(NewsNation) — An Arizona father who pleaded guilty to murdering his 2-year-old daughter by leaving her in a hot car has been found dead.

Christopher Scholtes, 38, was discovered by officers responding to a call Nov. 5, the same day he was set to turn himself in for sentencing.

His death is under investigation, and he reportedly took his own life.

Scholtes was charged with murder after leaving his daughter, Parker, strapped into her car seat in a car for nearly 3 1/2 hours in temperatures over 100 degrees.

A father of three, Scholtes was inside drinking, playing video games and watching pornography while his youngest child was left in the vehicle, investigators said.

Text messages from his wife showed that she had repeatedly asked him to stop leaving their children in the car.

Scholt

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