Arizona father, 37, is charged with murder after leaving his two-year-old daughter in the back of a car 'for three hours' in 109F heat

A father has been charged with murder after leaving his two-year-old daughter in the back of a hot car in 109F heat while he was inside their house.

Parker Scholtes was found unresponsive in her dad's car outside her home in Marana, north of Tucson, Arizona, on Tuesday when her mom arrived.

Police initially said the toddler was believed to have been left there for less than an hour, but later discovered from security footage it was about three hours.

Her father Chris Scholtes, 37, told police that when he arrived home the little girl was asleep in the back seat and he didn't want to wake her.

'He left the vehicle on and running in the driveway, with the air conditioning on and the child inside,' police said.

'Christopher told detectives he did not want to wake his daughter up so she could continue sleeping in the vehicle. Christopher then went inside the residence.'

Parker's mother Erika Scholtes, 35, returned home and discovered her daughter in the car unresponsive, at which point 911 was called about 4pm.

At some point in those three hours, the car and air-conditioning turned off and the temperate inside skyrocketed in the morning heat. 

Erika performed CPR on Parker until paramedics arrived and rushed her to Banner University Medical Center Tucson, where  Erika worked as an anesthesiologist

'Resuscitation efforts were being done, and the child was immediately transported to the hospital. Unfortunately, the child was pronounced deceased at the hospital,' police said.

Police on Friday morning charged Scholtes with second degree murder and child abuse, and locked him up in Pima County Adult Detention Center.

'Marana Police detectives were granted a search warrant the night of the incident and conducted a thorough investigation,' they explained.

'During the investigation, detectives obtained video surveillance from nearby residences and determined that the child had been in the vehicle for approximately three hours.

'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.'

Parker was born at the end of October 2021, and within weeks had her first trip to Disneyland with her parents and two older sisters.

Chris posted adorable photos of the girl online, including one his wife took in February this year of him asleep while snuggling with the little girl.

'I call this one A Fathers Comfort,' the dad, who also coached his daughter's softball team, wrote next to the photo.

Another photo showed a crayon drawing she made, captioned 'struggling artist', and another with her dressed up.

'Raising a menace to society, hat tilted like her attitude, and her vicious pit bull ready to attack,' Chris wrote.

Chris also shared cute videos of Parker dragging her stuffed bear across the floor, and helping him pack up wooden toy blocks into their box.

Erika and Chris took frequent holidays in the past year - posting about their adventures on social media. 

They went skiing in Banff in February, with their older daughters in tow, and took a beach holiday to Cancun in March with the whole family.

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

Marana Police Captain Tim Brunenkant said many of the details about Parker's death were still being investigated - including whether it was an accident. 

'We don't know the circumstances, we are trying to find that out. When those temperatures arise especially this week when it's 110. It's just tragic,' he told reporters.

'We are doing the interviews, and we are trying to determine if this was a mistake, 'Is it an accident? Is that possible?' We'll have to determine that.'

Brunenkant said it was unclear exactly how long Parker was in the car, and how long since the car and air-conditioning turned off.

'All we know is that 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 AC was operational. We are trying to determine how long he was in the house, at what time the car may have shut off or the AC stopped working.' 

Brunenkant said Parker's death was a reminder to never leave a child alone in a car.

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

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

He posted a photo of his wife in the operating room on International Women's Day with a post celebrating her achievements. 

'This woman is my hero Erika Ines. She has been an amazing wife and incredible mother to our family, all while being an absolute badass saving 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 babe, thank you for this wonderful life. No one else I would rather share it with.'

Chris studied biochemistry at Arizona State University, but it was not clear where he now worked. 

He also frequently posted photos of cars and high-performance engines on his Facebook page.