Current:Home > Stocks'This can't be real': He left his daughter alone in a hot car for hours. She died.-LoTradeCoin
'This can't be real': He left his daughter alone in a hot car for hours. She died.
View Date:2024-12-23 16:37:20
"Babe our family. How could I do this. I killed our baby, this can't be real."
So wrote the father who police say left his daughter in a car last week near Tucson, Arizona, to die.
The temperature that afternoon was 111 degrees.
She was 2 years old.
This is where you want to stop reading. Please don’t, especially if you are a parent or a grandparent.
Marana police say Christopher Scholtes, 37, intentionally left his daughter in the car that afternoon and had done so before.
Dozens of children die in hot cars each year
Apparently, she was sleeping and he didn’t want wake her so he left her there in the car, with the air conditioner running.
More than three hours later, his wife arrived home and well, you know.
The Scholtes tot was the ninth child to die in a hot car this year, according to Kids and Car Safety. Since then, you can add four more.
Every year, dozens of children die after being left in sweltering cars.
Often, it’s a mother running errands or a father who forgot to drop off a child at day care on his way to work. Rarely, but sometimes, it’s a parent who just doesn’t much care.
My child died in a hot car.What his legacy has taught me about love and forgiveness.
Dad knew A/C in car would shut off in half hour
It’ll be up to the courts to decide how this child came to be left to die, strapped in her car seat as the temperature rose to unbearable and ultimately unsurvivable levels.
Scholtes told police that he returned home with the child about 2:30 p.m. on July 9. Neighborhood surveillance cameras, however, put his arrival at 12:53 p.m.
It was after 4 p.m. when the child was found, when the mother got home from work and asked about her youngest.
Here’s the stunner: Scholtes told police he knew the car would shut off after 30 minutes, according to released court documents.
Scholtes’ other children, ages 9 and 5, told Marana police that their father got distracted, busy as he was playing a video game and putting food away.
It wasn't the first time he left a child in the car
Apparently, it wasn’t the first time he left a child unattended in the car.
“I told you to stop leaving them in the car,” the child’s mother texted him as the child was being rushed to a hospital, where the toddler was pronounced dead. “How many times have I told you?”
Scholtes has been arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder and child abuse. He could face decades in prison though I would imagine, if he's any sort of father, that he’s already living in hell.
"I told you to stop leaving them in the car, how many times have I told you," his wife texted.
"Babe I'm sorry,” he replied.
"We’ve lost her, she was perfect," she wrote.
Cities are only getting hotter:Our houses and asphalt made heat worse. Don't just complain about it. Stop it.
Lest you proclaim this could not happen to you ...
"Babe our family. How could I do this? I killed our baby. This can't be real."
I don’t envy the judge who must figure out where justice lies in a tragedy such as this.
Before you say it could never happen to you … well, perhaps the better thing to be thinking is this:
There but for the grace of God …
Laurie Roberts is a columnist for the Arizona Republic, where this column originally appeared. Reach Roberts at [email protected] or follow her on X (formerly Twitter): @LaurieRoberts.
veryGood! (18253)
Related
- Timothée Chalamet Details How He Transformed Into Bob Dylan for Movie
- More hospitals are requiring masks as flu and COVID-19 cases surge
- Map shows the states where E. coli concerns led to recall of 7,000 pounds of beef
- Viral food critic Keith Lee ranks favorite cities from recent tour. Who's at the top?
- 1 monkey captured, 42 monkeys still on the loose after escaping research facility in SC
- Thousands of women stocked up on abortion pills, especially following news of restrictions
- We Found the Tote Bag Everyone Has on Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
- Kelly Clarkson Shares Insight Into Her Health and Weight-Loss Journey
- 'Dangerous and unsanitary' conditions at Georgia jail violate Constitution, feds say
- A look at killings of militant leaders believed targeted by Israel
Ranking
- Singles' Day vs. Black Friday: Which Has the Best Deals for Smart Shoppers?
- Want to stress less in 2024? A new book offers '5 resets' to tame toxic stress
- 2 Democratic incumbents in Georgia House say they won’t seek reelection after redistricting
- Myanmar’s military government pardons 10,000 prisoners to mark Independence Day
- Tesla issues 6th Cybertruck recall this year, with over 2,400 vehicles affected
- New Mexico considers setback requirements for oil wells near schools and day care centers
- Successful evacuation from burning Japan Airlines jet highlights dogged devotion to safety
- RHOSLC's Monica Garcia Responds to Explosive Season Finale Scandal With Nod to Gossip Girl
Recommendation
-
Amazon Black Friday 2024 sales event will start Nov. 21: See some of the deals
-
Hearing aids may boost longevity, study finds. But only if used regularly
-
Luke Littler, 16, loses World Darts Championship final to end stunning run
-
The Toad and the Geothermal Plant
-
Prosecutor failed to show that Musk’s $1M-a-day sweepstakes was an illegal lottery, judge says
-
Veteran celebrating 101st birthday says this soda is his secret to longevity
-
MIT President outlines 'new steps' for 2024: What to know about Sally Kornbluth
-
Golden Bachelor's Leslie Fhima Hospitalized on Her 65th Birthday