The estranged daughter of Christopher Scholtes, an Arizona man convicted of murder, filed a lawsuit against him days before he took his own life.
According to court documents, a 17-year-old daughter from a previous marriage filed the suit against both Scholtes and his wife, Erica, on October 28, in the Superior Court of Arizona and the County of Maricopa.
She accused them of “repeated physical, emotional, and psychological abuse” that left her psychologically-scarred, with depression and anxiety.
“Plaintiff’s abuse was reported to the Arizona Department of Child Safety (“DCS”) on at least nine (9) separate occasions, yet DCS failed to take any protective action,” court documents obtained by News 4 Tucson stated.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Scholtes pleaded guilty to murder this year, in connection with his 2-year-old daughter Parker’s death. Parker died in 2024 inside a hot vehicle parked in the family’s Marana driveway, as Scholtes played video games and drank beer inside the home.
He was scheduled for a court hearing Wednesday, at the Pima County Superior Court, to turn himself in, with sentencing to happen on November 21, but never showed up. Police later found him deceased inside a home from an apparent suicide.
The alleged abuse happened from 2016 to 2021, when the plaintiff lived with the Scholtes and his wife. During that time, according to the lawsuit, Scholtes “filed a fraudulent Conservatorship” and took control of the plaintiff’s finances.
Specifically, he’s accused of collecting government benefits and financial support in the plaintiff’s name. Erica Scholtes is accused of aiding, abetting, and/or benefiting from the proceeds.
In 2021, Scholtes lost custody and she returned to her birth mother. Her mother passed away in 2024, “compounding her trauma and loss,” court documents stated.
Lindsey Eisenberg, who became the teen’s guardian for a year, told DailyMail that Scholtes had called the teen a mistake, and that the plaintiff had endured both physical and sexual abuse.
Further, part of the abuse was routinely leaving the plaintiff inside a hot car when she was younger. The first time it happened, she was reportedly younger than 7.
Eisenberg added that the teen will continue with the lawsuit against Erica Scholtes, the mother of her two surviving half-sisters, and plans to fight for custody.
Meanwhile, the teen reportedly has mixed feelings about her father’s passing. According to Eisenberg, “she is more relieved and at peace than sad.”
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[Feature Photo: Christopher and Parker Scholtes/Facebook]
