TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The fate of Christopher Clements, 41, will soon be left to the jury. He's facing multiple charges, most notably first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Clements is on trial for the kidnapping and killing of 6-year-old Isabel Celis 11 years ago, the second of two child kidnapping and murder trials he's faced within the course of a year.
Prosecutors and Clements attorneys are making their final statements to the jurors Wednesday afternoon. Despite the high profile of the multi-year investigations, jurors are told to only consider what they heard in the courtroom as they deliberate.
Prosecutor Tracy Miller showed the jury a photo during her closing statement: Isabel Celis, 6 years old, missing.
Miller asked how could the little girl have disappeared from her own home undetected. They she told jurors prosecutors had solved the mystery—-that Christopher Clements had kidnapped the girl and left her body in a remote part of the desert, well north of Tucson.
Miller reminded jurors about some key evidence: a locked folder on Clements' ipad, full of photos of little girls in provocative folders.
She also talked about evidence of Clements' internet searches for information on things like trace evidence on bodies, 'body found in desert,' and the search phrase 'Isabel Celis Sexy.'
She also reminded jurors of cell phone traces that put Clements phone near the Celis house, and in the desert where her remains were found.
It was actually Clements who led investigators to the remains of Isabel Celis, with information he claimed to have learned from others, in an attempt to make a deal in an unrelated criminal case.
According to the Tucson Police in 2018:
"In early 2017, local FBI agents were contacted about an individual by the name of Christopher Clements.
They were advised that Clements possibly had information relating to the disappearance of Isabel Celis. The FBI immediately contacted the Tucson Police Department and assisted with the follow-up of that information.
On March 3, 2017, after speaking with Clements, Tucson Police Investigators and FBI Agents located human remains in the area of North Trico Road and West Avra Valley Road, which is the same general area where Maribel Gonzales was located in 2014.
The Tucson Police Homicide Unit was then assigned to recover the remains and to continue the investigation. Those remains were tested and positively identified as Isabel Celis. The manner of death was determined to be a homicide."
When it was his turn to talk to the jury, Defense Attorney Eric Kessler challenged jurors to find one fact that would show Clements and only Clements could have kidnapped and killed the girl.
He continued topoint suspicion at Sergio Celis, the girl’s father, for seeming far too calm as he called 911. Kessler floated the idea that the family was having financial problems, and that Sergio Celis could have opened the locked gate surrounding the house and delivered Isabel Celis to someone else.
Kessler questions whether cell phone data from the day Isabel disappeared truly does connect Clements to where the girl’s body was found.
In September, Clements was convicted for the kidnapping and killing of 13-year-old Maribel Gonzalez. He was sentenced to natural life in prison for that murder, and denied a retrial.
The two trials were conducted separately—the two girls were reported missing two years apart from one another. Celis went missing in 2012, and Gonzalez in 2014. Their remains were found very near one another near Avra Valley Road.
More key evidence in this case includes a note with Celis' name written on it on Clements' property and photos of young girls on Clements' iPad. The latter was also evidence used in the Gonzalez trial too, though jurors did not hear mention of Gonzalez as part of this case.
Unlike in the Gonzalez trial, no DNA evidence has been presented.
KGUN 9’s Craig Smith was in court Wednesday as attorneys had their last chance to make their cases. We will have complete coverage of the verdict once jury deliberations have concluded.
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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.
