TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The murder trial for Maribel Gonzalez came to a head today as the jury read a guilty verdict for Christopher Clements.
Eric Kessler, Clements’ defense attorney said they were disappointed when the verdict was read.
Clements was found guilty for kidnapping and murder. He said now they’re waiting for Clements to be sentenced.
Kessler said there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove Gonzalez was murdered.
“Since we didn’t know how she died, it was difficult to say that she died at the hands of somebody else as opposed to accidentally, overdose, some natural cause….we don’t know,” Kessler said.
D.N.A. was recovered from Gonzalez’s body. D.N.A. expert witnesses said it was good enough to include Clements as a possible murderer, but the D.N.A. could also include all of the men on Clements’ father’s side and 1 in 8,600 men in the general population.
Kessler said the D.N.A. samples could have swayed the jury’s opinion.
“It’s complicated. It’s difficult for juries to understand. Juries like to have it packaged nice and neat for them to make that decision easier. It wasn’t in this case, but nonetheless it certainly wasn’t helpful to the defense,” he said.
Clements’ iPads had pictures of young girls. The prosecution said that suggests Clements had an obsession.
Kessler, however, said that was irrelevant to the case because Clements was not charged with sexual offenses against Gonzalez.
“Telling that to the jury could cause the jury to convict somebody simply because they don’t like them as opposed to it being evidence of the crime for which Mr. Clements was standing trial,” Kessler said.
Kessler said Clements could face a life sentence which would allow Clements to be released after a minimum of 25 years. The other sentence he could face is natural life in prison which means he could be locked up until he’s dead.
Kessler said that doesn’t take into consideration Clements’ kidnapping charges.
“We’re hoping that the Court imposes the lesser of the two possible sentences for the homicide,” Kessler said.
Kessler said he will also be representing Clements at the second murder trial of Isabel Celis.
He said there’s room to reduce the conviction.
He said he believes there are strong reasons to appeal the ruling and he’s hoping it will be heard by division 2 of the Arizona Court of Appeals. He said if necessary, he’s hoping the case will go all the way up to the Arizona State Supreme Court.
----
STAY IN TOUCH WITH US ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
- Download our free app for Roku, FireTV, AppleTV, Alexa, and mobile devices.
- Sign up for daily newsletters emailed to you
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Twitter
