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Did an old car lead to Isabel Celis kidnapping and murder?

DNA match delayed by three years in Gonzalez case
Posted at 9:11 PM, Sep 27, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-28 12:17:10-04

We know more about the investigation that led to the arrest of a man for kidnapping and killing 6-year-old Isabel Celis and 13-year-old Maribel Gonzalez.
       
Christopher Clements is charged in the case.

As part of a deal to drop a burglary charge, Clements led investigators to a spot in Avra Valley where Isabel Celis remains were found -- but he did not confess to the killing.
            
Her remains were found in 2017 near where Maribel Gonzalez body was found a few days after she disappeared in 2014.
           
Investigators say they found a DNA match between Clement and Maribel Gonzalez.
           
Police and Sheriff's documents tell us more about the case, including one possibility for how Isabel Celis may have caught Clements' attention.
           
Detectives say besides burglary and other crime, Clements made a business of buying, fixing and selling cars, usually Honda and Acuras.
          
Isabel Celis’ mother Becky said a man came to the Celis house twice and tried to buy an old Acura there.  Sergio Celis said the man made a third offer. They described the man as looking Hispanic and having facial hair.
          
Tucson Police records confirm a selfie of Clements showing facial hair.  It was taken April 29, 2012---nine days after Isabel disappeared from the family's home.
           
Maribel Gonzalez disappeared two years after Isabel Celis.  Her family reported her missing June 4, 2014.  At first investigators thought she might have been a runaway. Her body was found in a deserted part of Avra Valley two days later---very close to the spot where Clements would later lead investigators to Celis remains.
            
Investigators say a DNA match ties Clements to Maribel Gonzalez but reports explain why that match was made years after her death.  In 2017 a sheriff's investigator discovered some samples from the 13-year-old's body had not been tested.  They came back as a partial match for Christopher Clements.