Sex offender faces court in case of 2 Arizona girls killed

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A registered sex offender who was indicted this month in the slayings of two Arizona girls who disappeared and were later found dead years ago faced arraignment Monday on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual exploitation of a minor.

Christopher Matthew Clements, 36, had been in a Phoenix jail for more than a year on burglary charges when the indictment in the case of the killings was issued earlier this month.

Tucson police have not said how the girls died and what led to them investigate Clements in the killings of 6-year-old Isabel Celis and 13-year-old Maribel Gonzalez - except that the FBI learned in 2017 that Clements might have information about Celis' death.

Clements later provided information to authorities that led them to find the 6-year-old girl's remains, Police Chief Chris Magnus has said. Investigators later discovered more unspecified evidence.

Isabel Celis went missing from her Tucson home in April 2012 and her body was discovered in what was described as a rural southern area in March 2017.

Maribel Gonzalez never came home after going to visit a friend in June 2014. Her body was discovered a few days later near Tucson, not far from where Celis' remains were discovered three years later, according to authorities.

Clements does not yet have an attorney but is expected to be assigned one at the arraignment.

According to a search warrant, Clements has criminal history dating back to when he was a teen.

Investigators said he was arrested at age 15 and convicted of molesting a 4-year-old girl.