Mom sent heartbreaking text to husband after 2-year-old daughter dies in car as temperatures hit 109 degrees
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: Pima County Sheriff's Office / Instagram
The devastating text message sent from a mom to her husband upon discovering their lifeless toddler in a hot car has been revealed.
Earlier this month, two-year-old Parker Scholtes had been left to sleep in the car by her father Christopher Scholtes after they returned to their Arizona home from shopping.
Temperatures in the vehicle went on to hit 109 degrees and by the time Parker's mother, Erika Scholtes - a doctor at Banner University Medical Center -came home around 4pm, the little girl was unconscious from the affects of being left in the hot car for too long.
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The AC had been on for the toddler, but the car automatically shuts it off after 30 minutes.
Parker was rushed to hospital but despite medical staff's best efforts, she was later pronounced dead.
Christopher has since been charged with second-degree murder and child abuse.
While he initially claimed that his young daughter had only been in left in the car for 30 minutes, shocking new evidence suggests that Parker had been left in the vehicle for as long as three hours.
It's also alleged that Christopher had been 'distracted by his PlayStation', which lead to him forgetting that the two-year-old was in the car.
Police also say that surveillance footage shows that the father-of-three failed to check on Parker over this period of time.
Further details in the criminal complaint show text exchanges between Erika and Christopher on the harrowing day Parker died.
As per the Mail Online, Erika is said to have text her husband while Parker was on her way to the hospital: "I told you to stop leaving them in the car, how many times have I told you."
After Parker was confirmed to have died, she sent another text to him that read: "We've lost her, she was perfect."
Christopher replied: "Babe I'm sorry! How could I do this. I killed our baby, this can't be real."
Backing Erika's first text, apparently the couple's other two daughters have told police that it wasn't uncommon for their dad to leave them in the car.
Erika has since labelled Parker's death as a 'big mistake' as she appealed for Christopher to be allowed to stay at home with his family ahead of his hearing next month.
"This was a big mistake and I think that it doesn’t represent him," Erika told a judge. "I just want the girls to see their father - that I don’t have to tell them tonight that they’re going to have to endure another loss."
The judge went on to grant her request. Christopher's preliminary hearing has been set for August 1.