Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

Episode: GIRL, 2, DIES IN SCORCHING CAR WHILE DOCTOR'S HUSBAND SURFS PORN, GUZZLES SHOPLIFTED BEER
Air Date: October 27, 2025

Overview

In this intense and emotionally charged episode, Nancy Grace investigates the shocking case of two-year-old Parker Schultes, who died after being left in a hot car by her father, Chris Schultes, while he allegedly drank shoplifted beer and watched pornography in an air-conditioned home. Grace is joined by a panel of legal, medical, and psychological experts to dissect the timeline, explore the psychological dynamics, and debate criminal responsibility and legal consequences. The discussion is gripping, with strong and differing opinions on motive, negligence versus intent, and the broader issues of parental responsibility and justice.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Case Overview and 911 Call

(01:19–05:26)

• Incident summary: Chris Schultes, husband to a doctor and father of three, leaves his daughter Parker in a car during a 109°F Arizona day. He enters the house with shoplifted beer and spends hours watching porn while his daughter is strapped in her car seat.
• 911 call: Played to set the emotional tone, featuring desperate pleas for help as Parker is found unresponsive outside.
  • Nancy Grace highlights, “The dad acknowledges he knows… after 30 minutes the engine turns off and so does the air condition. He knew that when he went inside to watch porn.” (04:18)

2. Timeline of Events & Dad’s Behavior

(07:41–12:36, 33:59–34:22)

• Beer shoplifting: Surveillance footage confirms Chris stole beer at 12:07 PM—the same day Parker died.
• Arrival home: He gets home at 12:53 PM, leaves Parker in the running car with A/C, but as the make/model auto-shuts off A/C after 30 minutes, heat builds quickly.
• Discrepancies: Schultes falsely tells police Parker was left in the car 30–45 minutes, but neighbor surveillance confirms it was over three hours.

“He stole the beer at 12:07. Just imagine stuffing a cold one down your pants. He gets home at 12:53 and leaves the daughter in the car… That’s his story. So he takes his beer and goes inside.” – Nancy Grace (09:57)

3. Expert Analysis: Negligence or Depraved Indifference?

(05:35–18:14, 20:09–23:36)

• Negligence vs. intent:
  • Josh Colesrude (Defense): “This was simply a father who was distracted… He was aware of the harm and he disregarded the harm… but it isn’t more than that.” (10:33)
  • Nancy Grace rebuts forcefully: “He has one intentional act after the next. That is not negligence.” (14:46)
• Legal definitions:
  • Nancy reads Arizona law: Intending the natural consequence of an act, “You leave a child in the car… what do you assume the natural consequence would be?” (19:38)
  • Panel explores “abandoned and malignant heart”/“depraved heart” murder—extreme indifference to human life as a theory for first-degree murder.

4. Medical Examination: How Children Die in Hot Cars

(26:13–31:56)

• Dr. Kendall Crowns (Medical Examiner):
  • Children’s bodies heat up 3–5x faster than adults.
  • Suffering includes dizziness, vomiting, seizures, intense dehydration, multi-organ failure—can occur in 20 minutes.

“Their bodies heat up about three to five times faster than an adult… passing out, going into a coma… matter of minutes, especially in a temperature of 109.” (27:57)

• Nancy’s emotional response:
  • Invokes prior hot car death cases, details the agony children endure, compares to her own twins to drive home emotional impact.

5. Father’s State of Mind and Post-Event Behavior

(34:22–36:44, 39:42–43:08)

• Police questioning: Dad seems more concerned with being treated “like a murderer” and asks repeatedly to take a shower before going to the hospital.
  • Nancy Grace: “I see him genuinely get himself a glass of cold water on ice out of the fridge after his daughter just thirsted in the heat in the car.” (36:44)
• Dr. Bethany Marshall (Psychoanalyst):
  • Dad “itifed” Parker—objectified her for his own convenience. He’s shown more concern for himself, only gets emotional about himself, not his daughter.
  • Suggests showering may have been an attempt to wash away evidence of masturbation due to porn surfing. (42:48)

6. History of Negligence / Family Dynamics

(43:08–44:37)

• Erica Wurst (Arizona Daily Star): Texts show this was not the first incident, and Parker’s mother had repeatedly warned Chris not to leave children in the car.
• Nancy Grace reads painful text exchange: “I told you to stop leaving them in the car. How many times have I told you?” (44:05)

7. Aftermath: Legal Proceedings & Parent Responses

(44:37–48:24)

• Mother’s Response & Bail Hearing:
  • Surprising scene as Parker’s mother appeals to judge for father’s release on bond, calling him a “good dad.” He is released and the family vacations in Hawaii.
  • “Can’t she forgive him while he’s in jail? Does he have to be forgiven on the beach at the Big Island?” – Nancy Grace (46:16)
• Plea Deal and Sentencing:
  • Chris Schultes rejects a plea bargain for 10 years, but when trial nears (after evidence—such as porn surfing—is excluded by the judge), he pleads guilty. Receives 20-30 years flat time, no parole, with charges running consecutively. (48:49)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Opening Salvo

“A little girl, just 2 years old, bakes dead, dies in a scorching hot car while daddy, the doctor's husband is inside in the air conditioned surfing porn and guzzling shot lifted beer. Okay. What? I said that correctly.… I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories.”
— Nancy Grace (01:19)

Parenting Responsibility

“All he has is one job. And granted, it's a big job. The most important job. Forget the doctor. The job of raising the three girls and ensuring their safety day in, day out, that's his job. He has one thing to do.”
— Nancy Grace (06:07)

Legal Debate on Negligence

“He has one intentional act after the next. That's intentional. That is not negligence.”
— Nancy Grace (14:46)

Medical Reality

“Within minutes they're already starting to sweat and then their body becomes overwhelmed and they start feeling dizzy. They start having headaches and begin vomiting at about a temperature of 104… it takes a matter of minutes, especially in a temperature of 109, for a child to go from normal to fatal.”
— Dr. Kendall Crowns (27:57)

Father’s Self-Concern

“So I'm being treated like a murderer?”
— Chris Schultes (as reported) (34:35)

Insight into Mom’s Reaction

“She is more concerned about him than she is about the baby. It's very, very perplexing, Nancy. … She may be one of these mothers… who is more bonded with the father, with the love object, than with her own children.”
— Dr. Bethany Marshall (46:16)

Shocking Turn: Hawaii Vacation

“When the judge lets him out on bond, he goes with the family on a vacation to Hawaii? … Can’t she forgive him while he’s in jail? Does he have to be forgiven on the beach at the Big Island?”
— Nancy Grace (44:44, 46:16)

The Gutted State’s Case

“By doing that, you gutted the state's case, showing his course of conduct, frame of mind, his motivation at the time the child was was killed. Did that really happen? … This is something that shocked everyone involved in the case.”
— Nancy Grace & Dave Mack (47:52, 48:12)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:19] – Case Introduction and 911 call
• [05:35] – Dr. Bethany Marshall’s psychoanalytical view
• [07:41] – Dave Mack: Timeline of beer theft and neglect
• [09:57] – Detailed breakdown of events
• [10:33] – Defense legal perspective (Josh Colesrude)
• [14:46] – Nancy Grace challenges “negligence” defense
• [18:14] – Legal arguments regarding Arizona law and intent
• [26:13] – Dr. Kendall Crowns: Medical consequences for Parker
• [33:59] – Surveillance footage contradicts Schultes’ claims
• [34:35] – Bodycam: Chris concerned about being “treated like a murderer”
• [39:42] – Shower request after arrest (psychological and evidentiary speculation)
• [43:08] – Evidence of prior similar incidents, mother’s warnings
• [44:37] – Parker’s mother asks for defendant’s release, Hawaii vacation
• [47:31] – Judge excludes key evidence (porn searching)
• [48:49] – Sentencing: 20-30 years, consecutive, no parole

Tone & Style

• Direct, relentless, and emotionally charged: Nancy Grace presses hard on guests, focusing on accountability, legal definitions, and the agony of the victim.
• Expert panel: Balanced, though often tense, with push-pull between clinical/legal detachment and Grace’s fierce moral outrage.
• Emphasis on the gravity of parental responsibility—and the tragedy when that responsibility is abandoned.

Summary

This episode offers a searing exploration of a child’s death by neglect, challenging the audience to examine not just the legal aspects but the moral and psychological dimensions as well. By combining expert analysis, tense debate, heartbreaking 911 audio, and damning timeline evidence, Grace exposes the personal and systemic failures at play—with a clear call for justice and accountability.

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