The Pima County Attorney’s Office is working on a possible plea agreement for a Marana man accused of murder in his 2-year-old daughter’s hot-car death.
Deputy Pima County Attorney Hayley Weingold said at a preliminary hearing at Pima County Superior Court Wednesday morning that she and her team are working on final details in a plea agreement that will be offered to Christopher Scholtes, who was arrested July 12, three days after Parker was left in the family car for at least three hours in triple-digit heat.
Parker died of heat exhaustion, according to her autopsy.
Scholtes, 37, was initially charged with second-degree murder, but the charges were later upgraded.
The Pima County Attorney’s Office says it is working on a plea agreement for Christopher Scholtes, who is facing a murder charge in the July 2024 hot-car death of his daughter. A criminal trial has been set for September in case a plea agreement cannot be reached.
Scholtes, dressed in a blue suit, sipped from a Starbucks cup as he briefly waited for his turn in front of Judge Kimberly Ortiz.
The judge set a date for a 10-day criminal trial to begin in September 2025 in case a plea agreement can’t be reached.
On the day Parker died, Scholtes took her with him to run errands. Police have said he shoplifted alcohol from two different locations before returning home. He left the girl in the car for hours while he played video games, court documents say.
Parker was pulled from the car when her mom came home from work and realized she was not in the house, records show.
Scholtes is scheduled to be back in court Jan. 27 for another hearing.
