Thread: Illegal Immigrant Who Killed Chandra Levy May Be Released

by William Bigelow
14 Jul 2015

Attorneys for Ingmar Guandique, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador who murdered Washington intern Chandra Levy in 2001, will likely ask for Guandique to be released from jail while he awaits a retrial of his 2010 conviction. A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

Gunadique’s attorneys requested a new trial, asserting that evidence from a key witness against Guandique was false or misleading and claiming that a new trial would serve the “interests of justice.” In May, prosecutors agreed to a new trial despite the fact that they thought that Guandique’s conviction was justified. In June, a judge ruled that a new trial could be held; it is scheduled for 2016.

The Levy case created a national sensation. Congressman Gary A. Condit, who was having an affair with Levy, 24, was initially suspected of her murder, but he was cleared. It took a year after the murder for Levy’s remains to be discovered.

Because of the lack of forensic evidence linking Guandique to the murder, he was not convicted until a former cellmate revealed Guandique’s confession in 2006. Guandique confessed he was high on drugs in Rock Creek Park when he saw Levy wearing a waist pouch, so he robbed her. Guandique told the cellmate, “You don’t understand. . . . Homeboy, I killed the [expletive], but I didn’t rape her.”

http://www.breitbart.com/big-governm...y-be-released/

I was never comfortable with that conviction and I'm still not. Cell mate prosecution witnesses are usually bought with prosecutor's promise of fine outcomes for the "suddenly" found witness. I always question the validity of jurors who convict upon such weak "evidence."

Tuesday, July 14, 2015 05:34PM

WASHINGTON --
A man convicted of killing Washington intern Chandra Levy will stay in prison while waiting to be re-tried.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert Morin ruled Tuesday that Ingmar Guandique would be held while waiting for his 2016 trial. Guandique is also being held on an immigration detainer.

Guandique was convicted in 2010 but his attorneys requested a new trial because they said a key witness in the case gave false testimony. Prosecutors said in May that they believe the jury's verdict was correct but would no longer oppose the request for a new trial. A judge granted it in June.

Levy's 2001 disappearance created a national sensation after the 24-year-old was romantically linked with then-U.S. Rep. Gary Condit. Condit, a California Democrat, was ruled out as a suspect.

http://abc7news.com/news/man-convict...prison/851648/