Dad leaves toddler to die in hot car while he plays games on Play Station

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would never be be able to live with myself if I caused that.

Same. This dude lied to LE and plead not guilty. Spath spectrum gamer. Bet he also uses during the day, did not even check on the 2 year old ONCE in 3 HOURS as she baked to death. The other kids say he leaves them in the car often and mom's texts show she KNEW. Now that little girl will never grow up and the other kids must be scared. This is why some people do not divorce but stay, but she still had a duty of care and the means to hire a caregiver. If a nanny gamed and used a locked car in triple digits as a "babysitter" NO ONE would defend keeping her as childcare.

I hope they are both locked up and the mom loses her license. She has poor judgement too. It was only a matter of time with 109 heat. Kids could have gone to relatives, camps, had a sitter for summer. I would not want her putting me under and holding my life in her hands, she didn't even value her toddler's life enough to protect HER.

You really know nothing about their finances. A full time employee for 40 hours a week making minimum wage still comes out to almost $3000 a month out of pocket. Even college students won’t watch 3 little kids for minimum wage so it would likely be more. They have 3 kids, only the mom is working, she surely has student loans, etc. She’s early in her career and probably not making the megabucks yet and even if she is she’s paying down several hundred thousand in loans while supporting a family of 5!!

Then maybe she could have skipped a luxury SUV and all the matching outfits on socials to hire responsible child care. Then a 2 year old would have been more likely to LIVE TO GROW UP. Mom and dad both indulged in what mattered most to them, and child safety was not it. Both need to be jailed. Dad was a fail at SAHP, he could have gotten a JOB, but no gaming all day there.

[Anonymous]

I have intense anxiety about the 5 seconds it takes me to walk around the car to the driver’s side after I load my kid in. Like what happens if I suddenly pass out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see how the mom is to blame here. She told him not to leave the kids in the car. Even if she divorced the guy, he’d get the kids 50% of the time (along with child support and probably alimony). She could’ve demanded FT daycare or nanny for the kids but if the dad disagrees….then what? Also she may not exactly work standard hours- he’d end up alone with the kids some of the time no matter what she did. I can’t think of any scenario where he wouldn’t have the kids alone if he wanted to. There isn’t much legal protection for kids in these types of situations, unfortunately.

She argued for him to be released on bail too. I wouldn't be surprised if she knocked herself up while he's out on bail. I really do think there is something wrong with her as much as him.

Agree. Both failed to protect a 2 year old from harm and from KNOWN risks.

[Anonymous]

Dad has a Chris Watts vibe to me, not into the family life, maybe unemployable due to his issues and hiding it as "SAHD" gamer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am so sick of hearing about parents leaving their kids in hot cars!! 😡

Nothing infuriates me more than people who “claim” they forgot their child was in the car, go partying, etc.

Only an idiot would subject a young child to what has to be a long + suffocating demise……

So tragic.

This guy lied to LE repeatedly, first trying to claim he went to take a "nap." Guess that sounded better than Play Station. Wonder when he last held a job?

My heart goes out to the other kids.

[Anonymous]

That so many on a parenting board are reacting to defend the parents of a 2 year old who died a horrible, prolonged death due to negligence is a bit startling.

If you are addicted to Play Station, get it out of the house or hire a sitter.

All this, nothing the mom could have done, is BS. Since she knew her admonishments had not stopped him leaving the kids in the car alone repeatedly, it was time to take action. Failure to protect is failing a LEGAL duty as well as a moral one.

Mom could even have set up a camera, or accessed one that was already there, to head count the kids quickly and periodically when not in the OR. People view their pets when not home, this was 3 kids she knew he was risking the lives of. She did NOTHING.

And then she became the biggest defender of her child's murderer. Think how the other kids likely feel? They probably feel more responsible than the adults. Sick family, sick culture. Thank goodness AZ are not as "conflicted" as DCUM posters.

[Anonymous]

Wonder if Nancy Grace will cover this? Seem in her wheelhouse.

[Anonymous]

Bet mom who did not hire childcare will splash out a fortune on the legal fees of her baby's murderer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely horrifying. What a piece of crap.

I am not ready to induct the mom based on thqt one text that was clearly sent after they'd found her daughter dead. We have no idea what her knowledge was of his behavior. It must be so hard to be a competent person married to a total idiot with regards to parenting because the instinct is to believe there is a floor to their incompetence as there would be for you.

Maybe she is to blame, I don't know. But hard to say without knowing more. I cannot imagine the pain of coming home to discover your baby is dead due to your spouse's selfish stupidity.

I think I largely agree with this. We don’t know what the status of their marriage was. Maybe she considered divorcing her man baby husband but was concerned about the kids being solely with him for half the time because she knew he was neglectful. It seemed he had done stuff like this before and this time he pushed it way too far.

Her knowledge is expressed in texts that are now part of the court record.

The mother knew he did this and the other kids said it happened often.

The mother is a doctor with the means to hire responsible, competent child care, it was her DUTY as a parent to protect her kids. Dad wasn't into caregiving, he was an unemployed gamer. And she knew. She is the one who argued for him to be released. The KIDS were the ones who told the truth to LE, Dad lied repeatedly and then plead not guilty. Who would defend her if she kept on a paid child minder who was repeatedly putting the children's lives at risk? The child deserved a safe home and the mother was also reckless.

Are you reading a source other than the Daily Mail article linked in the OP? That article only mentions 2 texts, one where she she says "I've told you not to do this" and another saying "you killed her" (paraphrasing, I'm in my phone).

The mom might have been reckless, I don't know, but I don't get that from those two tweets. Her saying "I've told you not to do this" may reference times he's done it for 5-10 minutes in less hot weather, and she may have felt based on those conversations he'd never leave a two year old asleep in 109 degree weather for three hours. I would also assume this and I also have a DH who sometimes makes errors in judgment that lead to me explaining stuff I had previously thought was obvious.

Unless more facts come out, this is on this a$$hat dad for being a neglectful, selfish, jerk

Google is a thing. Your working to absolve the mom is silly.

Arizona dad ‘distracted’ by PlayStation while daughter, 2, died in hot car — as mom’s texts reveal alarming pattern: ‘How many times have I told you?’ The children told LE that all of them were left in the car often by loser dad. Mom knew but did not put another arrangement in place despite bieng a doctor and having funds. She failed the child too, as would be the case with any reckless caretaker.

https://nypost.com/2024/07/16/us-news/christopher-scholtes-distracted-by-playstation-while-daughter-2-died-in-hot-car/

The mother's text re: the pattern and her knowledge of it is part of the court record.

So you used Google to find one article from the NY Post (like the Mail, a publication that often distorts reporting to be as sensational as possible for clicks) and that says pretty much the same thing but adds the kids said this had happened before. Which the mom's text also confirms-- DAD had left the kids in the car before and mom had expressly told him not to.

I am an attorney. Let me explain a few things to you:

Parents have equal duties toward their kids, legally. If mom never left her kids in the car and explicitly told her husband not to do it, she is not responsible for him continuing to do it.

In fact, she's somewhat limited in what she can do to stop it, short of quitting her job so that she can personally supervise her husband. He has equal parental rights. Sure, she can hire a nanny but he can send the nanny home or insist on driving the kids-- they are his kids.

The only way to prevent a parent who is dead set on endangering their kids from doing it is to divorce them and try to get their parental rights reduced or removed. This is not a small feat.

All we know about this case is that the dad did this suer dangerous thing on multiple occasions, the mom told him not to, and he did it again and their kid died. AND mom's response to this was not "oh well could happen to anyone" but "you killed our child."

How you spin this around to be her fault is mystery to me. I guess she picked a bad husband. But you cannot control the actions of another adult and it's incredible hard to remove a parent's right to their kids.

[Anonymous]

It's likely the mom will also be charged.

The texts are part of the court record, you could easily find sources.

Hope you don't work in child protection, claim to be an attorney. She could have hired childcare, yet, bought a luxury SUV instead.

Here is one place she could have economized.

2023 Acura MDX
Price Range: $49,550 - $73,200

[Anonymous]

Are you genuinely claiming that media quoting COURT DOCUMENTS re: a dead toddler are "sensational?"

[Anonymous]

The mother texted Christopher Scholtes:

“I told you to stop leaving them in the car. How many times have I told you?”

Scholtes responded: “Babe, I’m sorry!”

The mother texted: “We’ve lost her. She was perfect.”

Scholtes: “Babe, our family. How could I do this? I killed our baby. This can’t be real.”

A Second Degree Murder charge is applied if someone dies after a suspect has taken actions indifferent or reckless to human life.

If found guilty of Second Degree Murder, Christopher Scholtes could face between 25 years in prison and life in prison.

[Anonymous]

Isn't "Babe, I'm sorry!" for things like forgetting to pick up milk or not having gotten around to mowing the lawn?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t see how the mom is to blame here. She told him not to leave the kids in the car. Even if she divorced the guy, he’d get the kids 50% of the time (along with child support and probably alimony). She could’ve demanded FT daycare or nanny for the kids but if the dad disagrees….then what? Also she may not exactly work standard hours- he’d end up alone with the kids some of the time no matter what she did. I can’t think of any scenario where he wouldn’t have the kids alone if he wanted to. There isn’t much legal protection for kids in these types of situations, unfortunately.

She argued for him to be released on bail too. I wouldn't be surprised if she knocked herself up while he's out on bail. I really do think there is something wrong with her as much as him.

I kept put my finger on it but something about her is odd. The way she begged for his release and the text messages. It give me an odd vibe. And the dad deserves to sit in jail. He’s irresponsible idiot and murder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Isn't "Babe, I'm sorry!" for things like forgetting to pick up milk or not having gotten around to mowing the lawn?

I legitimately cannot FATHOM having this conversation with my spouse over text. Something about this so emotionally empty/disconnected to me. How do you have a text convo with your spouse handling that one of them negligently killed your child?? It is so weird.