TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Even though Christopher Clements is about to face a jury on charges of killing 13-year-old Maribel Gonzalez, that case is difficult to separate from the disappearance and death of 6-year-old Isabel Celis. He’s scheduled to be tried in the Celis case in February.
The remains of both girls were found years apart but the locations were close together in a remote part of Avra Valley. Prosecutors say they’ve DNA-matched Clements to Maribel's remains and Clements led them to Isabel’s bones.
KGUN 9 interviewed Maribel Gonzalez's mother in 2017 before Christopher Clements was a suspect.
Valerie Calonge appealed for help in what was still a cold case.
“Help us get justice or find who did this because what if he’s doing this to other people?”
Prosecutors say Clements did kidnap and kill another young girl—in this case years before the night Maribel Gonzalez did not come home—and that allegation ties together the lives and deaths of Maribel Gonzalez and Isabel Celis.
On April 20, 2012 Sergio Celis calls 911 to report his daughter Isabel missing. An intense search by police and the public does not find her.
On June 3, 2014, 14-year-old Maribel Gonzalez tells her mother she’s going to visit a friend.
She never comes home.
Her body is found three days later in a remote spot in Avra Valley.
Three years later, investigators realize there were DNA samples from Maribel Gonzalez that had not been tested. They say they’re a match for Christopher Clements.
On March 31, 2017, Tucson Police say they have found Isabel Celis' remains but say little else.
In September 14, 2018, a Grand Jury indicts Christopher Clements in the murder of both Maribel Gonzalez and Isabel Celis.
Documents released later say Clements offered information about Celis' remains in return for prosecutors dropping some burglary charges. He doesn’t make clear how he knows, but leads investigators to Isabel Celis remains in a spot near where Maribel Gonzalez was found.
Now that they have a location, investigators check cell phone records. They say the day Isabel Celis disappeared, Clements cell phone was transmitting near where her body was found--and he got a new phone the next day.
Prosecutors say cell phone records also show Clements' phone was near where Maribel Gonzalez was found.
Maribel Gonzalez's body was found in three days and did not spark the sort of long search and national publicity of the Isabel Celis case. But publicity is a concern in both cases. Jurors will be excluded if attorneys believe they’ve already made up their minds about the case.
Generally the test is not whether a prospective juror knows about a case—it’s whether that person can decide a verdict only on the evidence presented in court.
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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.
