In the video player: Closing statements bring Isabel Celis murder trial near conclusion
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Jurors will return to work Friday morning after spending about four and a half hours considering a verdict for Christopher Clements in his trial for the kidnapping and murder of 6-year-old Isabel Celis. Closing arguments ended late Wednesday and the case formally went to the jury just before 5 p.m.
Clements' trial included ten days of testimony on a case that gripped the Tucson area and drew worldwide publicity when the little girl disappeared in 2012—-eleven years ago.
Christopher Clements became a suspect in 2017 when he told the FBI he could lead investigators to Isabel Celis' remains in return for having unrelated charges dropped.
At the time he said he simply knew the location of the girl’s remains, but had nothing to do with her death.
Clements led investigators to a remote spot far north of Tucson at Avra Valley and Trico Roads.
That location was also where someone discovered the remains of 13-year-old Maribel Gonzalez. Last fall, a jury found Clements guilty of kidnapping and murder in that case. He is sentenced to life in prison for those charges.
Jurors have not been allowed to hear any information related to the Maribel Gonzalez case and Clements’ conviction.
Cell phone tracking is an important part of both cases. A prosecution witness said in both cases, Clements' cell phone was near the areas where the bodies were found.
Clements' defense team has questioned the accuracy of the cell phone tracking.
Defense lawyers have also attacked the prosecution’s discovery of a locked folder on Clements' iPad that showed a collection of little girls in provocative poses. Prosecutors say that shows Clements had a fixation on young girls. Clements' main defense attorney told jurors bringing the photos into the case is character assassination, and an effort to paint Clements as a creep.
Prosecution witnesses also said they discovered evidence on Clement's electronic devices that after Isabel Celis disappeared, Clements searched the internet for information on “body found in desert,” “trace evidence on body,” and “Isabel Celis sexy.”
In an effort to trigger the reasonable doubt that would prevent a conviction, Clements' defense attorneys have tried to convince jurors that Isabel Celis' father Sergio played a role in the death. They suggested it was suspicious that Sergio Celis stayed calm as he called 911. And they suggested the family had financial troubles, and that Sergio might have unlocked the gate to the family’s home and delivered his daughter to someone who took her away, never to be seen alive again.
To defuse that tactic, when prosecutors put Sergio Celis on the witness stand, they asked if he had anything to do with his daughter's disappearance and death. He said, "Absolutely not.”
——-
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.
