The Arizona dad who killed himself instead of serving decades behind bars after leaving his 2-year-old daughter to bake to death in a hot car was rumored to be having an affair with the married woman next door, neighbors told police.

Christopher Scholtes, 38, was found dead in his SUV inside the garage of his Phoenix home around 5:20 a.m. on Nov. 5, the same morning he was due to report for a 20- to 30-year prison sentence for the murder of his daughter , Parker.

He had pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder and intentional child abuse.

Dr. Erika Scholtes, his anesthesiologist wife, had defended him for more than a year after the tragedy and backed his bail and travel requests, even as prosecutors prepared to send him away.

Neighbors, though, told cops they believed Scho

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