Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - GIRL, 2, DIES IN 109F CAR FOR HOURS, DAD ON PLAYSTATION

Episode Date: July 22, 2024

Arriving home from running errands, Christopher Scholtes notices his two-year-old daughter, Parker, is asleep in her car seat. Rather than disturbing her by waking her up to go inside the house, the Arizona father of three leave the toddler in the vehicle with the air conditioner running. Scholtes knows from previous experience with his Acura MDX the air conditioner and vehicle will run for about 30 minutes before shutting off automatically. Wife, Dr. Erika Scholtes, arrives home just aft 4PM. She sees her 5- and 9-year-old daughters and asks husband, Chris, "where is Parker"? Christopher Scholtes first begins looking in the rooms of the house, then darts outside, where he realizes he left Parker in the Accura. The vehicle is off, the air conditioner is not running, the outside temperature is over 109 degrees and Parker Scholtes is taken out of the car, unresponsive, strapped in her child restraint system. When first responders arrive at the scene, the outside temperature is over 109 degrees. The toddler is transported to the Banner University Medical Center, the same hospital her mother works as an anesthesiologist.  Unable to resuscitate the 2-year-old, Parker Scholtes is pronounced dead at 4:58 p.m. Investigators locate surveillance footage from a neighbor and watch as Chris Scholtes arrives home at 12:53 PM, not the 2:30 PM time Scholtes told them earlier.  Scholtes is seen on video walking into the house alone and is not seen on video coming back out of the house again until after his wife, Dr. Erika Scholtes, arrives home. Investigators conduct forensic interviews with the other children and find out that their father leaves all three of them in the car alone, regularly.  It is the children that tell investigators that during the time Parker was left in the car, their father was distracted "playing his game" and "putting his food away". Joining Nancy today:  Darryl Cohen – Former Assistant District Attorney (Fulton County, Georgia) Former Assistant State Attorney (Florida), and Defense Attorney: Cohen, Cooper, Estep, & Allen, LLC; Facebook: “Darryl B Cohen;” X: @DarrylBCohen Dr. Kendall Crowns – Chief Medical Examiner Tarrant County (Ft Worth) and Lecturer: University of Texas Austin and Texas Christian University Medical School Caryn L. Stark – Psychologist, Renowned TV and Radio Trauma Expert and Consultant; Instagram: carynpsych/FB: Caryn Stark Private Practice Amber Rollins - Director, Kids and Car Safety www.KidsAndCars.org IG: KidsAndCarSafety X: @KidsAndCars   Alexis Terezscuk - CrimeOnline Investigative reporter, Writer/Fact Checker @LeadStoriesCom, and Former Entertainment Reporter X: @swimmie2009   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A beautiful little girl, just two years old, dies in a 109 degree hot car where she is left for hours by daddy. And where was daddy? As this little girl clawed at herself in a stifling air inside the car. Oh, that's right. Daddy's on PlayStation. Repeat, daddy's on PlayStation.

He says he forgot his daughter was in the car. Good evening. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. I told you to stop leaving them in the car. Shocking texts after a toddler dies in a car while dad plays video games. Those texts are very disturbing that are now being revealed.

But I want you to listen to this. There's a baby on the ground. What's the address? I'm calling 911. We're at the sinkhole in Cumberland, near Cumberland. It looks like the baby is having a seizure. Okay, what was that location, ma'am? We're at the Cinco, the Acresville Square.

Acresville Square? You said the Cinco gas station? No, the Cinco, the Manio, the intersection of Acresville and Fort Harrison. Is the Tokyo there yet? Yes, ma'am. Okay, so left in the car. Does anyone recognize the name Baby Cooper or Justin Ross Harris? I do. That call was placed years ago, yet here we are again today.

What this two-year-old little girl lived through before she finally succumbed is unspeakable. Did we learn nothing from baby Cooper? Listen, you stated you were four or five feet away from baby Cooper. What did you observe about him? He looked clean. I saw no bruises. I saw no abrasions. His hair wasn't pulled back. It wasn't wet. Was he laying on his back or his stomach? He was laying on his back.

Okay, because the abrasions mostly are on the back of the head where we believe he was banging up against his car seat trying to get out. So was he pale? No, he looked normal. He just was lifeless. He looked like a little bitty baby doll getting taken out of the car. Nothing was wrong on the front anyway. But upon examination at the medical examiner's office, the back of his head showed where he had banged back trying to get out of the car seat where he was strapped in. There were claw marks where he tried to claw, trying to get his clothes off or clawing at the seat belt.

The air getting stifling hot. How hot? I want you to hear what a vet says when this vet does an experiment about people leaving their dog in a hot car. Listen. So, let's start a timer and let's see exactly how hot it gets in here. I'm at five minutes in. It is unbelievably hot in here. We're nearing 100 degrees already and I can tell you that it is stifling in here. Okay, I'm at 15 minutes now and it's about 110 in my car. The

temperature right now is about 115. What I really wanted to set out to do is see how it felt to be left in a parked car. You are hearing Dr. Ernie Ward speaking. He actually set a timer. Let's know what else he has to say. I mean, this kills, and it's a lousy way to die and slowly but surely having the energy and the life just burnt out of them by this heat. And you can make all the excuses you want. You can say it'll just be for a second. I'm going to leave the windows cracked. It's a breezy day. It's not that hot. But those excuses are meaningless unless you have sat in that car during that same time.

Again, that's Dr. Ernie Ward speaking, and he was addressing people that leave their pets in a hot car. Joining me in all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now, but we're not talking about a dog left in a car or a pet left in a car. We're not talking about baby Cooper that died in a hot car. We are now talking about a beautiful little girl, just two years old, Parker Schultz. Parker died outside their family home in Arizona as dad left her out there claiming he let her sleep in the car. Listen to this. As Christopher Schultz calls 911, Dr. Erica Schultz performs CPR on little Parker.

When first responders arrive on the scene, the outside temperature is over 109 degrees. The toddler is transported to the Banner University Medical Center, the same hospital her mother works as an anesthesiologist. Unable to resuscitate the two-year-old, Parker Schultz is pronounced dead at 4.58 p.m. Straight out to Alexis Tereska, CrimeOnline.com investigative reporter. Let's just start at the beginning. What happened leading up to the baby's death? So the baby's father, Christopher Schultz, has her in the car. He goes out. He comes home. She is apparently sleeping in the car in her little car seat in the back. So he gets out of his car. He leaves it running and he goes inside the house. Oh, he didn't. Well, his story is I didn't want to wake her up because no one ever wants to wake up their sleeping child. So

he leaves her in the car, goes inside his house. His wife, who was a doctor, comes home from work four o'clock in the afternoon. She pulls into the driveway. She goes inside the house. All of a sudden she says, where's Parker? And the dad apparently goes running, checks every single room in the house says, oh, I don't know where he is. And then runs back outside says, oh no no I must have left her in the car the mom because she's a doctor starts performing CPR they call 9-1-1 and the police and the ambulance arrive and they take this little girl they're they're desperate to save her they take her to the hospital and that is where she was pronounced dead in Arizona in July the is as high as 108 degrees outside.

To a special guest joining us, in addition to Alexis Tereshchuk with Crime Online, Amber Rollins is joining us, Director of Kids and Car Safety at kidsandcars.org. Amber Rollins, thank you for being with us. I've covered and investigated so many hot car deaths, and it's almost always a child. And there's no reason for you to know this, Amber, but I observed when I prosecuted and investigated crimes in inner city Atlanta, but when the crime victim is an infant or a child, very often, very often, the case is pled down to involuntary or voluntary manslaughter. If it were an adult or a teen that had a voice of their own, things are much different.

But when it's a child, they're often treated like a pet, that it's not the same as an adult. The suffering this little girl went through was agonizing. Amber, could you explain what happens inside of a car when it's 108 degrees outside of the car? Yeah, so a vehicle is essentially a greenhouse. So it allows that solar energy to come in through the windows and traps that heat inside. So the inside of the vehicle heats up very quickly. It could be, you know, gently temperatures for a child within minutes, especially when it's over 100 degrees outside. But it doesn't have to be that hot, actually. We've documented cases, even one this year, where it was in the 60s outside and a child died inside the vehicle.

So if it's 108 degrees, which is about as hot as it has gotten in Arizona in July, that's the hottest. What would the temp be inside the car if it's 108 degrees outside the car? It would be very hot. It's really hard to say because there are so many different factors that go into play. When this car was left, the air conditioning was on. We don't know exactly how long it was running. If the windows are tinted, the color of the vehicle, what color of, is it asphalt or cement makes a difference? Is there any shade covering the car? All of these things play a role, but in those kind of temperatures, literally minutes would be deadly for a child.

To Alexis Tereshchuk joining us, we have been researching it and speaking to experts on it, experts like Amber Rollins from kidsandcars.org. And we have learned that if it's around 108, which is the hottest it's gotten in Arizona in July, temps inside a car, and we also know, correct me if I'm wrong, Alexis, because you also have been investigating the case. She was sitting in direct sunlight. She was not in a garage or a carport. The car turned off, which is a whole nother issue about when a car turns off. When you leave it on and you leave it, even if you leave the electronic key fob in the car, the car will cut off.

It will not keep going. This car, I understand, cuts off after about 30 minutes, generally speaking. But wasn't she in direct sunlight? Because what we have learned, Alexis, is that at 108 degrees outside, a car can get between 130 and 172 degrees. It's literally like being in an oven. I mean, haven't you seen pictures of people when it's so hot, they fry an egg on their car? That's what it's like to be inside the car. So the car in the driveway was actually facing west. So as the sun was, because so originally, actually, Christopher, the father said he came home at two thirty and the mom came home at four. So at two thirty in the afternoon, the car facing west. The sun is no longer directly ahead of you.

It is coming down and beaming straight into the car. And she was in the back seat, so just directly on her. There was no shade. It was not even a garage. It was in the direct sunlight. Interesting. He says he got home around 2.30. Listen to this.

Arriving home from running errands, Christopher Schultz notices his two-year-old daughter, Parker, is asleep in her car seat. Rather than disturbing her by waking her up to go inside the house, the Pima County, Arizona father of three decides to leave the toddler in the vehicle with the air conditioner running. Schultz knows from previous experience with his Acura MDX, the air conditioner and vehicle will run for about 30 minutes before shutting off automatically. Now, that's something that can be proven at trial. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Joining me again, an all-star panel, but now out to high-profile lawyer. Joining us out of the Atlanta jurisdiction, Daryl Cohen, former felony prosecutor, now defense attorney.

Daryl Cohen, we saw in the Alex Murdoch double murder trial, Murdoch went on trial for the shooting murders of his wife, Maggie, and son, Paul. His navigation system in his car played a huge role. His nav system, Daryl Cohen, navigation system, and I think he was driving a Suburban, if I recall correctly, showed everything, Daryl. It was a defense attorney's worst nightmare. It showed how he opened the door of his car, his SUV, around the same exact time they were shot. Getting in, it showed him, it could show when he turned the car on, when he turned the air conditioning on, when he put it in drive, when he slowed down, let the window down. All this is on the nav system. You know, you put on your blinker, let your window down, it shows up on your nav system.

It's that sensitive. When he slowed down and, oh, what a coinkydink. Maggie's phone was found right outside where he slowed down and let his window down, let the window up and sped off. It showed how long he visited his mother and then came back to the crime scene to find the dead bodies. It showed all of that. So everything that this father says in this case about leaving his daughter, Parker, in the car

can be destroyed or verified based on the NAV system. So, Nancy, in the Murdoch case, I changed his name to Lydol because that's what he was, a complete compelling liar. You're not really helping the defense right now. I am trying to help with the truth. There is no defense to the NAV system, but there is a defense, perhaps as him not realizing how long he left his child there, him not realizing how long the car would run until it automatically stopped due to the situation. How do you attack scientific evidence like a nav system?

There's got to be a way. There is a way. The way I attack scientific evidence is I say it is what it is. But here is an explanation. Here's an explanation why the scientific evidence doesn't show everything. The scientific evidence doesn't show his intent. The scientific evidence doesn't show how long he was actually out of the car. The scientific evidence doesn't show whether or not he may or may not have come to check on her. Scientific evidence is good, but also there's real evidence and there's logic. And scientific evidence is normally real, but it can be explained and mitigated from time to time. Murder charges levied against an Arizona dad

who leaves his two-year-old daughter to die inside the family car in 109 degree heat. 109 degree heat? I thought the highest in Arizona was 108. It's even hotter than I thought. Okay, we're trying to make sense of what we are learning right now, but this is what happens when mommy comes home. Hold on. Speaking of mommy, Alexis Tereschuk, did the dad work? I did not know if the dad worked. I believe that he,

she is a doctor and I believe that he took care of their children because they have three children. I was wondering Alexis Tereschuk, if this is a Sam Haskell IV situation where you remember the son of the famous Hollywood agent that his steak being too well done at some fancy restaurant there in L.A. Right. His wife, who he killed, he's about to go on trial for that. Her torso was found in a dumpster. Not similar in that manner, but she was the one working and supporting the entire family while he went and had steak, rare steaks at lunchtime. But in his case, he didn't even take care of the children. Her parents had moved in to take care of the children.

It seems as if in this case, the dad is taking care of the children. Of course, Parker is now dead on his watch. But this is what happens when mommy gets home. Arriving home a few minutes after 4 p.m., Dr. Erica Schultz sees her five and nine-year-old daughters and asks husband Chris, where is their two-year-old daughter Parker? Christopher Schultz first begins looking in the rooms of the house, then darts outside where he realizes he left Parker in the Acura. The vehicle is off. The air conditioner is not running. The outside temperature is over 109 degrees, and Parker Schultz is taken out of the car unresponsive, strapped in her child restraint system.

So mommy gets home from a long day working at the hospital to question, where is my daughter? She sees her five and nine-year-old, but she can't find the baby. Well, this is what we learned happened. Arriving home from running errands, Christopher Schultz notices his two-year-old daughter Parker is asleep in her car seat. Rather than disturbing her by waking her up to go inside the house, the Pima County, Arizona father of three decides to leave the toddler in the vehicle with the air conditioner running. Schultz knows from previous experience with his Acura MDX, the air conditioner and vehicle will run for about 30 minutes before shutting off automatically.

Joining me now is a renowned medical examiner, the chief medical examiner in Tarrant County. That's Fort Worth, Texas. Never a lack of business there. Lecturer at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU, Dr. Kendall Crowns is joining us. Dr. Kendall Crowns, there are several ways to die, but dying in a hot car is not one I would wish on anyone.

What happens during a hot car death? All right. So what you die, you die from hyperthermia or heat stroke in babies, especially they don't adjust to heat as well as adults. So they add their bodies actually heat up about three to five times faster than an adult. So they're even more exquisitely sensitive to heat changes. So what happens is initially you begin sweating. Your blood vessels dilate or vasodilation as the blood is kind of pumped more to your skin surface to try and cool your body off. As you become hotter and hotter, you're sweating more, you're shunting more of your blood to your

skin surface so you have less blood circulating throughout your body. And then eventually, this results in your heart beating faster, you start becoming lightheaded, you start vomiting, becoming dizzy, and then eventually you stop sweating because you have no more fluid left, and then your body goes into organ failure, your heart and kidneys shut down, and you die. And this happens over the course of, you know, minutes to 30 minutes, especially in a child in that hot of an environment, they're not going to last very long. A toddler left in a car for over three hours dies as Arizona's summer temperatures soar to 109 degrees.

I learned a lot about this from a doctor that actually got in a hot car and suffered to keep people from leaving their pets in a car. Listen. I'm your pet and I'm now in the car. I've got all four windows cracked down about an inch. So let's start a timer and let's see exactly how hot it gets in here. It's 106 in here at 10 minutes in and I'm beginning to wonder if this was a very bad idea indeed. I'm at 15 minutes now and it's about 110 in my car. 25 minutes. It's now, oh gosh, what is it? 113 degrees. 30 minutes in a parked car with the windows cracked. The temperature right now is about 115, 116, really hot. The only thought that's going through my head right now is I just, I want out of the car. You know, it's just everything in my body is saying, get out, get out, get out.

I can just feel rivulets of sweat just careening down my body. Dr. Kendall Crowns is joining us. We're now medical examiner out of Fort Worth, chief medical examiner. Dr. Kendall Crowns, again, thank you for being with us. I'm trying to understand. I heard your explanation earlier of what happens when a person dies of a hot car death. I understand the organs start shutting down a little over when the body gets to a little over 100 degrees. Death occurs, of course, by 107, 107 degrees. But what is heat stroke? Does the person, does the baby die of heat stroke?

Whatever that is, because it's got the word stroke in it. Why is it heat stroke? Does it, does your body respond to the heat like it's having a stroke? And I'm trying to reconcile that, Dr Kendall Krause with what I know about, I hate to say his name because it just, the baby we spoke of earlier, whose back of his head was all scratched up and he had been scratching at his neck. How does that fit in with your explanation? So as you become more and more hot, you can become confused. People can start seizing which would cause them to maybe hit their head back. Also trying

to get out of the environment as well. You'll be clawing at whatever's restricting you. Even a baby is going to try and get out of there if they can. So, they'll be pulling at the seatbelt, etc., or pounding their head on something. So, it can be a seizure. It could be them trying to get out of the restraints. Any of those could result in the injuries that you're describing. As far as the heat stroke question, it's basically as your blood is being shunted to your skin surface to try and cool you off, it's decreasing the amount of blood you have in the rest of your body. So it's not unlike a stroke or even can cause a heart attack because you don't get enough oxygenated blood to your brain and your

heart, which can cause them to shut down. But it's really more from the volume shift of the blood to the skin surface instead of it going to the organs that results in heart failure and kidney failure. How long would it take to die in a hot car, Dr. Kendall Crowns? For an adult, it could be a lot longer than for a kid. Kids are, get hotter about three to five times faster than an adult. So I would say in that hot environment, under an hour for an infant, probably under 30 minutes. You know, Dr. Kendall Crowns, the other week I was with my son, we went to a basketball game where he was playing and I was working. So he went ahead in to warm up and I sat in his truck with cargo, with it going, the truck was going and continued to work. And I noticed, it seemed like after about 20 minutes that the car shut off, even though I had the key fob,

the truck shut off, even though I had the key fob. the truck shut off, even though I had the key fob. And I thought, well, it's not so hot in here. So I left it off and I kept working. After about 10 minutes with the car, with the truck off, it felt like I couldn't breathe. I reached over and turned it back on and turned on the air condition back on. But what is that sensation? I mean, I know that there was air in the cab of the truck, but it felt like there wasn't any air. It was stifling. Right. It's again, as your body's reacting to the heat, your blood vessels are beginning to dilate. So the blood's coming to your skin surface to try and cool you off. And that's shift in blood volumes, making you consciously feel that there's something changed internally.

It can make you feel like you're not being able to breathe or you'll start getting a headache or getting dizzy. So any of that reaction you're having is your body's compensating for that heat. And that's making you feel uncomfortable. So as an adult, you know, you'll turn the car back on. You'll get out of the car, go somewhere cooler. But a kid or a baby who's trapped in their restraining device of a car seat can't move. So they're feeling all that, too. But they can't get out of that environment.

No one's coming to help them. So this is what we know of what the dad in Parker's case said to investigators. Listen. Chris Schultz tells investigators he got home around 2.30 p.m. and since his daughter was asleep in the car, he decides to let the car run with the air conditioner on rather than wake her up and take her inside. Schultz says he got distracted putting away groceries and playing video games. Schultz tells police he knows his Acura MDX will run for around 30 minutes with the air conditioner operating before automatically shutting off. Joining me, high-profile defense attorney out of the Atlanta jurisdiction, Daryl Cohen.

So, why is he lying about the time he got home? How do you explain that at trial, Daryl Cohen? You explain it at trial, Nancy, by saying I'm not, he wasn't lying. I am not lying. My client wasn't lying. He believed that he got home at the time that he told everyone he did. The fact that the scientific evidence disagrees makes him not telling the truth, but it doesn't make him a liar. It doesn't also explain why he didn't go out and check on his child. But on the other hand, he knew the car was running. He knew the air conditioning would be on for at least 30 minutes. And in his mind, time just went by very quickly. I'm not a

video game player, but as a game player, time just goes by more quickly than you can believe. Okay, so the baby's in the car. He's got two other little children, minors, they're all under 10, in the home. And he leaves the baby out there and you're saying your defense would be time slips away. Is that what you just said? Absolutely, Nancy. I was busy. I was taking the groceries. I being the defendant, the defendant was picking up the groceries.

I stopped. I went and played a video game or two, and I didn't realize how much time had gone by because I knew I did the right thing. I let her sleep, and I kept the car running. Oh, my gosh, I love my daughter. I would never have let something happen to her. It's just an innocent mistake turned bad. He's an amazing father.

A mommy defends dad in court after he leaves their two-year-old daughter to die in a hot car. An amazing dad. Okay, I'm concerned. I get that the mom was begging the court for dad to be released, saying he's an amazing dad. But wait, listen to this. Chris and Erica Schultz have two older daughters, ages nine and five, and investigators conduct forensic interviews with them and find out that their father, Chris Schultz, leaves all three of them in the car alone regularly. It is the children that tell investigators that during the time Parker was left in the car, their father was distracted, quote, playing his game and putting his food away. Playing his game?

What? You know what? Let me go to Karen Stark on this. First, Alexis Dreschak, is that correct? He was playing PlayStation while the baby's out dying in the car? Yes. And the thing was, he didn't say to the police, oh, gosh, you know what? I really did come home at 1230.

The police investigated. They went door to door around this neighborhood and they asked for video from people, ring cameras or home security. And that's when they saw him come in at one o'clock, the full hour and a half, 90 minutes before he said he came home. So they had, they had to go to the neighbors to find that out. He didn't offer anything. Then the children are the ones that said, well, yeah, daddy leaves us alone all the time. And mommy sent him a text. The two of them were texting. It's part of the police court records. And she's, after it happened, she said, what is going on? I told you to stop leaving them in the car. How many times have I told you this? This is obviously a pattern with him. She knew that

this was something that he did and she's asked him to stop and he just couldn't be bothered. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Karen Stark joining me. We're now psychologist, TV, radio, trauma expert at karenstark.com. Karen, did you say earlier forgotten baby syndrome? Yes, I did. Oh, no. Are you what? Is this some kind of a defense that he had a syndrome where he has some medical condition where he forgets the baby?

No, no, no, no. You just did. Do you know what you just did? Do you know what you just did? You opened Pandora's box. Are you familiar with Roman and or Greek mythology where the Pandora's box is opened and all the evils of the universe come out and they haunt and taunt and destroy mankind from then on you've just probably handed over a defense straight to defense attorneys all over the country forgotten baby syndrome oh that's what happened don't blame him it was forgotten baby syndrome it's not an excuse nancy it's something that happens but it doesn't mean that it's acceptable, especially in this case.

It's not acceptable because he had been warned. It's not like it never happened before. He was told, don't leave them in the car. What is it? What's forgotten baby syndrome? It's a syndrome that happens to parents when they happen to be used to doing a certain routine. They always drop the baby off. They always go to work and something changes in the routine and they keep going on automatic pilot straight to what they normally do. And they actually forget the baby. And it's not excusable, but it does happen. And they love their child. And the

brain keeps going into what they're used to doing. It doesn't apply in this case, because this man was not going to work. He was not dropping off his child and forgetting that he didn't drop off the child. In this case, he was home with three children. He was putting away groceries and playing games. So there was no reason for him to forget that his child was in the car. He just got absorbed in the fun that he was having playing the game. And I'm just trying to figure out, is there some type of an addiction to playing games or is it some type of a release where you've been working all day? Because I find myself listening to a book on tape or researching for crime stories, just all sorts of things. And while I'm doing that, I'm not thinking about other matters, but I don't do it, research, work, while I'm taking care of minor children.

So is that some kind of a mind release? Playing the games is, but it doesn't make sense to be doing that when you are responsible for children. When you're responsible for children, that is the first thing that should be in your mind. That was his job. His job was to take care of these three children. And he isn't, I hate to say, but this is the truth. He's an unfit parent. It's abuse when you're not paying attention to the three children you have. Well, and there's more to it than that. There's more to it than just forgetting.

Amber Rollins is joining us, special guest. She is the director of Kids and Cars Safety at kidsandcars.org. Amber, you were telling us about an app that you put on your phone that you hook up to your car. I write about something similar in my book, Don't Be a Victim, where there are sensors now that when you get out of your car, if something's sitting on a backseat, it makes an alarm that should remind you like the ding, ding, ding, when you don't put on your seatbelt, ding, ding, ding, you're leaving a child in the back seat. But tell me about that app you're describing. So one thing that hasn't been reported about this case in any of the news articles,

except for one that I've read, is that the father knew that it had this shut off, but he got a notification on his phone through the app that the car was shutting off. And he reported that on that day, he did not get that reminder. And I just want to challenge this mindset that this father wasn't fit to be a parent. We don't have all the facts yet. They haven't released all of the facts in this case. So we're working with what has been released right now. But this isn't unlike other cases that we've documented. His and Car Safety has been tracking this issue for 30 years. I have read in gruesome detail each and every single one of those cases. And there are other cases very similar to this where a well-intentioned parent came home,

left a sleeping child in the car, went inside, unloaded groceries, got into a routine, much like these parents who were in a routine on autopilot mode driving from home to work. I'm not defending this father, but I'm also not

condemning him because we just don't know what his intentions were. I'm just asking if you can allow him to come home to us so we can all start the grieving process so that he can bury our daughter with us this upcoming week and that we can go through this process together as a family. This was a big mistake. And I think that this doesn't represent him. And I just want that the girls to see their father so that I don't have to tell them tonight that they're going to endure another loss. You're hearing Dr. Erica Schultz. That's Christopher Schultz's wife, the mother of baby Parker. That was from our friends at KVOATV. Dr. Schultz in court begging the court to allow her husband to come home. Oh, the family.

So distraught. And I agree partially with what Amber Rollins was saying, the director at kidsandcars.org, that you can have a very well-intentioned parent that leaves the child in the car. Does that make the child's death any less painful? Does that somehow bring the child back to life? No. One may immediately regret the deed, but that does not negate the intent or frame of mind at the time of the incident. And I am reciting to you verbatim the black and white letter of the law. Remember, one may immediately regret the deed. That does not change the facts at the time of the incident. You may not like it. You might feel sorry for the dad and the mom. In a way, I do. But my responsibility, and has always been, is to the crime victim. The child is dead. She suffered

a horrible death. Did he mean to do it? Of course not. I don't think there's any scenario in which he meant for his child to die. This is akin to driving a car at 90 mph through, let's just say, a street market and four or five people get mowed down dead. You didn't mean to. You didn't even know them. But it is an abandoned malignant heart, as it is called in the law, a disregard for human life. And it's not the first time. In a sweltering Hollywood, Florida, Walmart parking lot on Sunday afternoon, a five-year-old child is screaming from the slightly cracked window in a hot car. Mommy leaves her child inside the Audi with no AC while she shops inside.

CCTV shows 34-year-old Anastasia Multilava shopping while her child's trapped in the car. She's arrested and facing charges of felony child neglect. That child lived. You were hearing Nicole Parton from CrimeOnline.com and of course, West Memphis. Listen. West Memphis, Tennessee employees of Ascent Children's Health Services failed to do the most basic part of their job, count children in and out of the van and taking roll call inside. Four employees claimed they did their job the day five-year-old Christopher Gardner is left in a van all day strapped into a booster seat. For eight hours, the tot was marked present in class while he was actually trapped in the van trying to take off his clothes to cool down. When a worker went to the van to take the children mistake of leaving a child strapped in a hot car.

Intentions, do they matter? What we know is that this child suffered a horrible death. We know that the mother, a well-known doctor in the area, begged for the husband to be let out of jail and not stay behind bars. Alexis Tereska, was her request granted? It was, yes. The judge did grant that. Everyone, hot card deaths happen if you have questions. Dial 1-800-422-4453. If you really care about your minor children, look into the app that would save your child

from a hot car death that we were hearing about from our guest Amber Rollins. Go to kidsandcars.org and save your child. Pass it on. As temperatures increase outside, we can stop the deaths of children all across our country. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend.

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