Chandra Levy’s Convicted ‘Killer’ Demands New Trial
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
The man convicted of killing Jewish Capitol Hill intern Chandra Levy in 2001 plans to demand a new trial as reports swirl about questions about the case and secret court hearings.
Lawyers for Ingmar Guandique say his conviction in the sensational case was “predicated on a lie” and he should get a new trial, the Associated Press reported.
There was no physical evidence linking Guandique to Levy’s body, which was found in a Washington D.C. park months after she disappeared in the summer before the Sept. 11 attacks wiped the incident off the nation’s front pages.
He was convicted largely on the testimony of a jailhouse snitch who testified that Guandique confessed to him.
The statements made by attorneys for Guandique were included in 200 pages of heavily redacted documents related to hearings in the case.
Neither the public nor the press were allowed access to the hearings, which a judge claimed was due threats to a witness’s safety. Closing such hearings is extremely rare.
Prosecutors asked to seal the Dec. 18 hearing to talk about information they learned about after Guandique was sentenced. Defense attorneys say the information calls into question the testimony of one witness and “drastically undercut” the government’s case.
It was unclear if the witness was the jailhouse snitch who played a crucial role in Guandique’s conviction.
Levy father reportedly said the man convicted of killing his congressional intern daughter a decade ago should be set free if new evidence exonerates him.
“If he’s innocent of murder, he shouldn’t be in jail for it,” Robert Levy said.
“It’s all secret,” Robert Levy told Fox News said of the meetings between federal prosecutors and defense lawyers. “No one is allowed in there. It’s about some witness.”
Guandique was sentenced in 2011 to 60 years in prison for the murder of Levy, who was 24 when she disappeared. Condit disappeared from public life after losing his congressional primary in 2002. He was never named a suspect in Levy’s death. He has run ice cream stores and written a book since leaving public life. His son, Chad Condit, ran unsuccessfully for congress in 2012.
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