Overview

• Pima County Judge Kimberly Ortiz ruled prosecutors cannot tell jurors in their case in chief that Christopher Scholtes allegedly searched for pornography on a PlayStation.
• The court left intact the state’s plan to present texts and prior-incident testimony to argue a pattern of leaving children in vehicles.
• Prosecutors say Parker, 2, died of heat exposure after being left in the family car for more than three hours as interior temperatures reached about 109 degrees.
• A criminal complaint says Scholtes told police he left the child with the air conditioning on, went inside to put away groceries, became distracted, and knew the engine shuts off after roughly 30 minutes.
• Scholtes is charged with first-degree murder and intentional child abuse, rejected a plea offer, and faces trial beginning Oct. 27 in Pima County.