TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Around 4:00 pm Thursday, jurors took their break for the day at Christopher Clements’ trial in the death of Isabel Celis in Tucson more than a decade ago.
A jury spent about four and a half hours on Thursday to decide Clements’ fate. 13 News will be in court all day to let you know when the verdict will be handed down.
Clements, who is serving a life sentence for kidnapping and killing Maribel Gonzalez in Tucson in 2014, faces three counts of murder, kidnapping and robbery in connection with Isabel’s death.
If convicted on all three charges, Clements could face another life sentence. The Pima County Attorney’s Office had already said he would not seek the death penalty.
Background
Clements is on trial for his 2012 disappearance in Tucson and the death of Isabel Celis.
The case quickly gained national attention as Isabelle went missing from her bedroom more than a decade ago and communities in southern Arizona searched for her.
Despite some leads, the incident remained cool until 2017. That’s when Clements’ fiancé called the FBI, and she told him that Clements knew where Isabel was buried.
A month later, Clements led investigators to search for Isabel’s body in a desert area near the West Avra Valley and North Trico roads in rural Pima County.
Clements, who has pleaded not guilty, claims he had nothing to do with Isabel’s death. He said he only knew where, not who did it.
The state has some evidence to suggest that Clements was responsible.
- Clements’ phone was found near Celis’ house the night she went missing, and her body was dumped hours later.
- Clements’ ex-girlfriend testified that she had destroyed a piece of paper bearing Isabel’s name that she found under a rock in Clements’ house.
- Experts say Clements’ Internet search history contains several references to Isabel, including “Isabel Celis Sexy”, “Isabel Celis – Dead Body Found in Desert”, “Child Murder Conviction”, and “Arizona Unsolved Case”. He testified that it contained references to
- Authorities said they found several photos of the girl on Clements’ device. Some of these photos were taken around Tucson. Links to child pornography sites were also found on the device.
- Fellow inmates said they showed him a photo that Clements had hidden in his bible, a photo purported to be of the Sellis home.
A year later, Clements was indicted in connection with the deaths of Isabel and Maribel Gonzalez. Maribel’s body was found in the same area as Isabel’s.
last year, Clements is Convicted of Kidnapping and Murder of Maribel Gonzalez and was sentenced to life imprisonment. On June 3, 2014, at the age of 13, Maribel went missing while walking to a friend’s house. A few days later, her body was found in a desert area near the road between Toriko and Avra Valley.
Clements has already served 35 years in prison for the Maricopa County robbery.
previous coverage
disappeared in the desert
KOLD has covered this case for years. In 2021, he released his award-winning podcast, Disappeared in the Desert.
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