Christopher Scholtes, 38, dies by suicide in his Phoenix home hours before he is scheduled to surrender to begin a prison sentence for leaving his 2-year-old daughter in a hot car. Multiple outlets say he takes his own life before reporting to jail, ending his scheduled path toward custody.
Reporting based on 911 audio and calls describes the distressing circumstances surrounding the case, including the time frame leading up to his planned surrender. Both outlets state he was facing a lengthy sentence—described as about 20 to 30 years—for the child’s death.
While the outlets both emphasize the same sequence of events—his scheduled surrender, the child’s death, and his suicide—they differ mainly in phrasing and emphasis. One account frames the death as occurring hours before he would start a term, and also refers to the child being found after the incident; the other highlights the timing relative to when he would surrender and the potential length of his sentence.
