MARANA, Ariz. — The Arizona father of a child who died on Tuesday after being left alone in a hot car has been arrested by police.
Marana police said 37-year-old Christopher Scholtes is facing charges of second-degree murder and child abuse after investigators uncovered evidence indicating the suspect's 2-year-old daughter was left unattended in a vehicle for up to three hours.
Scholtes allegedly told police the child was sleeping in her car seat when he arrived home that day and chose not to wake her. The father claimed to have left the vehicle on and the air conditioner running while he went inside the residence.
When the mother arrived home, the child was found to still be in the vehicle and the air conditioner was not running, police said.
The child was taken to the hospital and later died.
Police said video surveillance collected from neighbors confirmed the child had been left in the car for about three hours. Scholtes was booked into the Pima County jail.
>> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
UP TO SPEED
Catch up on the latest news and stories on the 12News YouTube channel. Subscribe today.
What is the Valley?:
“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest.
The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:
- Mesa
- Chandler
- Scottsdale
- Tempe
- Glendale
- Surprise
- Peoria
- Gilbert
- El Mirage
- Avondale
- Litchfield Park
- Goodyear
- Buckeye
Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.
The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
