Murder: True Crime Stories - UNSOLVED: Chandra Levy, Pt. 3

Episode Date: May 21, 2024

In May 2002, Chandra Levy's disappearance turned into a murder case when her remains were discovered at a park in Washington, D.C. Until that point, her secret boyfriend, U.S. Congressman Gary Condit,... had been the likeliest culprit. But soon, a new suspect emerged... and the entire investigation was turned on its head. Murder: True Crime Stories is part of Crime House Studios. For more, follow us on Instagram @crimehouse. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Conviction is a funny thing. It gives us drive, confidence in the belief that we're doing the right thing. But conviction also has a downside. It can make our focus too singular and blind us to everything that isn't directly in front of our faces. In the aftermath of Chandra Levy's disappearance, the investigators on her case placed all their focus on U.S. Congressman Gary Condit, who was allegedly having an affair with Chandra. The authorities were so certain he was hiding something, they didn't stop to consider any other possibilities.
Starting point is 00:00:47 was hiding something, they didn't stop to consider any other possibilities. And because of that, we may never know the whole truth of what really happened to Chandra Levy. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon, and we don't always get to know the real ending. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House original show powered by Pave Studios. Every Tuesday, I'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders. At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:01:53 Your feedback truly matters. This is the third and final episode on the murder of Chandra Levy, a 24-year-old government intern who was killed in May 2001. Last episode, I told the story of the initial investigation around her disappearance and how the authorities were laser-focused on Chandra's secret boyfriend, 53-year-old U.S. Congressman Gary Condit, until a new suspect emerged. 19-year-old Ingmar Guandique. Today, I'll take you through the case against Guandique and how it evolved in ways nobody expected.
Starting point is 00:02:39 Hey everyone, it's Carter. I have a favor to ask you. If you are enjoying Murder True Crime Stories, I would be honored if you took a moment to rate and review us on Apple and Spotify. Your valuable feedback helps us improve and expand our reach so other true crime fans can find us too.
Starting point is 00:03:01 Your support means everything. and find us too. Your support means everything. In May 2001, 24-year-old Chandra Levy disappeared without a trace. The detectives on her case focused their attention on Gary Condit, the 53-year-old U.S. congressman who Chandra was having an affair with. And even though there was no physical evidence linking Condit to Chandra's disappearance, the authorities still thought he seemed suspicious because for some reason he was extremely reluctant to share any details of his relationship with Chandra. And in the weeks following her disappearance, two other women came forward to the FBI that they'd also had affairs with Condit. They both said he was
Starting point is 00:03:53 extremely controlling and were worried he might somehow be involved with whatever happened to her. There was enough smoke around Condit for the authorities to interview him multiple times, get a warrant to search his apartment, and even ask him to take a lie detector test. But after more than two months went by without any meaningful progress, the investigation was handed off to the FBI's cold case team. was handed off to the FBI's cold case team. After one last interview with Condit in July 2001, they decided there wasn't any reason to treat him as a suspect. And with Chandra still missing, the leads were drying up. But about two months after that interview,
Starting point is 00:04:47 new information emerged that turned the investigation on its head. Sometime in mid-September 2001, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C. got a tip from a lawyer representing an inmate in the D.C. jail named Ramon Alvarez. Alvarez wanted to tell them that another prisoner, whose name was Ingmar Guandique, had made a stunning confession to him. Alvarez claimed that Guandique said he'd killed Chandra Levy and Gary Condit had paid him to do it. According to Alvarez, Guandique was walking around the Adams Morgan neighborhood,
Starting point is 00:05:28 which is where Gary Condit lived in Washington, D.C., when a car pulled up next to him. It was Condit. He asked if Guandique would kill a woman in exchange for $25,000. Then he handed Guandique a picture of Chandra and told him where to find her. She liked to go jogging in Rock Creek Park, a large nature preserve full of secluded hiking trails. Alvarez said that Guandique had agreed. Soon after Condit approached him, Guandique apparently hid on a quiet part of Chandra's jogging route. When she passed by, he attacked her and hid her body in the woods. Alvarez claimed the knife Guandique used to kill her was still there. The U.S. attorneys who took the call were astounded. If Alvarez was telling the truth, this was an absolute bombshell. Not only had the killer been potentially identified,
Starting point is 00:06:37 but Gary Condit was directly implicated. They had to question Ingmar Guandique as soon as possible. On September 21, 2001, U.S. Marshals brought Guandique to the U.S. Attorney's Office for questioning. Guandique was 19 years old, 5'7", and 130 pounds, but despite his small frame, he was strong. After arriving in the U.S. from El Salvador about a year earlier, he'd spent most of his time working construction jobs. Guandique's upbringing hadn't been easy. Growing up in a rural village called Cooperativo San Jacinto, he was severely abused and struggled in school
Starting point is 00:07:29 Desperate to escape his circumstances, Guandique borrowed $5,000 from a family friend living in Washington, D.C. He used the money to pay someone to smuggle him into the United States And Guandique arrived in Washington, D.C. in March of 2000. He moved in with a family friend who'd lent him the money to get to America in an apartment right at the edge of Rock Creek Park. His friend got him odd jobs, where he made about $7.50 an hour. On top of having to pay back the money he'd borrowed, Guandique also had an ex-girlfriend back in El Salvador
Starting point is 00:08:13 who'd recently given birth to a son and needed money to help raise him. All the pressure and stress started to weigh on Guandique. He started to drink heavily and spend whatever money he had left over on drugs like marijuana and cocaine. And in early May 2001, Guandique was arrested after he broke into a neighbor's apartment and stole a gold ring. He was released on bail, and on May 14th, he attacked a young woman in Rock Creek Park named Hallie Schilling, though he wasn't identified at the time. About two months after that, he was arrested again after attacking another young woman named Christy Wiegand,
Starting point is 00:09:03 so it was understandable that the police would believe a story that Guandique had killed Chandra Levy in exchange for a sum of life-changing money. But now, Guandique denied killing her. He said the only place he'd ever seen Chandra Levy was on the TV. But the investigators weren't ready to take his word for it. And it wasn't just because of what Ramon Alvarez was claiming he'd said. When Guandique was arrested back in July,
Starting point is 00:09:37 a detective had shown him a picture of Chandra and asked if he recognized her. Guandique said yes. He'd seen Chandra at one of the parking lots at Rock Creek Park, but that was the only time. For some reason, that information was not communicated to the D.C. police. At least now, the investigators had a real lead, but they didn't have much to go on. The police had already searched Rock Creek Park, and they hadn't found Chandra there. And without a confession from Guandique himself, they really only had Ramon Alvarez's story.
Starting point is 00:10:24 And so, to see if they could trust what Alvarez was saying, the police had both Alvarez and Guandique take lie detector tests. It took a little while to get the tests scheduled. Most federal agencies were busy dealing with the fallout from the terror attacks on September 11th, and Alvarez, the informant, wasn't tested until November 28th, 2001. During the test, he was asked two important questions. One, did Guandique tell you he stabbed Chandra Levy? Did Guandique tell you he stabbed Chandra Levy?
Starting point is 00:11:12 And two, did Guandique tell you he received $25,000 from a congressman for stabbing Chandra Levy? Alvarez answered yes to both, and in both instances, he was found to be lying. It was another major blow to an investigation that had already been going nowhere. Without any concrete evidence, the investigators definitely didn't want to reopen anything on Gary Condit, now that he'd been ruled out as a suspect. There wasn't any evidence actually tying Condit to Chandra's disappearance, and it wouldn't look good to continue investigating a U.S. congressman based on the unreliable story of a convicted criminal.
Starting point is 00:11:59 But the police still wanted to have Guandique take his lie detector test, just to be sure. Perhaps because Guandique was already dealing with his existing legal issues, it took a while to arrange the test, so he wasn't administered until February 4th, 2002. As expected, when he was asked if he was involved with Chandra Levy's disappearance, he said no. His answer was listed as not deceptive. Ultimately, Guandique was sentenced to 10 years in prison for attacking the two other women in Rock Creek Park, attacking the two other women in Rock Creek Park, but when it came to Chandra Levy, he was only considered to be a person of interest. The investigation was back at square one.
Starting point is 00:12:57 There was no body, no evidence, and no suspect. By May 2002, a year had gone by with no progress in the case. But Chandra's parents, Robert and Susan Levy, weren't ready to give up. To rekindle public interest in the case, the Levy's appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show on May 22, 2002. In their remote interview, they said they still had hope they'd find their daughter alive, even though they acknowledged it was unlikely. It was an emotionally draining interview. After it ended, Susan went into Chandra's room and curled up in her bed.
Starting point is 00:13:49 She fell asleep clutching her daughter's blanket. It was the only way she could be close to Chandra after this horrifying year. Susan had no idea that when she woke up, everything would change. stories, then you'll love the Crime House original, Mind of a Serial Killer. What sets Mind of a Serial Killer apart is its focus on the twisted psychology of the world's most notorious serial killers. Names like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, the Night Stalker, featuring expert psychological analysis from licensed clinical and forensic psychologist Dr. Tristan Engels. Mind of a Serial Killer will take you into their stories like never before. So get ready to uncover what drives someone to commit the unimaginable.
Starting point is 00:14:59 Mind of a Serial Killer is a Crime House original. New episodes drop every Monday. Just search Mind of a Serial Killer and follow wherever you listen to podcasts. If you're fascinated by the darker sides of humanity, join us every week on our podcast, Serial Killers, where we go deep into notorious true crime cases. With significant research and careful analysis, we examine the psyche of a killer, their motives and targets,
Starting point is 00:15:29 and law enforcement's pursuit to stop their spree. Follow Serial Killers wherever you get your podcasts and get new episodes every Monday. At the same time that Susan and Robert were talking to Oprah on the morning of May 22, 2002, a 42-year-old furniture maker in Washington, D.C. named Philip Palmer went out for his morning walk. He loved to explore the trails of Rock Creek Park with his dog Paco by his side. One of Palmer's hobbies was collecting animal bones, and on this day, he was searching along a secluded path called the Western Ridge Trail.
Starting point is 00:16:17 As he walked through the woods, he spotted something red on the side of a steep ravine. He spotted something red on the side of a steep ravine. Curious to see what it was, he carefully descended the slope and realized that it was a piece of tattered red clothing. A little lower down the hill, Palmer saw a patch of something white, obscured by a thin covering of leaves. At first glance, he thought it looked like a turtle shell. But when he brushed off the leaves, he recoiled in shock. He just discovered a human skull. Thinking fast, Palmer placed his dog's bright blue leash near the skull, then hung his sweater over a branch so he could find his way back. He didn't have a cell phone, so he scrambled back up the ravine and ran out of the park.
Starting point is 00:17:18 He started knocking on doors until someone finally answered and let him use their phone. on doors until someone finally answered and let him use their phone. Palmer called 911 and quickly got in touch with U.S. Park Police Sergeant Dennis Bosak. Palmer led Bosak to the scene and upon further inspection, Bosak discovered a Walkman and more clothing, including a t-shirt that read, Property of USC Athletics. Bosak was familiar with the Chandra Levy case and knew she was a student at USC. He wondered if he'd finally discovered her remains. He immediately contacted the D.C. Police Department, and within minutes, a swarm of officers was on the scene. A wave of reporters soon followed, and even though nobody knew if Philip Palmer had found Chandra Levy, a police representative decided to notify her parents that they might have found her.
Starting point is 00:18:31 When Susan found out that the police might have finally found her daughter, she was overwhelmed with emotion. Her legs gave out from under her, and she started crying so hard she could barely breathe. It wasn't 100% confirmed yet, but it seemed like she and Robert finally knew what happened to their daughter. In order to be sure, a medical examiner x-rayed the skull
Starting point is 00:18:56 and compared it to Chandra's dental records. It was a match. After over a year of searching, Chandra Levy had finally been found. And six days later, her death was officially labeled a homicide, which meant that her case went from being a missing person search to a murder investigation. Unfortunately, it was nearly impossible to determine the cause of death. Although the police found more bones
Starting point is 00:19:32 on that hillside in Rock Creek Park, there was no evidence of any gunshot or stab wounds on them, and the test on a neck bone that could determine if she was strangled came back inconclusive. But even though the police couldn't be sure how Chandra had died, they still believed they knew who might have killed her.
Starting point is 00:20:01 Dennis Bosak, the U.S. Park Police Sergeant who initially responded to the call about Chandra, immediately thought of another case he'd investigated, when Ingmar Guandique had attacked Christy Wiegand on July 1, 2001. In that instance, Wiegand had been pulled down a ravine while jogging in Rock Creek Park. Thankfully, she'd been able to fight off her attacker and escape. Her report to Sergeant Bosak led to Guandique's arrest. And although the circumstances around Chandra's death were murky, it certainly seems similar to what had happened to Christy Wiegand, but with more tragic results.
Starting point is 00:20:51 The similarities in the attacks were enough for the prosecutor on the case to take a closer look at Guandique, but once again, progress was slow. Guandique's lawyer wasn't making him available for interviews, and the detectives on the case were having trouble talking to Guandique's associates because very few of them spoke English. That meant the detectives needed the help of an interpreter, which made interviews awkward and uninformative. Even so, the detectives were plugging away, and on August 11, 2002, almost three months after Chandra's remains were discovered, the detectives took a trip to Guandique's old neighborhood, which happened to be at the edge of Rock Creek Park.
Starting point is 00:21:43 With the help of their translator, the detectives talked to a woman named Maria Portillo. She was the mother of Guandique's ex-girlfriend and told the detectives that Guandique was violent with her daughter. The three of them had lived in an apartment together, and Portillo claimed that Guandique became so unstable that she kicked him out in April 2001, right before Chandra went missing. The detectives were especially interested in tracking down Guandique's belongings. belongings. They were desperately trying to uncover some kind of physical evidence linking him to Chandra. And in their search of the crime scene and Chandra's apartment, one valuable item
Starting point is 00:22:36 was missing. A gold signet ring with her initials CL on them. The detectives thought that whoever had killed her might have taken the ring and kept it as a kind of trophy. But like every other lead so far, tracking down those belongings was a challenge. The day after the detectives talked to Maria Portillo, they interviewed one of Guandique's friends, a man named Jaime Flores. He told them that after Guandique had been kicked out of his girlfriend's apartment, he'd moved into a new place nearby. According to Flores, Guandique's half-brother had collected his things from this apartment after he was arrested. It took the detectives about two weeks to track him down, but he didn't know where Guandique's things were either. According to him, they were with a man known as Juan the Pig, but he had no idea where this Juan the Pig was.
Starting point is 00:23:52 had no idea where this Juan the Pig was. It was another frustrating dead end in the investigation. The prosecutor on the case was desperate to make some sort of progress. She was certain that Guandique was the prime suspect. And so, working in conjunction with the FBI, she replaced the detectives on the case with two new investigators on September 22, 2002. These detectives were bilingual and wouldn't need a translator to communicate with the Spanish speakers in Ingmar Guandique's orbit. And they quickly made an intriguing discovery. Shortly after they were appointed, the detectives questioned Guandique's boss at the construction site he was working at around the time of Chandra's death. Apparently, on May 1st, which was the last time anyone heard from Chandra,
Starting point is 00:24:48 Guandique didn't show up to work. Now, on its own, this could just be a coincidence. People miss work all the time, and Guandique probably wasn't exactly a reliable employee at this point. But taken with all the circumstantial evidence around him, it was definitely a red flag. So the detectives decided to do more digging, and they were about to get some help from the press. As the investigation gained more steam, three Washington Post reporters named Alan Lengel, Sylvia Moreno, and Sari Horowitz were eager to do some investigating of their own.
Starting point is 00:25:36 So on October 2, 2002, they drove out to Guandique's old neighborhood. After asking around a bit, they connected with a woman named Sheila Phillips Cruz. Sheila had been Guandique's landlord. She told the reporters that around the time Chandra disappeared, she noticed that Guandique had been hurt. He had a busted lip, a bloody blemish in his eye, and scratches on his throat. Sheila said that according to Guandique, he'd gotten into a fight with his girlfriend. But that didn't make sense to Sheila. She knew that Guandique's girlfriend had broken up with him. And in any case, she was tiny.
Starting point is 00:26:21 There was no way she could have inflicted that much damage on him. And that's not all Sheila had to say. She also told reporters that Guandique had left two bags full of his things in a stairwell outside the apartment. But they were long gone. But they were long gone. In the summer of 2001, after Guandique was arrested, Sheila asked the maintenance man to throw the bags away. It was another instance of one step forward, two steps back. On one hand, what the reporters learned added more fuel to the case against Guandique.
Starting point is 00:27:07 He was unstable and violent. He'd attacked two other women in similar situations. He'd missed work the day Chandra disappeared and had mysterious wounds on his face and neck. It all added up to a damning picture. But on the other hand, there was no physical evidence to back any of it up. And without access to Guandique's possessions, it was going to be hard to link him to Chandra's murder beyond any reasonable doubt. And so, no arrest was made. Chandra Levy's murder was still unsolved.
Starting point is 00:27:52 An investigation that had captivated the nation's attention for the past year slowly faded from the public consciousness. But that didn't mean Chandra was forgotten, and that people were giving up on figuring out who killed her. A few determined journalists at the Washington Post continued to doggedly put all the pieces of her story together. They examined every detail. Her time in DC, the affair with Condit, his strange behavior after her disappearance, and how Ingmar Guandique figured into all of it. Their research took almost five years to put together, but finally, in July 2008, it was ready. The 13-part series revealed details that hadn't been publicly available before. Most notably, many alleged missteps the police had made throughout the initial investigation. In the initial days after Chandra was reported missing in May 2001, the police didn't immediately secure
Starting point is 00:29:06 surveillance video from her apartment complex. By the time they thought to ask for it, it had been automatically recorded over and couldn't be recovered. That meant they couldn't determine the exact time she left her apartment or maybe even see if someone was with her that day. The series also revealed why Ingmar Guandique wasn't immediately regarded as a suspect. For instance, the U.S. Park Police never mentioned to the detectives on Chandra's case that Guandique had admitted to seeing Chandra before at Rock
Starting point is 00:29:46 Creek Park, and when Rock Creek Park was initially searched in the summer of 2001, the effort was poorly organized and incomplete. Finally, another shocking detail was that when Guandique and the informant Ramon Alvarez were given lie detector tests, they were administered by someone who wasn't bilingual. Even worse, even though Guandique's results were determined to be not deceptive, the actual reading during the test was inconclusive. And then, once Guandique finally was identified as a person of interest, it was too late to find any physical evidence
Starting point is 00:30:33 connecting him to the crime. The explosion of public interest in Chandra's story led to renewed efforts by the authorities to make progress by the authorities to make progress in the case. By this point, new detectives were overseeing the investigation and they were determined to remedy their past mistakes. They looked through their old case files, tested Chandra and Guandique's clothes for trace DNA evidence and began monitoring Guandique's communications from the prison where he was incarcerated for his attacks on the two other
Starting point is 00:31:12 women in Rock Creek Park. By September 2008, the investigators had all their ducks in a row and were ready to re-interview Guandique. On the 8th of the month, three detectives traveled to the Victorville Federal Correctional Institution in California, and what they were about to learn would crack the case against Ingmar Guandique wide open. On September 8, 2008, a trio of detectives interviewed Ingmar Guandique at the prison in California where he was incarcerated.
Starting point is 00:32:02 The detectives told Guandique that they'd found crucial DNA evidence and asked him to submit a DNA sample of his own to test it against. Guandique hesitated. He said that if they were so certain there was DNA evidence tying him to Chandra's murder, they should arrest him for it. And to be honest, he was right to question them because so far, there wasn't actually any DNA evidence in the case. But the detectives didn't have to tell him that. Legally, the police are usually allowed to stretch the truth about what they know in order to get a confession. They kept asking Guandique
Starting point is 00:32:46 why his DNA might be found on crucial evidence, and after a while, he gave in. Sort of. He told the detectives, so what if I touched her? It wasn't a full confession, but it could be regarded as an incriminating statement. Certainly it was enough for the detectives to keep questioning him. They asked why, on the day Chandra was killed, Guandique was seen with injuries on his face. He told them that two guys had beaten him up during an attempted robbery, but the detectives weren't buying it. They knew that Guandique had told his landlady he'd been hurt during an argument with his girlfriend, and they told him as much. All of a sudden, Guandique changed his story. He said that the fat lip he'd gotten that day was from the robbery attempt.
Starting point is 00:33:48 Everything else had been from the fight with his girlfriend. Of course, it was unlikely that he'd admit he got those injuries from attacking Chandra, but it was a sign that he was probably hiding something, or at least that his story couldn't be trusted. The detectives had one more question for Guandique. Before interviewing him, they'd learned that he had a tattoo on his chest of a naked woman with long black hair,
Starting point is 00:34:20 just like Chandra Levy. They wanted to know if it was a twisted way to remember what he'd done to her. In response, he just smiled and laughed. In the meantime, prison officials were searching Guandique's cell while the detectives talked to him and they found a picture of Chandra that Guandique had cut out from a magazine.
Starting point is 00:34:53 Now, none of this was direct evidence that could prove Guandique killed Chandra, but like the saying goes, where there's smoke, there tends to be fire. Like the saying goes, where there's smoke, there tends to be fire. So after talking to Guandique, the detectives decided to track down some of his associates. Shortly after the interview, they talked to someone only described as a confession witness that Guandique had boasted that he and two other men had killed a young woman with curly dark hair who was running alone on a wooded path. They also spoke to a woman who had talked with Guandique a few times about five years earlier, which wasn't that long after he became a person of interest in the Chandra Levy case. Guandique had written her a letter from prison saying that he'd spent a lot of time
Starting point is 00:35:46 in a park in Washington, D.C. and was responsible for killing a young woman. During a recorded phone call, he'd also talked about the girl who's dead. On top of that, detectives also realized that Guandique had attacked another woman in Rock Creek Park On the exact same day Chandra disappeared And in early 2009, the detectives got their most detailed confession story yet
Starting point is 00:36:20 They talked to an inmate who knew Guandique And claimed that Guandique had told him how he'd killed Chandra. As the inmate told it, Guandique and a couple friends were sitting in a park one day, smoking cocaine-laced marijuana when they saw a woman with dark curly hair run by that Guandique found attractive. The three men chased after her and dragged the woman into some bushes. When she started to fight back, Guandique said he strangled her to death, then buried the body under some leaves. It was a story with a lot of specific detail, and it corroborated what the other confession witness had told them. And it was enough for the police to decide they finally had their man. On March 3rd, 2009, Washington, D.C. Police Chief Kathy Lanier called a press conference at police headquarters.
Starting point is 00:37:29 At her side were the city's mayor, the U.S. attorney, the detectives on the Chandra Levy case, and a host of other officials. With reporters crowding around her, Chief Lanier announced that a warrant for Ingmar Guandique's arrest had been issued in connection with Chandra's murder. She took a moment to acknowledge how difficult this moment was for Chandra's parents, Susan and Robert. She said, there is very little that I can do, or any of us can do now, to offer anything to the Levees other than justice, and I hope that this offering of justice gives them some sense of peace. The press conference was also notable for one name that wasn't mentioned, Gary Condit, who was now a former congressman. Even though he'd been cleared in the Chandra Levy investigation, Condit's perceived lack of honesty in the months following her disappearance
Starting point is 00:38:31 and the revelations about his private life made it difficult for him to be re-elected. Following his exit from Congress, Condit had moved to Arizona. Despite all the scrutiny he'd faced in the public eye about his alleged affairs, Condit was still married, and even at this point in 2009, he still denied that he was ever in a romantic relationship with Chandra. But the police were convinced of one thing. He had nothing to do with her death. Now they were focusing on proving in court that Ingmar Guandique was the true and only killer. But it wouldn't be easy.
Starting point is 00:39:28 The trial finally began a year and a half later in October 2010. In the time since Guandique had been formally arrested, the authorities still hadn't found any physical evidence linking him to Chandra's murder, but they were confident that they could still get him convicted. but they were confident that they could still get him convicted. Their first step was to establish that Guandique was capable of committing such a violent act. To that end, the prosecutors asked the two women who Guandique had attacked in Rock Creek Park to testify. They both described their harrowing encounters with him and how he'd attacked them with a knife in remote sections of the park, which were all in the same area where Chandra was killed. Their testimonies must have had quite the impact on the jury, and aside from the emotions their story generated, they also established the key fact that Guandique was attacking women in Rock Creek Park
Starting point is 00:40:26 at the time Chandra was killed. But without some sort of confirmation that Guandique actually did kill Chandra, that wouldn't be enough to convict him. And the prosecutors had plenty of corroborating stories from other inmates who claimed Guandique had confessed to them, at least nine of them. The question was, which to choose from? Because each of the stories varied in some way, the prosecutors didn't want to confuse the jury by having all the inmates testify. The prosecutors didn't want to confuse the jury by having all the inmates testify. Instead, they decided to only call the single strongest witness they had. His name was Armando the Mouse Morales.
Starting point is 00:41:28 In 2006, Morales was Guandique's cellmate, and so they spent almost 24 hours a day together. He testified that during this time, Guandique was nervous because word was going around the prison that he had raped Chandra before killing her. Among many prison gangs, this is considered extremely cowardly, and rapists are often targeted for assault. Morales testified that in order to clear things up, Guandique told him the real story of what had happened with Chandra. Allegedly, Guandique was high on drugs on the day he saw Chandra run by him in the park wearing a fanny pack. Morales claimed Guandique said he needed money and chased after Chandra to rob her. But when Guandique dragged Chandra into the bushes, she fought back and he accidentally killed her. It was a powerful story, and it seemed especially credible because Morales
Starting point is 00:42:28 confirmed he wasn't receiving anything in exchange for his testimony, like a reduced sentence or transfer to a lower security prison. The prosecutors hoped that the jury would see that Morales had no motivation to lie about his testimony and take what he said at face value. Otherwise, they had no case. The trial ended in November 2010, about a month after it started. Some reporters on the scene were skeptical of the prosecution's case. One even guessed that it would take the jury less than an hour to acquit Guandique. But that one hour went by with no verdict.
Starting point is 00:43:17 And then another. By the end of the day, there was still no decision. It took the jury three and a half days to reach a verdict, and on Monday, November 22nd, the jury forewoman announced their decision in front of a packed courtroom. Ingmar Guandique was guilty of first-degree murder. was guilty of first-degree murder. After years of speculation and doubt, the case of Chandra Levy's murder was officially solved.
Starting point is 00:43:58 Grandique was sentenced to 60 years in prison, where he would likely spend the rest of his life. But the story wasn't over yet. Five years later in 2015, Guandique's attorneys discovered something during the process to appeal his conviction. Apparently, the prosecution's star witness, Armando Morales, wasn't quite as reliable as he seemed He'd offered to help other prosecutors before, which meant it was entirely possible he'd made up what he said about Guandique in order to appear more credible During the trial, the prosecutors had failed to provide that information to Guandique's lawyers. This uncertainty was enough for Guandique
Starting point is 00:44:54 to be granted a new trial scheduled for October, 2016. But before it could take place, the prosecutors announced they were dropping the charges against him. Apparently, someone had a recording of Armando Morales admitting that he'd made up his story about Guandique. And without that story, the prosecutors didn't have a case. Because Guandique had completed his sentence for attacking the other women in Rock Creek Park, he was officially a free man.
Starting point is 00:45:33 But he wouldn't be staying in the United States. Since he had entered the country illegally, he was turned over to the immigration authorities and deported back to El Salvador. So in the end, Chandra Levy's murder remains unsolved. Many are still convinced that Ingmar Guandique killed her. Others may think Gary Condit is still hiding a dark secret. Others may think Gary Condit is still hiding a dark secret. But in the eyes of the law, neither man is responsible for her murder, and we may never know who is. Not knowing who killed Chandra is something her parents have grown to accept.
Starting point is 00:46:21 Ever since their daughter disappeared, Robert and Susan Levy have refused to use the word closure. No matter what happens, nothing will ever bring their daughter back. But they are determined to honor her memory. And so are we. If you have any tips on the case, you can reach out to the D.C. Metro Police by texting 50411. Ultimately, Susan Levy said it best. As horrendous as this story is, I think our daughter would want us to educate people to go on living and go on enjoying life. I think that is what she would want us to do.
Starting point is 00:47:17 Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories. I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories. Come back next week for the story of a new murder and all the people it affected. Murder True Crime Stories is a Crime House original powered by Pave Studios here at Crime House. We want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media at Crime House on Instagram, at Crime House Studios on TikTok, and at Crime House Media on X. Don't forget to rate, review, and follow Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. Your feedback truly makes a difference. We'll be back next Tuesday. Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House original podcast powered by Pave Studios,
Starting point is 00:48:15 is executive produced by Max Cutler. This episode of Murder True Crime Stories was sound designed by Ron Shapiro, written by Alex Benidon, fact-checked by Catherine Barner, and included production assistance from Kristen Acevedo and Sarah Carroll. Murder True Crime Stories is hosted by Carter Roy. You may know a serial killer's crimes. Now, uncover the psychology behind them. Mind of a Serial Killer is a Crime House original. New episodes drop every Monday. Just search Mind of a Serial Killer and follow wherever you listen to podcasts. you listen to podcasts.
Starting point is 00:49:13 If you're fascinated by the darker sides of humanity, join us every week on our podcast, Serial Killers, where we go deep into notorious true crime cases. With significant research and careful analysis, we examine the psyche of a killer, their motives and targets, and law enforcement's pursuit to stop their spree. Follow Serial Killers wherever you get your podcasts and get new episodes every Monday.

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