Chandra Ann Levy was an American
internInternship is a system of onthejob training for white-collar jobs, similar to an apprenticeship. Interns are usually college or university students, but they can also be high school students or post graduate adults seeking skills for a new career. They may also be as young as middle school or in...
at the
Federal Bureau of PrisonsThe Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, who disappeared in May 2001. She was presumed murdered after her skeletal remains were found in
Rock Creek ParkRock Creek Park is a large urban natural area with public park facilities that bisects Washington, D.C. The park is administered by the National Park Service.-Rock Creek Park:The main section of the park contains , or , along the Rock Creek Valley...
in May 2002. The case attracted attention from the American news media for years.
The investigation led to media allegations of an extramarital
affairAffair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
with then-U.S. Representative
Gary ConditGary Adrian Condit is a former American politician, a Democrat who served in the House of Representatives from 1989 to 2003...
, a five-term Democrat representing
California's 18th congressional districtCalifornia's 18th congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of California. The district is located in the northern San Joaquin Valley and includes the cities of Modesto, Stockton, Ceres, Atwater, Merced and Los Banos...
and a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Condit was never named a
suspectIn the parlance of criminal justice, a suspect is a known person suspected of committing a crime.Police and reporters often incorrectly use the word suspect when referring to the...
by police and was eventually cleared of involvement. However, the cloud of suspicion raised by the intense media focus on the missing intern and the later revelation of the affair led to his loss in his 2002 re-election campaign.
The circumstances surrounding Levy's death were unclear for eight years. On March 3, 2009, D.C. authorities obtained a warrant to arrest Ingmar Guandique, an illegal immigrant from
El SalvadorEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
who had already been convicted of assaulting two other women in Rock Creek Park around the time of Levy's disappearance. Prosecutors stated that Guandique had attacked and tied up Levy in a remote area of the park and left her to die of dehydration or exposure. In November 2010, Guandique was convicted of murdering Levy; he was sentenced in February 2011 to 60 years in prison.
Life and background
Levy was born in
Cleveland, OhioCleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
to Robert and Susan Levy, and grew up in
Modesto, CaliforniaModesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....
, where she attended
Grace M. Davis High SchoolGrace M. Davis High School is a public high school located in Modesto, California. Established in 1959, the school serves students in grades 9-12...
. Her parents Robert and Susan Levy are members of Congregation Beth Shalom, a
Conservative JewishConservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
synagogueA synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
. She attended
San Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
, where she earned a degree in journalism. After interning for the California Bureau of Secondary Education and working in the office of Los Angeles Mayor
Richard RiordanRichard J. Riordan is a Republican politician from California, U.S.A. who served as the California Secretary for Education from 2003–2005 and as the 39th Mayor of Los Angeles, California from 1993–2001...
, she began attending the
University of Southern CaliforniaThe University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
to earn a
master's degreeA master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in
public administrationPublic Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
.
As part of her final semester of study, Levy moved to Washington, D.C., to become a paid intern with the
Federal Bureau of PrisonsThe Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...
. In October 2000, she began her internship at the bureau's central office, where she was assigned to the public affairs division. Her supervisor, bureau spokesperson Dan Dunne, was impressed with Levy's work, especially her handling of media inquiries regarding the upcoming execution of
Timothy McVeighTimothy James McVeigh was a United States Army veteran and security guard who detonated a truck bomb in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995...
. In January 2001, she told her landlord that she was considering breaking the lease of her apartment at
Dupont CircleDupont Circle is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood, and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The traffic circle is located at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue NW, Connecticut Avenue NW, New Hampshire Avenue NW, P Street NW, and 19th Street NW...
to move in with a boyfriend, but changed her mind by the following month because "it didn't work out." Levy's internship was abruptly terminated in April 2001, because her academic eligibility was found to have expired in December 2000. She had already completed her master's degree requirements and was scheduled to return to California in May 2001 for graduation.
Disappearance and search
Levy was last seen on May 1, 2001. The
Metropolitan Police Department of the District of ColumbiaThe Metropolitan Police Department, also known as the DC Police, DCPD, MPD, and MPDC is the municipal police force in Washington, D.C...
was first alerted on May 6, when Levy's parents called from Modesto to report that they had not heard from their daughter in five days. Police called hospitals and visited Levy's apartment in Dupont Circle that day, finding no indication of foul play. On May 7, Levy's father told the police that his daughter had been having an affair with a U.S. congressman, and stated on the next day that he believed the congressman to be
U.S. RepresentativeThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Gary ConditGary Adrian Condit is a former American politician, a Democrat who served in the House of Representatives from 1989 to 2003...
. Levy's aunt also called the police and told them that Chandra had confided in her about the affair. Police obtained a warrant on May 10 to conduct a formal search of Levy's apartment. Investigators found her credit cards, identification and mobile phone left behind in her purse along with partially packed suitcases. The answering machine was full, with messages left by her relatives and two from Condit. A police sergeant tried to examine Levy's laptop computer and inadvertently corrupted the internet search data as he was not a trained technician.
Computer experts took a month to reconstruct the data to determine that the laptop was used on the morning of May 1 to search for websites related to
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
,
Baskin-RobbinsBaskin-Robbins is a global chain of ice cream parlors founded by Burt Baskin and Irvine Robbins in 1953, from the merging of their respective ice cream parlors, in Glendale, California. It claims to be the world's largest ice cream franchise, with more than 5,800 locations, 2,800 of which are...
, Condit,
Southwest AirlinesSouthwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
, and a weather report from
The Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
. The last search at 12:24 p.m. was for the location of Klingle Mansion, a historic house at
Rock Creek ParkRock Creek Park is a large urban natural area with public park facilities that bisects Washington, D.C. The park is administered by the National Park Service.-Rock Creek Park:The main section of the park contains , or , along the Rock Creek Valley...
that is used as the park's administrative office. On July 25, 2001, three D.C. police sergeants and 28 police cadets searched along Glover Road in the park but failed to find evidence related to Levy. Later, a second attempt also produced nothing.
Relationship with Condit
Controversy surrounding Levy's disappearance drew the attention of the American news media. Levy's parents and friends held numerous vigils and news conferences in an attempt to "bring Chandra home." Condit, a married man who represented the congressional district in which the Levy family resided, at first denied that he had had an affair with her. Though police stated that Condit was not a suspect, Levy's family expressed that they felt Condit was being evasive and possibly hiding information about the matter.
Unidentified police sources alleged that Condit had admitted to an affair with Levy during an interview with law enforcement officers on July 7, 2001. Condit described her to police as a vegetarian who avoided drinking and smoking. He thought that Levy was going to return after her graduation and was surprised to find out that the lease on her apartment had ended. Investigators searched Condit's apartment on July 10, and questioned flight attendant Anne Marie Smith, who claimed that Condit told her she did not need to speak to the
Federal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
about his personal life. Federal officials began investigating Condit for possible
obstruction of justiceThe crime of obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, refers to the crime of interfering with the work of police, investigators, regulatory agencies, prosecutors, or other officials...
as Smith was also involved in an affair with him, though she was not an acquaintance of Levy's. Upset by leaks to the media, Condit refused to submit to a
polygraphA polygraph measures and records several physiological indices such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while the subject is asked and answers a series of questions...
test by the D.C. police; his attorney asserted that Condit passed a test administered by a privately hired examiner on July 13. He also avoided answering direct questions during a televised interview on August 23, with news anchor
Connie ChungConnie Chung, full name: Constance Yu-Hwa Chung Povich is an American journalist who has been an anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC. Some of her more famous interview subjects include Claus von Bülow and U.S...
on the
ABC NewsABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
program
Primetime ThursdayPrimetime is an American news magazine show which debuted on ABC in 1989 with co-hosts Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer and originally had the title Primetime Live.-Early history:...
. Intensive coverage continued until news of the September 11 attacks supplanted the media's coverage of the Levy case.
In a nationwide Fox News/Opinion Dynamics poll of 900 registered voters conducted in July 2001, 44 percent of American respondents thought that Condit was involved in Levy's disappearance and 27 percent felt that he should resign. Fifty-one percent of the respondents believed that he was acting as if he were guilty and only 13 percent felt that he should run again for office. However, the poll sample taken from Condit's congressional district held a more favorable view of Condit. On March 5, 2002, Condit lost the Democratic primary election for his Congressional seat to his former aide, then-
AssemblymanThe California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature. There are 80 members in the Assembly, representing an approximately equal number of constituents, with each district having a population of at least 420,000...
Dennis CardozaDennis A. Cardoza is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. The district takes in a large swath of the Central Valley, from Stockton to Fresno. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, with the Levy controversy being cited as a contributing factor. He was subpoenaed to appear on April 1, 2002, before a District of Columbia
grand juryA grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
investigating the disappearance. The date was kept a carefully guarded secret to avoid further leaks. Condit left Congress at the end of his term on January 3, 2003.
Discovery of remains
District of Columbia Police Chief
Charles H. RamseyCharles H. Ramsey , is the Commissioner of the Philadelphia Police Department. Prior to assuming that post in January 2008, he had served as Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia from 1998 to 2006....
announced on May 22, 2002, that skeletal remains matching Levy's
dental recordsForensic dentistry or forensic odontology is the proper handling, examination and evaluation of dental evidence, which will be then presented in the interest of justice. The evidence that may be derived from teeth, is the age and identification of the person to whom the teeth belong...
had been discovered by a man walking his dog and looking for turtles in Rock Creek Park. Detectives found bones and personal items scattered, but not buried, in a forested area along a steep incline. A sports bra, sweat shirt, leggings and tennis shoes were among the evidence that was recovered. Though police had previously covered over half the area of the 1754 acres (7.1 km²) park, that particular slope had not been searched due to its remoteness, a mile (1.6 km) north of the Klingle Mansion and about four miles (6 km) from Levy's apartment. After a preliminary
autopsyAn autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
was performed, District of Columbia police announced that there was sufficient evidence to open a homicide investigation. On May 28, D.C. medical examiner Jonathan L. Arden officially declared Levy's death a homicide, but said, "There's less to work with here than I would like. It's possible we will never know specifically how she died." Arden found damage to her hyoid bone, suggesting possible strangulation, but did not deem it to be conclusive evidence of such a cause of death. On June 6, after the police completed their search, private investigators hired by the Levys found her shin bone with some twisted wire about 25 yards from the other remains. Police chief Ramsey said, "It is unacceptable that these items were not located."
Memorial services
On May 28, 2002, the Levy family organized a memorial service at the Modesto Centre Plaza that drew over 1,200 people, some from as far as
Los AngelesLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Speakers at the 90-minute ceremony included Levy's brother, grandmother, great-aunt and friends. In a eulogy delivered in Hebrew and English by Rabbi Peter Gordon, Levy was described as "a good person taken from us much too soon." About a year later, on May 27, 2003, Levy's remains were buried in Lakewood Memorial Park Cemetery at
Hughson, CaliforniaHughson is a city in Stanislaus County, California, United States. It is part of the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 6,640 at the 2010 census, up from 3,980 at the 2000 census.-History of farming:...
, near her home town of Modesto. Attended by about 40 of Levy's friends and family members, the private ceremony concluded with the release of 12 white doves.
Identification of the prime suspect
In September 2001, D.C. police and federal prosecutors were contacted by the lawyer of an informant, held in a D.C. jail, who claimed to have knowledge of Levy's killer. The informant, whose identity was protected for his safety, said that Ingmar Guandique, a 20-year-old
SalvadoranEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
also being held in the jail, told him that Condit paid him $25,000 to kill Levy. Investigators ruled out the story about Condit, but Guandique had already admitted to assaulting two other women in the same park where Levy's remains were found. Guandique also failed to show up for work on the day of Levy's disappearance. His former landlady recalled that his face became scratched and bruised at around that time. However, the investigators on the Levy case did not interview the other Rock Creek Park victims. Police chief Ramsey avoided calling Guandique a suspect and described him as a "
person of interest"Person of interest" is a phrase used by law enforcement when announcing the name of someone involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. The phrase was adopted by the media and widely disseminated, thus most law enforcement agencies have picked up...
", telling reporters not to make "too big a deal" about him. Assistant chief
Terrance W. GainerTerrance William Gainer the 38th and current Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate and has served in this appointment since January 4, 2007. Before Gainer continued his law enforcement career in Washington, D.C., he was the Republican candidate for Cook County State's Attorney in 1988,...
said that if Guandique had been considered a suspect, D.C. police would have been after him "like flies on honey."
Guandique denied attacking Levy. On November 28, the FBI had the informant take a polygraph test, which he failed. A test on Guandique, administered on February 4, 2002, returned inconclusive results that were officially ruled "not deceptive". Because the informant and Guandique both spoke little English, D.C. chief detective Jack Barrett said that he would have preferred polygraph tests administered by bilingual examiners, who were unavailable at the time. When Judge Noel Anketell Kramer was asked about Guandique's potential connection to the Levy homicide, she responded, "This is such a satellite issue. To me it doesn't have anything to do with this case." Kramer sentenced Guandique to 10 years in prison for his other attacks at Rock Creek Park. Guandique was sent to the
U.S. Penitentiary, Big SandyThe United States Penitentiary Big Sandy, located in unincorporated Martin County, Kentucky, near Inez, is a high security facility housing male inmates. An adjacent minimum security satellite prison camp also houses male inmates. It was completed in 2003....
near
Inez, KentuckyThere were 212 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone...
, and was later transferred to the
U.S. Penitentiary at VictorvilleThe United States Penitentiary, Victorville is a high-security federal prison for men in the United States. Part of the Federal Correctional Complex, Victorville, USP Victorville is located in Victorville, California, on the grounds of the former George Air Force Base.-Construction:USP Victorville...
,
CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
The Levy homicide remained listed as a "cold case" until 2006, when
Cathy L. Lanier succeeded Ramsey as D.C. police chief. Lanier replaced the lead detective on the case with three veteran investigators who had more homicide experience. In 2007, the editors of
the Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
assigned a new team of reporters to take a year to re-examine the Levy case. The resulting series of articles, published during the summer of 2008, focused on the past failure of the police to fully investigate Guandique's connection to the attacks in Rock Creek Park. In September 2008, investigators searched Guandique's federal prison cell in California and found a photo of Levy that he had saved from a magazine. Police interviewed acquaintances of Guandique and witnesses of the other Rock Creek Park incidents. On March 3, 2009, the
Superior Court of the District of ColumbiaThe Superior Court of the District of Columbia is the local trial court for the District of Columbia. It hears cases involving criminal and civil law. The court also handles specialized cases in the following areas: family court, landlord and tenant, probate, tax, and traffic offenses...
issued an arrest warrant for Guandique. He was returned to the custody of the
District of Columbia Department of CorrectionsThe District of Columbia Department of Corrections is a correctional agency responsible for the adult jails and other adult correctional institutions in the District of Columbia.-History:...
on April 20 via the
Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma CityThe Federal Transfer Center , located on the western edge of Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is an administrative facility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons that houses male and female holdover offenders....
. Two days later, Guandique was charged in D.C. with Levy's murder. He was
indictedAn indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
by a
grand juryA grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
on six counts: kidnapping, first degree murder committed during a kidnapping, attempted first degree sexual abuse, first degree murder committed during a sexual offense, attempted robbery, and first degree murder committed during a robbery. Guandique pleaded not guilty at his
arraignmentArraignment is a formal reading of a criminal complaint in the presence of the defendant to inform the defendant of the charges against him or her. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea...
, where a trial date was initially set for January 27, 2010. His lawyers unsuccessfully argued that Guandique's federal prison cell was outside the jurisdiction of a court-ordered search. However, after errors in processing contaminated some of the gathered evidence with
DNADeoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
from employees of the prosecution, the start date of the trial at the
Moultrie CourthouseThe H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse is a courthouse of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia located at 500 Indiana Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.-History:...
was moved to October 4, 2010.
Trial of Guandique
On October 18, 2010, jury selection commenced in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia before Judge Gerald I. Fisher. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fernando Campoamor-Sanchez presented the names of potential witnesses for the trial, including FBI agent Brad Garrett and the two women whom Guandique was convicted of assaulting. At the start of the trial, the prosecution's case was expected to take around four weeks and the defense was expected to take one day. On October 25 and 26, Halle Shilling and Christy Wiegand testified about being attacked by Guandique while jogging in Rock Creek Park. Wiegand recounted that Guandique grabbed her from behind, dragged her down a ravine and held a knife against her face.
On October 26, 2010, Levy's then-64-year-old father, Robert, took the stand and refuted statements about his past suspicions of Condit. Robert Levy testified that he told authorities during the early years of the investigation that his daughter Chandra would have been too cautious to jog in the woods alone, but stated that he no longer believed this to be true. He said that he also told police that his daughter and Condit had a five year plan between them to get married. In retrospect, Robert Levy admitted: "I just said whatever came to mind just to point to him as the villain." Robert Levy added that he had been convinced that Condit was “guilty until we learned about this character here”, referring to Guandique. On November 1, Condit testified at the trial and was asked on at least three occasions if he and Chandra Levy had been involved in a sexual relationship. He replied, "I am not going to respond to that question out of privacy for myself and Chandra." An FBI biologist testified that sperm matching Condit's DNA profile was found on underwear from Levy's apartment.
Prosecution witness Armando Morales, who shared a cell with Guandique at the U.S. Penitentiary in
KentuckyThe Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, testified that Guandique was concerned about being transferred between prisons in 2006 because of inmate violence against suspected rapists. Morales stated that Guandique, a fellow member of the
Mara SalvatruchaMara Salvatrucha is a transnational criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles and has spread to other parts of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Central America. The majority of the gang is ethnically composed of Central Americans and active in urban and suburban areas...
gang, confided to him that he had killed Levy while trying to rob her, but said that he did not rape her. The prosecution rested their case on November 10, while dropping two out of the six charges against Guandique: sexual assault and murder associated with that assault. On November 15, the defense rested its case without calling Guandique to the stand. Other prison witnesses called by the defense refuted Morales' testimony. Jose Manuel Alaniz said that Guandique made no mention of rape or murder while sharing a cell with both Alaniz and Morales at the penitentiary in Kentucky. However, Alaniz admitted under
cross-examinationIn law, cross-examination is the interrogation of a witness called by one's opponent. It is preceded by direct examination and may be followed by a redirect .- Variations by Jurisdiction :In...
that he "didn't want to be too nosy" and was often asleep at the prison while recovering from a gunshot wound. The prosecution dropped two more charges because the
statute of limitationsA statute of limitations is an enactment in a common law legal system that sets the maximum time after an event that legal proceedings based on that event may be initiated...
had passed: kidnapping and attempted robbery. During closing arguments for the remaining charges of first degree murder committed during a kidnapping and during a robbery, prosecutor Amanda Haines contended that Guandique bound and gagged Levy after attacking her, leaving her to die of dehydration or exposure in the park. Defense attorney Santha Sonenberg countered with the lack of any DNA evidence connecting Guandique to the crime scene. Calling the prosecution's case "fiction", Sonenberg suggested that Levy had been murdered elsewhere, with her dead body being dumped in the park.
The jury began deliberations on November 17, 2010. Scheduled proceedings of the case met delays because of increased security at the courthouse. After two days of deliberations, all but one juror had voted to convict Guandique. On the third day, the jury asked Judge Gerald Fisher to clarify the definition of
assaultIn law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
. Fisher responded that any physical injury could legally be considered an assault, regardless of how small. On November 22, 2010, the jury found Guandique guilty of both remaining counts of first degree murder. After the trial, a juror said the testimony of Morales was decisive in reaching the verdict. The conviction was called a "miracle" for having been reached with only circumstantial evidence. Gladys Weatherspoon, who had previously represented Guandique in the 2001 assault cases, stated that she was troubled by the jury's verdict: "I just think they were going to convict anyway.... They felt bad for that woman, the mom. She's sitting in there every day." At a post-trial press conference, Susan Levy said, "There's always going to be a feeling of sadness. I can surely tell you, it ain't closure." Since the conclusion of the trial, Susan Levy has moved to keep photographic evidence of her daughter's remains sealed from the news media.
Sentencing and appeals
On February 1, 2011, Guandique's attorneys requested a
new trialA new trial or retrial is a recurrence of a court case. Depending on the rules of the jurisdiction, a new trial may occur if:*a jury is unable to reach a verdict ;...
on the grounds that the verdict had been improperly attained. The 17-page filing claimed that the prosecutors had appealed to the emotions of the jury, using "references to facts not in evidence." The motion also alleged that one juror, who did not take notes, had breached the judge's instructions not to be "influenced by another juror's notes." The prosecution opposed a retrial, arguing that the issue regarding the notes was no more than a technicality that did not have a significant effect on the verdict.
Guandique faced a minimum penalty of 30 years to a maximum of
life imprisonmentLife imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
without the possibility of
paroleParole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
. In seeking the maximum possible sentence, the prosecutors stated that Guandique "is unable to control himself and thus, will always remain a danger to women." A memo submitted by the prosecution in February 2011 cited Guandique's harassment of female staff in prison, including soliciting a nurse and masturbating in front of guards. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fernando Campoamor-Sanchez disclosed that he had traveled to El Salvador with a detective to investigate allegations that Guandique had fled his native country because of suspected attacks against local women dating back to 1999. During the sentencing hearing on February 11, Guandique said to Levy's family, "I am sorry for what happened to your daughter," and insisted on his innocence. Before Judge Gerald Fisher reminded her to address the court instead of the defendant, Susan Levy responded directly: "Did you really take her life? Look me in my eyes and tell me." Fisher denied Guandique's motion for retrial and handed down a sentence of 60 years in prison, stating that Guandique "will be a danger for some time. He's a sexual predator."
On February 25, 2011, public defender James Klein filed an appeal of Guandique's conviction with the
District of Columbia Court of AppealsThe District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court of the District of Columbia. Established by the United States Congress in 1970, it is equivalent to a state supreme court, except that its power derives from Article I of the U.S. Constitution rather than from the inherent sovereignty...
. According to the court's annual report, appeals take an average of 588 days to reach resolution. Guandique will be eligible for parole when he is at least 80 years old.
Media coverage
The disappearance of Chandra Levy became a national topic of the news media in the summer of 2001, with 63 percent of Americans closely following the case. The media swamped Levy's parents from the moment they decided to go to Washington, D.C. in search of their daughter. According to Condit, there were about a hundred reporters camped out in front of his apartment during the morning of September 11, 2001, but they all left after news had spread about the terrorist attacks. Media critics and cable news executives later cited the Levy case, as well as the concurrent
sensationalistSensationalism is a type of editorial bias in mass media in which events and topics in news stories and pieces are over-hyped to increase viewership or readership numbers...
coverage of a string of
shark attackA shark attack is an attack on a human by a shark. Every year around 60 shark attacks are reported worldwide, although death is quite unusual. Despite the relative rarity of shark attacks, the fear of sharks is a common phenomenon, having been fueled by the occasional instances of serial attacks,...
s, as a reflection of the manner of news coverage in the United States before the September 11 attacks had taken priority.
In 2002, D.C. newspaper
Roll CallRoll Call is a newspaper published in Washington, D.C., United States, from Monday to Thursday when the United States Congress is in session and on Mondays only during recess. Roll Call reports news of legislative and political maneuverings on Capitol Hill, as well as political coverage of...
first reported the possible connection of Ingmar Guandique to the case, with little effect on the news media's focus on Condit. Conservative commentator
Michelle MalkinMichelle Malkin is an American conservative blogger, political commentator, and author. Her weekly syndicated column appears in a number of newspapers and websites. She is a Fox News Channel contributor and has been a guest on MSNBC, C-SPAN, and national radio programs...
noted the lack of headlines that an illegal immigrant had been questioned in the Levy case. She stated that in her review of 115 news items from the Lexis-Nexis database, not a single mention of Guandique referred to his status as a "criminal
illegal alienIllegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...
". She called the "glaring omission" of his status "a newsworthy act of negligence". She wrote that only the very conservative
Human EventsHuman Events is a weekly American conservative magazine. It takes its name from the first sentence of the United States Declaration of Independence...
reported that the
Immigration and Naturalization ServiceThe United States Immigration and Naturalization Service , now referred to as Legacy INS, ceased to exist under that name on March 1, 2003, when most of its functions were transferred from the Department of Justice to three new components within the newly created Department of Homeland Security, as...
had approved his working legally while applying for
temporary protected statusTemporary protected status is a temporary immigration status to the United States, granted to eligible nationals of designated countries.In 1990, as part of the Immigration Act of 1990 , P.L...
. That application was ultimately denied, but not before he had already assaulted the two other women at Rock Creek Park.
In 2005, investigative journalist
Dominick DunneDominick John Dunne was an American writer and investigative journalist, whose subjects frequently hinged on the ways in which high society interacts with the judicial system...
said on
Larry King LiveLarry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
that he believed Gary Condit knew more information about the Levy case than he had been disclosing. Condit filed two lawsuits against Dunne, forcing him into an undisclosed financial settlement on one of them. In 2008, U.S. District Judge Peter Leisure dismissed the other suit that alleged slander, because "The context in which Dunne's statements were made demonstrates that they were part of a discussion about 'speculation' in the media and inaccurate media coverage."
During the summer of 2008,
The Washington Post ran a 13-part series billed, in part, as "a tale of the tabloid and mainstream press pack journalism that helped derail the investigation." The two investigative reporters behind the
Post series,
Scott HighamScott Higham is a Pulitzer Prize-winning member of The Washington Post's investigations unit. He has conducted numerous investigations for the news organization, including an examination of abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison, and waste and fraud in Homeland Security contracting...
and
Sari HorwitzSari Horwitz is a Pulitzer-Prize winning member of The Washington Post's investigation unit. A reporter for The Washington Post since 1984, she has covered crime, homeland security, federal law enforcement, education, and social services.-Career:...
, wrote a book detailing their investigation. The book,
Finding ChandraFinding Chandra: A True Washington Murder Mystery is a non-fiction book by Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz, two Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalists at the Washington Post. The book, released in May 2010, chronicles the 2001 disappearance of Washington, DC intern Chandra Levy, whose...
, was released in May 2010. Commentators, including
The Washington Post Metro reporter Robert Pierre wrote that emphasis on a glamorous white murder victim, when "about 200 people are killed in this city every year, most of them black and male," was "absolutely absurd and dare I say, racist, at its core."
The media were criticized for their "rush to judgment" in suggesting, sometimes blatantly, that Condit was guilty of the murder, especially in the early days of the investigation. Some of the reporters camped in front of Condit's Washington apartment house were quoted as saying that they would remain there "until he resigns." When Ingmar Guandique was convicted in November 2010 of murdering Levy, Condit's lawyer Bert Fields remarked, "It's a complete vindication but that comes a little late. Who gives him his career back?"
Aftermath
Levy's death had a lasting impact, in part due to the efforts of her family and friends. Levy's disappearance came after a number of other high-profile cases that led to the creation of resources for missing young adults. For example, Levy's parents quickly turned for help to the Carole Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation, a nonprofit group that was established in Modesto after three female hikers disappeared from a 1999 trip to
Yosemite National ParkYosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain...
and were later found slain. That foundation, which offered the Levys staff support and contributed towards a cash reward for information about Chandra's disappearance, was merged into the
Laci & Conner Search and Rescue FundLaci Denise Peterson was an American woman who was the subject of a highly discussed murder case after she went missing while seven and a half months pregnant with her first child. Peterson was reportedly last seen alive on December 24, 2002...
in 2009; Susan Levy had previously participated in the efforts to find
Laci PetersonLaci Denise Peterson was an American woman who was the subject of a highly discussed murder case after she went missing while seven and a half months pregnant with her first child. Peterson was reportedly last seen alive on December 24, 2002...
, another missing woman from Modesto. In 1997, 18-year-old
Kristen ModafferiKristen Modafferi is a former college student from Charlotte, North Carolina, who vanished without a trace on June 23, 1997, barely three weeks after her eighteenth birthday. Having just completed her freshman year at North Carolina State University, she had gone to spend the summer in the San...
mysteriously disappeared from
North CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and her parents turned to their congresswoman for help when Kristen was deemed too old to be helped by the
National Center for Missing and Exploited ChildrenThe National Center for Missing and Exploited Children is a private, non-profit organization established in 1984 by the United States Congress.-Establishment and overview:...
. As a result, Congress enacted "Kristen's Law" in October 2000, which established the National Center for Missing Adults (NCMA) within the
U.S. Department of JusticeThe United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
to coordinate such missing person cases. By the time Levy disappeared, institutions were in place to provide her family with support and to assist in a nationwide search to locate her. Although the Levy family moved quickly to mobilize all such available resources, including offering a cash reward for information, hiring their own investigators, and seeking media attention, those efforts to locate Chandra Levy or find her killer were overshadowed by the speculation surrounding her possible relationship with Condit. Susan Levy later joined with Donna Raley, the mother of another young woman who disappeared in 1999 from Modesto, to form "Wings of Protection", a support group for people with missing loved ones. The
Mary Ann LiebertMary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a publishing company founded by its current president, Mary Ann Liebert, in 1980. The company publishes peer-reviewed academic journals, books, and trade magazines in the areas of biotechnology, biomedical research/life sciences, clinical medicine, alternative/integrative...
company, publishers of the
Journal of Women's Health and Gender-Based Medicine, presented their annual Criterion Award in May 2002 to Susan Levy for her work with "Wings of Protection".
NewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine stated that the media may have become more skeptical of "
herd mentalityHerd mentality describes how people are influenced by their peers to adopt certain behaviors, follow trends, and/or purchase items. Examples of the herd mentality include stock market trends, fashions in apparel, cars, taste in music, home décor, etc...
" and open to alternative suspects after the Levy case. The D.C. police claimed that they would have discovered Levy's body earlier, if not for a miscommunication regarding the scope of the search. Commanders had ordered a search within 100 yards of each road and trail in Rock Creek Park, but searches were focused within 100 yards of roads only, resulting in the body remaining undiscovered for a longer period of time. Both the Chief of Detectives, Jack Barrett, and the Chief of Police, Charles H. Ramsey, have since left the force in D.C. Ramsey became head of the
Philadelphia Police DepartmentThe Philadelphia Police Department is the police agency responsible for law enforcement and investigations within the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
; Barrett, who became an analyst for an intelligence support firm in Arlington, Virginia, stated in hindsight that the media had imposed "enormous amounts of pressure" on the D.C. police. Morales, who is serving time for conspiracy to distribute
methamphetamine Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
and
crack cocaineCrack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
, is scheduled to be released on August 5, 2016. Condit retired from politics and moved with his wife to
Phoenix, ArizonaPhoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
, to manage real estate and open two
Baskin-RobbinsBaskin-Robbins is a global chain of ice cream parlors founded by Burt Baskin and Irvine Robbins in 1953, from the merging of their respective ice cream parlors, in Glendale, California. It claims to be the world's largest ice cream franchise, with more than 5,800 locations, 2,800 of which are...
franchises, which have since closed.
External links
- Chandra Levy coverage at the Modesto Bee
The Modesto Bee is a California newspaper, originally founded in 1884 as the Daily Evening News and published continuously as a daily under a variety of names. Prior to its purchase by Charles K. McClatchy and McClatchy Newspapers in 1924, it merged in the same year with the Modesto News-Herald,...
- Chandra Levy murder case at truTV
- Chandra Levy case timeline (2000-2002) at ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
- Chandra Levy case timeline (2000-2010) at The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
- Homicide Investigation—Chandra Ann Levy by the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department
The Metropolitan Police Department, also known as the DC Police, DCPD, MPD, and MPDC is the municipal police force in Washington, D.C...
(mirrored by the Internet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
)
- United States of America v. Ingmar Guandique documents at the Superior Court of the District of Columbia
The Superior Court of the District of Columbia is the local trial court for the District of Columbia. It hears cases involving criminal and civil law. The court also handles specialized cases in the following areas: family court, landlord and tenant, probate, tax, and traffic offenses...
- "Who Killed Chandra Levy?", a 13-part series from The Washington Post