An Arizona man facing a first-degree murder charge for the death of his 2-year-old daughter was granted permission to travel to Hawaii with his family while awaiting trial.

Christopher Scholtes, 38, is accused of leaving his toddler alone in a hot car for three hours, leading to her death. Despite the severity of the charges, a judge approved his request to take a family trip to Maui from May 1 to May 9, according to court documents from Pima County Superior Court.

On April 3, Judge Kimberly Ortiz agreed to hear arguments about the travel request. Following an April 15 hearing, she ruled in favor of Scholtes, allowing him to vacation with his wife and their two surviving daughters.

According to a criminal complaint, the incident occurred 10 months ago when Scholtes allegedly left his 2-year-old daughter in his car while he stayed inside playing video games. When his wife returned home hours later, she found the child unconscious in the car, where the internal temperature had reached 109 degrees Fahrenheit.

Scholtes reportedly told Marana police he had left the air conditioning on because the child was asleep. However, the engine in his vehicle automatically shuts off after 30 minutes—a fact Scholtes admitted he was aware of, the complaint says.

The couple’s older daughters, ages 6 and 9 at the time, allegedly told detectives their father had previously left them alone in the car for extended periods. The complaint also includes a text message exchange between Scholtes and his wife in which she appears to scold him: “I told you to stop leaving them in the car. How many times have I told you?”

Prosecutors charged Scholtes with first-degree murder and intentional child abuse. He pleaded not guilty to both charges. In March, he rejected a plea deal that would have downgraded the murder charge to second-degree in exchange for a guilty plea.

Just days after turning down the plea deal, Scholtes petitioned the court for travel permission. Judge Ortiz approved the request with conditions: Scholtes must remain in contact with pretrial services throughout the trip and is prohibited from being alone with any children, including his own.

Prosecutors asked that Scholtes surrender his passport before traveling, but Judge Ortiz denied that motion, court records show.

Local outlet KOLD was first to report the judge’s decision to allow the trip.

Scholtes’ murder trial is scheduled to begin on October 27, after being postponed from September. If convicted, he could face life in prison.