TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Attorneys for Christopher Clements continue to try to build their suggestion that the father of six-year-old Isabel Celis, not Clements, was the real kidnapper and killer.
For a jury to rule Clements not guilty, they simply have to decide there’s a reasonable doubt that he did the crime. For his lawyers, the tool for that is to suggest someone else did it—and that’s Sergio Celis.
Prosecutors made Sergio Celis their first witness and asked right away if he had anything to do with his daughter’s disappearance and death. He said absolutely not.
If one side brings on a witness, the other side can ask questions too.
Clements' attorney Eric Kessler picked away at Sergio Celis' past statements with a special focus on how anyone could spirit a 40 pound girl out of a house without two parents, two brothers and four dogs noticing.
Kessler questioned Sergio Celis on how anyone could have escaped with the girl over a roughly six-foot wall that surrounded the house. A door through the wall had a deadbolt that could only be locked or unlocked from the inside.
Kessler asked if Isabel would have opened the door for anyone who she knew or did not know.
Clements' defense has raised whether the Celis family had financial problems at the time Isabel disappeared. Sergio Celis conceded they owned a rent house that was foreclosed and that Becky Celis was behind on student loans.
Kessler asked Isabel’s father if money was raised for the family after Isabel disappeared. Prosecutor Tracy Miller objected to that question and it was dropped.
Jurors are allowed to ask written questions. The judge and attorneys decide if they are okay to ask. One question the judge did not allow is revealing.
One juror wanted to ask, “Why is Mister Celis not a suspect and was he ever a suspect?”
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
