TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — In the retrial of the man accused of kidnapping and killing 6-year-old Isabel Celis, Christopher Clements' defense is focused on the continued mystery of how an intruder could steal the girl out of a house full of people.
No one has mentioned ever mentioned DNA, fingerprints or any other evidence that shows Clements was inside the Celis family house. To try to create the sort of doubt that will get Clements acquitted, his attorneys have tried to focus suspicion on Isabel's father, Sergio Celis—suggesting he somehow assisted in her disappearance 12 years ago.
Prosecutors say cell phone tracking shows the night Isabel Celis disappeared, Christopher Clements cell phone was in the general area where the girl’s body was found. But there’s a continuing mystery of how anyone could steal the girl out the family’s house with four people and a collection of dogs inside.
The Celis house is surrounded by a six-foot wall, with a door that could only be opened from the inside of the yard.
Sergio Celis told defense attorney Eric Kessler the dogs would not always bark loudly if a stranger entered the house.
It’s also been noted that when Isabel disappeared, some of her favorite clothes disappeared with her.
Kessler asked, "Would you expect Isabel to fight and resist?" to which her father said, "I'd say yes but she could be so scared she would be submissive, and that she might not scream if she was frightened so much he, the intruder told her not to.”
Other questioning explored whether an intruder could carry a 30 to 40 pound girl out a window and over a six-foot wall, or whether they could have used the front door, passing through the room where Serio Celis said he was asleep on a couch.
So far this trial has been presented almost exactly like the previous case that ended in a hung jury. But with an entirely new jury, it's not a foregone conclusion that this trial will end in the same way.
In some instances, cases are won or lost in the jury selection before there’s a single word of testimony. Attorneys for both sides are supposed to select a fair jury, but they typically look for any sign of bias against their side of the case.
It says something about the high profile nature of this case that they had about a hundred prospective jurors in order to select 12 jurors and four alternates.
There are four weeks set aside to try the case.
All courtroom images used in this story are from previous trials and hearings. Cameras are not allowed in this trial.
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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.
