Dad of 2-year-old girl who died in hot car arrested for 2nd-degree murder
A father is facing a second-degree murder charge after his 2-year-old daughter died in a hot car in Arizona, authorities said.
The dad, 37-year-old Christopher Scholtes, told officers that when he arrived home Tuesday afternoon, his daughter was still asleep in her car seat, the Marana Police Department said.
Scholtes said he went inside the house and left the 2-year-old sleeping in the car in the driveway, police said.
Scholtes said he left the car running and the air conditioning on, according to police.
The girl was in the car for about three hours, police said. The temperature in Marana reached a scorching 111 degrees on Tuesday.
When the girl's parents went to get her, the car was no longer running and the air conditioning was off, police said. It's not clear when or how the car shut off, according to police.
The 2-year-old was taken to Banner University Medical Center where she was pronounced dead, police said.
Scholtes was arrested Friday morning for second-degree murder and child abuse, police said.
According to the police department, the Arizona statute says a person can be charged with second-degree murder "if without premeditation. ... Knowing that the person's conduct will cause death or serious physical injury, the person causes the death of another person, including an unborn child or, as a result of knowingly causing the death of another person, causes the death of an unborn child; or Under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life, the person recklessly engages in conduct that creates a grave risk of death and thereby causes the death of another person, including an unborn child or, as a result of recklessly causing the death of another person, causes the death of an unborn child."
"This incident is a stark reminder of the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles. The temperature inside a vehicle can rise rapidly, even on relatively mild days, leading to potentially fatal outcomes within minutes," police said in a statement Friday. "We urge all parents and caregivers to remain vigilant."
At least 10 children have died in hot cars in the U.S. so far this year, according to national nonprofit KidsAndCars.org.
Since 1990, at least 1,094 children have died in hot cars -- and about 88% of those kids are 3 years old or younger, according to KidsAndCars.org.
Click here for hot car safety tips to keep in mind this summer.
