Shocking findings from the investigation revealed that Scholtes had been inside the home at the time, playing video games and allegedly searching for pornography. Temperatures that day, July 9, 2024, soared to 109°F.
The dad told the authorities he had only left Parker in the car for half an hour to 45 minutes after they arrived home, claiming that she was sleeping and he “didn’t want to wake her”.
The police investigation, however, found that the two-year-old had been left for as long as three hours. It was Scholtes’ wife (and Parker’s mother), Erika, who discovered Parker when she arrived home.
The infant was rushed to Banner University Medical Center, where she was tragically pronounced dead less than an hour later. A text allegedly sent to Scholtes by his wife as their daughter was being rushed to the hospital read: “I told you to stop leaving them in the car, How many times have I told you?”
