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TUCSON, Ariz. (Court TV/Scripps News Tuscon) — An Arizona father charged in the hot car death of his two-year-old daughter is seeking a new plea deal.
Christopher Scholtes is charged with first-degree murder for the July 2024 death of his young daughter. Investigators say she spent almost three and a half hours strapped in a car seat in temperatures well over a hundred degrees; while her father sat in the living room drinking, playing video games and watching pornography.
Christopher Scholtes appears in court Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. (Court TV)
In March, Scholtes rejected a chance to plead guilty to second-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 10 to 25 years.
On Friday, Scholtes appeared in court with his attorney, Marc Adair, who said they’d like to try for a new plea deal. Adair said he’s developing new evidence that would argue for lighter punishment.
“We have been working diligently to try to get mitigation evidence put together specifically that pertains to these kinds of cases, specifically deaths for children left in hot cars. We’ve been doing research across the entire country in that regard.”
The judge set a Sept. 19 hearing date to address the matter over the objections from the prosecutor, who said the “plea is not changing.”
Scholtes is currently scheduled to stand trial in October, however his defense said they will be filing a motion to continue.
Scripps News Tucson, an E.W. Scripps Company, contributed to this report.
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