A father was due in court. Instead, he was found dead in his own garage.

Christopher Scholtes died early on November 5 in Phoenix. Investigators say carbon monoxide poisoning killed him. He was 38.

He was supposed to report to prison the next day. That sentence would have run 20 to 30 years. It followed his guilty plea to second-degree murder in his daughter Parker’s death.

The case still turns your stomach. In July 2024, Parker was 2. She died after being left in a hot car for hours.

Police said Scholtes claimed the engine and air conditioning were on. Then the vehicle shut off after about 20 minutes. After that, the heat did the rest.

When “moving on” looks like running away

The new report adds grim specifics. He was found unresponsive inside a running car. A note was reportedly inside the house. A living will sat on the car roof.

Even more unsettling, a ladder and rope were arranged nearby. It looked like a backup plan.

The medical examiner also found drugs in his system. The report listed long-term struggles, too, including depression and anxiety. Meanwhile, the pressure of prison loomed.

So what’s left behind? A mother, two surviving children, and a community trying to hold two truths at once.

One man escaped accountability. Yet a little girl never got the chance.