Arizona Dad Whose Daughter, 2, Died in 109-Degree Hot Car While He Played Video Games Gets Plea Deal By Chris Spargo

An Arizona man charged with murdering his 2-year-old daughter after she died in a hot car parked in the family’s driveway has agreed to a plea deal.

Christopher Scholtes, 38, entered guilty pleas to charges of second-degree murder and intentional child abuse likely to cause death or serious physical injury.

Scholtes’ decision, just days before his trial was set to begin, came as a surprise, as he previously declined to accept a similar plea deal when it was first offered by prosecutors — one which would only require him to plead guilty to the murder charge.

His decision to pass over the initial offer came at a steep price, as he would have faced 10 to 25 years in prison had he agreed to the deal at that time.

In a statement, the Pima County Attorney’s Office said Scholtes will face between 20 and 30 years in prison under the terms of the deal, without the possibility of early release.

Had he gone to trial, Scholtes would have faced the possibility of life in prison or even the death penalty.

The father-of-three was arrested after leaving his youngest child in the car while he sat inside playing video games on July 9, 2024, according to multiple court documents previously filed in the case and viewed by PEOPLE.

Scholtes also allegedly searched for pornography on his PlayStation during that time, but the judge in the case issued an order earlier this month stating that this information could not be introduced at trial.

It was his wife who discovered the child when she arrived home that day, some three hours after Scholtes had returned from running errands with the toddler.

The criminal complaint said that the temperature inside the vehicle that afternoon was 109 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Body camera footage recorded Scholtes admitting that he left his daughter in the car while speaking with officers from the Marana Police Department when they arrived on the scene.

Scholtes told the officers that he left his daughter in the vehicle with the air conditioning on because she was asleep in her car seat, and went inside the family home.

He then alleged that he forgot about his daughter because he was distracted, according to the complaint.

The complaint also alleged that Scholtes said he was aware that the car engine in his vehicle turns off after 30 minutes, at which point there would be no air conditioning.

Investigators later interviewed the two surviving daughters, who were 6 and 9 at the time, and both allegedly said that their father had previously left them alone in the car, according to the complaint.

A text allegedly sent to Scholtes by his wife as their daughter was being rushed to the hospital seems to support that claims, as she texted: “I told you to stop leaving them in the car, How many times have I told you?”

Scholtes was released on bail and was ordered not to have any unsupervised time with children, but was later approved to travel to Hawaii with his wife and two surviving daughters ahead of his trial.

Sentencing has been set for Nov. 21 in the case, but Scholtes must turn himself in three weeks prior on Nov. 3.

His lawyer did not respond to a request for comment.