A man from Arizona, Christopher Scholtes, who is facing first-degree murder charges in the tragic incident of his 2-year-old daughter’s death in a hot car, has been given the court’s permission to go on a family vacation to Hawaii.
Christopher Scholtes, aged 37, asked for time off in early April to spend vacations with his family and was granted approval for a trip to Hawaii in May, as stated by KSBY.
Earlier, it was reported by CrimeOnline that Scholtes’ young daughter passed away in a hot car that was parked outside their home in Marana. She had been left in the car for about three hours. He was initially accused of second-degree murder.
His 16-year-old daughter told KVOA that her father often left her alone in the car—sometimes for hours at a time—when she was as young as 7.
“Actually, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. [Once,] I had to go sit out in the car for four to five hours and continuously had to restart the car and had only eaten once that day,” she told the news outlet.
According to an interim complaint, Scholtes’ other two children, ages 9 and 5, said it was typical for Scholtes to leave them alone in the vehicle. They added that on the day in question, Scholtes “got distracted by playing his game and putting his food away” while their sister was in the car.
Despite objections from prosecutors, Pima County Judge Kimberly Ortiz approved Scholtes’ 10-day vacation with a few conditions. Scholtes is to have no unsupervised contact with his children and is required to contact Pretrial Services before, during, and after his trip.
Scholtes is awaiting trial, which is scheduled for October 2025. He faces the possibility of life in prison, according to KGUN.
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