GIRL, 2, DIES IN SCORCHING CAR WHILE DOCTOR'S HUSBAND SURFS PORN, GUZZLES SHOPLIFTED BEER
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline
4.2 • 8.1K Ratings
🗓️ 27 October 2025
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Christopher Scholtes runs errands, then heads inside once he's home just before 1 p.m.
He leaves his 2-year-old daughter, Parker, in the running car in the driveway with the air conditioner on Scholtes has a habit of leaving the children in the car alone and knows from previous experience his Acura MDX will automatically shut off the engine and air conditioner after 30 minutes.
Wife, Dr Erika Scholtes arrives home around 4pm and sees husband Chris and their two older daughters ages 9 and 5, but doesn't see Parker. Chris begins looking in all the rooms of the house, then suddenly runs outside. The outside temperature is 109 degrees when 2-year-old Parker is removed from the vehicle unresponsive, strapped in her child restraint system
Chris Scholtes calls 911 as Dr Erika Scholtes performs CPR on her daughter. Parker is transported to the same hospital her mother works as an anesthesiologist, Banner University Medical Center.
At 4:58 p.m. Parker is pronounced dead. Christopher Scholtes is charged with child abuse and second degree murder.
6 months before his trial is to start, Scholtes is offered a plea deal from prosecutors that would require him to plead guilty to second-degree murder, but he would be sentenced to no more than 10 years in prison. Scholtes turns it down.
Days before his trial is to start, a shocking announcement, Scholtes agrees to plead guilty. The Pima County Attorney's office says he will face 20 to 30 years behind bars and is ineligible for parole.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
- Josh Kolsrud - Criminal Defense Attorney and Former Assistant U.S. Attorney, Founder of Kolsrud Law Offices; Facebook and YouTube @KolsrudLawOffices
- Dr. Bethany Marshall - Psychoanalyst, Author: "Deal Breaker," and featured in hit show "Paris in Love" on Peacock; Instagram & TikTok: drbethanymarshall, X: @DrBethanyLive
- Chris McDonough – Director at the Cold Case Foundation, Former Homicide Detective; Host of YouTube channel: “The Interview Room”
- Dr. Kendall Crowns - Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth), NEW Podcast "Mayhem in the morgue" Lecturer: Burnett School of Medicine at TCU (Texas Christian University)
- Erika Wurst - Public Safety Reporter for the Arizona Daily Star
- Dave Mack - Investigative Reporter, ‘Crime Stories’
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:04.8 | Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. |
| 0:11.0 | A little girl, just two years old, bakes dead, dies in a scorching hot car while daddy, the doctor's husband, is inside in the air condition, |
| 0:26.6 | surfing porn and guzzling, shoplifted beer. Okay, what? I said that correctly. I'm sure that I did. |
| 0:35.8 | A female doctor's husband, they have money to buy beer, |
| 0:42.2 | is guzzling shop-lifted beer and surfing porn while his two-year-old daughter strapped in a car seat, facing the son directly, |
| 0:58.8 | bakes dead in a car while mommy is at work. |
| 1:06.1 | I'm Nancy Grace. |
| 1:07.3 | This is Crime Stories. |
| 1:08.7 | I want to thank you for being with us. |
| 1:11.0 | In a shocking incident, an Arizona father left his two-year-old daughter in a car as temperature |
| 1:16.5 | soared to a deadly 109 degrees, resulting in a heartbreaking tragedy. Just imagine the heat in Arizona |
| 1:26.8 | when Little Parker is strapped in her car taking a nap for what? |
| 1:32.4 | Uh, three, four hours? While dad claims he's playing games, turns out he's surfing porn, |
| 1:40.5 | guzzling, shoplifted beer. One thing I found very effective when trying cases is to start the case off right, and that is |
| 1:50.1 | taking the jury to the moment of the incident, whatever that incident might be, with a 911 |
| 1:57.6 | call. |
| 1:59.2 | The real thing? |
| 2:00.7 | The unvarnished truth, the unedited, unfiltered reality. Let's listen. |
| 2:07.6 | 911, 911, 3. |
| 2:09.8 | What's the address? |
| 2:12.9 | What's going on? |
... |
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