A Pima County judge denied a request by Christopher Clements’ legal team to move his murder retrial out of Tucson.
A Pima County jury could not come to a unanimous decision earlier this year on whether Clements murdered 6-year-old Isabel Celis in 2012.
Judge James E. Marner declared a mistrial.
On Wednesday, Judge Marner said the retrial would proceed in Tucson in February of 2024.
The court determined there would be no “circus-like” atmosphere that would require moving the trial out of Pima County.
The state recently dismissed another Clements case, where Clements was charged with possessing a sharpened pencil, considered to be contraband in prison.
Jurors found Christopher Clements guilty in the death of 13-year-old Maribel Gonzalez in 2022.
There is a hearing Friday to discuss the jury questionnaire for the murder trial.