The Pima County Attorney's Office has asked for more time to consider the death penalty in the case of a man accused of killing two Tucson girls.
Christopher Matthew Clements, 36, was arrested in September in connection with the slayings of 6-year-old Isabel Celis and 13-year-old Maribel Gonzalez.
He's facing 22 charges in connection with the girls' deaths, including two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping a minor under 15 and burglary. He's also facing 14 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, related to child pornography discovered in his possession.
The county attorney's office initially had until Nov. 24 to provide notice if they wished to pursue the death penalty, but requested an extension until Jan. 25.
On Monday, they asked for a second extension, requesting an additional 60 days to make a decision.
Judge Deborah Bernini granted the request Wednesday. The state now has until March 25 to provide notice.
Isabel went missing from her midtown home in 2012. Her remains were found in the desert northwest of Tucson in 2017. Clements led investigators to the remains in a deal he made to get unrelated burglary charges dropped.
Maribel’s body was found in 2014, days after she went missing. Her body was found in the same general area as Isabel’s.
Clements has a decades-long criminal history that spans multiple states, beginning when he was a teenager.
