on Tuesday to find the car had stalled and his daughter Parker Scholtes unresponsive. He immediately called 911.

The child was rushed to Banner University Medical Center in Tucson, where her mother Erika Scholtes, 35, worked as an anesthesiologist.

“Resuscitation was performed and the child was immediately taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, the child was pronounced deceased at the hospital,” police said.

Parker was born in late October 2021 and within a few weeks went to Disneyland for the first time with her parents and two older sisters.

Chris posted adorable photos of the girl online, including one taken by his wife in February of this year where he was sleeping and cuddling up to the little girl.

“I call this a father’s comfort,” the father, who also coached his daughter’s softball team, wrote alongside the photo.

Another photo showed a drawing she had made in chalk, captioned “struggling artist,” and another showed her dressed.

“She is a threat to society, her attitude is just as skewed as her owner’s and her aggressive pit bull is ready to attack,” Chris wrote.

Erika and Chris went on vacation regularly over the past year and posted about their adventures on social media.

In February they went skiing in Banff with their eldest daughters, and in March they went on a beach holiday to Cancun with the whole family.

The couple also traveled through Europe last June, Seattle in October and Sedona in June, just the two of them.

According to Marana Police Chief Tim Brunenkant, many details about Parker’s death are still under investigation, including whether it was an accident.

“We don’t know the conditions, we’re trying to figure it out. When those temperatures rise, especially this week, when it’s 110. It’s just tragic,” he said.

“We’re doing the interviews and we’re trying to determine if this was a mistake. ‘Is it an accident? Is that possible?’ That’s what we have to determine.”

According to Brunenkant, it is unclear exactly how long Parker was in the car and how long ago the car and air conditioning were turned off.

“All we know is it was a hot car. The child was unresponsive, it was very hot, and it’s very tragic,” he said.

“He left the child in the car. The car was running, the air conditioning was working. We’re trying to figure out how long he was in the house, at what time the car broke down or the air conditioning stopped working.”

Brunenkant said that at least one child died in a hot car in the area during the summer. This was a warning never to leave a child alone in a car.

Chris and Erika started dating on October 19, 2012, according to a post Chris made on the occasion of their 10th anniversary.

“Ten amazing years with this woman. Can’t wait for the rest!” he wrote.

On International Women’s Day, he posted a photo of his wife in the operating room, along with a message celebrating her achievements.

“This woman is my hero Erika Ines. She is an amazing wife and incredible mother to our family while being an absolute badass who saves lives and makes it all look effortless,” he wrote.

“I don’t know where I would be without her, but it wouldn’t be here. Love you baby, thank you for this beautiful life. There’s no one else I’d rather share it with.”

Chris studied biochemistry at Arizona State University, but it was unclear where he worked now.

He also regularly posted photos of cars and powerful motorcycles on his Facebook page.