'He's Dead': Chilling 911 Call Reveals Moment Arizona Dad Was Found After Taking His Own Life Just Hours Before He Was Set to Surrender to Prison
Christopher Scholtes killed himself just hours before he was set to report to prison for the death of his daughter, Parker.
Aug. 25 2026, Published 1:40 p.m. ET
Chilling new 911 audio reveals the moment a family nanny discovered the dead body of an Arizona dad who left his napping toddler in the back seat of his hot car while he went inside to play video games, Breaking Celebrity News can report.
Christopher Scholtes took his own life just hours before he was expected to report to prison for the little girl's death.
'I Think He's Dead'
Scholtes left the two-year-old locked outside in his hot car.
As Radar first reported, Scholtes, 38, had agreed to a plea deal after he left his two-year-old daughter, Parker, trapped in his hot car while he drank beer, played video games and searched adult websites.
However, just hours before he was scheduled to turn himself in to serve his time, the family's nanny found him inside his own car, dead in an eerily similar fashion.
"I found the dad in his car... I think he's dead," the nanny screamed to 911 dispatchers in audio first obtained by the Daily Mail. "There's no pulse... he's dead."
The Maricopa County medical examiner concluded Scholtes died of carbon monoxide suffocation in the family's garage. Family members said the car Scholtes was in when he died was not the same vehicle in which Parker died.
The Frantic Nanny Called 911 for Help
Scholtes reportedly took his own life by filling his garage with fumes from his car.
After discovering Scholtes dead, the traumatized nanny, who was not identified, told the 911 operator that the garage was quickly filling with poisonous fumes, and his wife, Erika, was evacuating the home with their two other daughters.
When the operator asked why the nanny though he was dead, the woman fired out through tears, "He's in our home garage. It's suicide. It's suicide. He's not breathing, and I can't find a pulse."
The helper identified the smell immediately and told the 911 operator she rushed to help.
"I opened the garage door because the carbon monoxide is so bad, like, it was coming into the house," she explained, sharing that she heard Scholtes pulling into the garage late at night, but never saw him enter the home.
"I just thought he was in the garage. I didn't think anything of it, but I got up to get the girls ready for school and..." she said, before breaking down in tears.
Christopher Scholtes' Daughter Was Trapped in a Sweltering Car
He had reached a plea deal with prosecutors and was due to report to prison.
According to reports, Scholtes cracked open a few beers he shoplifted earlier in the day during a heat wave in July 2024. He then went home, played some video games and searched for adult content on his PlayStation – all while the toddler was still in the car.
Scholtes said he left the car running and the air conditioning on, but after an extended period of time, the vehicle shut off – something he apparently knew would happen.
Medical examiners said temperatures in the 2003 Acura climbed as high as 109 degrees over the three hours Parker was trapped inside.
Christopher Scholtes Dialed 911 After Discovering His Daughter in His Car
Scholtes and his wife placed a frantic call to 911 when they realized Parker wasn't breathing.
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Parker was trapped in her car seat until her mom, Erika, arrived home from her work at Banner University Medical Center in Tucson hours later.
When she discovered the lifeless child, the anesthesiologist immediately started CPR, while Scholtes dialed 911.
The frantic father cried out to the 911 operator: "My baby was in the car. She’s non-responsive." He also repeatedly yelled out, "Oh my god, oh my god," and "Please, please, please" as Erika worked to revive the child.
Later, the confused mother wondered how Scholtes could have left Parker in the car. "I don’t understand, how long has it been?" she asked him.
Scholtes responded: " A half-hour."
In reality, the child had been trapped in the heated car for more than three hours.
