TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — New testimony shed some doubt on an important witness in the trial of a man charged with killing 13 year old Maribel Gonzalez. Two witnesses contradicted testimony that said Clements mysteriously demanded using bleach to super clean things the night Maribel Gonzalez disappeared.
Melissa Stark, Clements' ex-girlfriend, is an important way for the prosecution to strengthen some imperfect evidence. There’s only a partial DNA match to a sample found on Maribel Gonzalez remains. It could connect to thousands of men, not just Clements, so Clements' behavior the night the teen disappeared and his interest in the sort of cleaning that could degrade or destroy DNA evidence could be crucial.
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Stark says she argued with Clements on the night of June 3, 2014 and he left the house at about 8 p.m., then returned by midnight.
Clements demanded all the bleach in the house but there wasn't enough for him, so he took Stark’s car to get more. Stark says he asked if she looked in his car trunk while he was gone, then he got back in his car, left and did not come back until about dawn.
She says after he returned, Clements' asked again if she’d looked in his trunk. According to Stark, he ordered her to immediately wash the clothes he was wearing, clean the shower he was using with bleach and use bleach to clean the floor between the bathroom and the front door..
On further questioning in the morning session, Stark said she never asked why he demanded that bleach clean up. She never asked where he went and never looked in the trunk of that car even well after that night.
But Thursday afternoon a former friend of Melissa Stark, and that woman’s mother described how they were staying as guests at Stark and Clements house. They say the did not see or smell her using bleach. And they noticed nothing unusual when they rode in Clements car.
Also a County Medical Examiner talked about how the autopsy did not show a precise cause of death. There was no trauma or other explanation. She said it normally proves strangulation if a small bone in the neck called the hyoid is cracked but in young people that bone may be flexible enough to not break.
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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.
