A promising young intern vanished, a congressman came under scrutiny,
and an accused killer was exonerated. Why was Chandra Levy's murder never solved?
On Monday, April 23, 2001, 24-year-old Chandra Ann Levy completed her final day as an intern for the
Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C. Five days later, she left a message for her landlord,
explaining that she would be moving back home to Modesto, California, on May 5 or 6. According
to NBC Washington, Levy planned to return to California in time to attend her May 11 graduation
from the University of Southern California, where she earned a master's degree. She canceled her
membership at the Washington Sports Club on Monday, April 30, and was last seen leaving
the building shortly after 7:00 p.m. The following day, Levy sent her parents an email to tell them
about her plans to return home. Unfortunately, Levy was never seen or heard from again.
"Chandra Levy simply vanished in May of 2001."
More than a year later, on Wednesday, May 22,
2002, Levy's skeletal remains were found in Rock Creek Park.
Medical examiner Jonathan Arden ruled Levy's manner of death a homicide. However,
her cause of death could not be determined due to the level of decomposition.
Early in the investigation into Levy's disappearance, rumors emerged about a relationship
between the intern and Congressman Gary Condit. According to NBC Washington, Levy told her family
she made a, quote, "secret friend" when she moved to Washington, D.C.; Levy later revealed
the friend was Congressman Condit. Chandra's mother, Susan, called Condit when her daughter
went missing. During the call, she asked Condit whether he knew anything about her daughter's
whereabouts and eventually asked the congressman whether he and Chandra were having an affair.
ABC News reports Condit ultimately disclosed he last spoke with Levy on the telephone on Sunday,
April 29. However, he vehemently denied having a romantic relationship with the missing woman.
Condit was initially reluctant to discuss his association with Levy,
fueling rumors they were having an affair. However, he was never charged
or considered a suspect in her disappearance or death. In an attempt to quell the rumors,
Condit voluntarily took a lie detector test, which reportedly concluded he was not involved
in Levy's disappearance or death. Still, the nature of their relationship remains unclear.
"Congressman Condit, do you know what happened to Chandra Levy?"
"No, I do not."
In a statement, which was published by CNN, Levy's aunt, Linda Zamsky, said Levy
confided to her that she was having a romantic relationship with Condit.
CNN reports that Gary Condit's DNA was discovered on a pair of panties found in Levy's apartment,
further fueling rumors that they were romantically involved. However,
his DNA was not found at the murder scene.
Condit insisted his relationship with Chandra Levy was platonic
in a 2016 interview with Dr. Phil. During the interview, Condit said,
"I saw her one time outside the office,
at a restaurant. [...] She came by my condo once, [...] maybe twice."
“There's nothing unusual about someone coming by my condo — a lot of people did."
Although he was never considered a suspect, Condit's connection to Levy dominated media
coverage of the case, and rumors of his involvement persisted for decades. However,
the emergence of a new person of interest eventually took the focus away from Condit.
In August 2001, authorities received a tip from a jailhouse informant,
who said a man named Ingmar Guandique confessed to abducting and killing Levy. However,
although Guandique had been convicted of attacking other women at the park,
the information was deemed to be unreliable after Guandique passed a polygraph examination.
Authorities turned their attention back to Guandique in 2008 when reexamining the case.
Amid their investigation, authorities searched Guandique's cell and ultimately
found a photograph of Chandra Levy, which had been cut from a magazine article. The
National Registry of Exonerations reports that authorities also interviewed Guandique's fellow
inmates to determine whether he had discussed Levy's case. An inmate named Armando Morales
informed the authorities that Guandique confessed to him that he killed Chandra.
Guandique was arrested in March 2009 and charged with attempted robbery, kidnapping,
and first-degree murder in Levy's abduction and death. Despite a lack of any physical
evidence linking him to the former intern, he was ultimately convicted on all three charges
and sentenced to 60 years in prison. In the years following his conviction,
Guandique's defense team discovered evidence suggesting Morales' story was fabricated,
including a recorded conversation in which he admitted he lied to authorities about
serving as an informant in previous cases. The defense team also discovered that prosecutors
unlawfully withheld information that may have assisted in Guandique's defense.
Guandique's defense team petitioned for — and were
granted — a new trial based on the evidence they presented. However,
prosecutors determined there was not enough evidence to secure another conviction,
and the charges against Guandique were dismissed. As he was an undocumented immigrant, Guandique was
released to the Department of Homeland Security and deported back to El Salvador in May 2017.
"Guandique's attorney says the dismissal of these charges vindicates his client."
Following Ingmar Guandique's release, authorities never identified any other suspects or persons
of interest in Chandra Levy's abduction and death. They also noted a number of unusual
pieces of evidence and circumstances linked to this cold case that have never been explained.
As reported by CBS News, authorities found male DNA on the clothing Levy was wearing when she
was killed, but the authorities have never found a match for the DNA. And as noted by ABC News,
Levy's cause of death is not known. Nothing was found at the scene to indicate how she was killed.
During their search of Levy's apartment, authorities noted her cell phone,
driver's license, credit cards, and checkbook were all found inside.
Three days before she vanished, Levy left a voicemail message for her aunt Linda that
has also become a point of speculation. As reported by CBS News, Levy let her
aunt know that her internship had ended and she would be returning home to California.
Authorities were also blamed for making several mistakes that
might have influenced the integrity of the investigation. Time reports that a sergeant,
who was attempting to read the search history on Levy's laptop, inadvertently cleared the history,
which delayed the discovery that she was searching for information about the park
where her body was eventually found. Officials also failed to check the apartment complex
surveillance cameras until the footage from the day Levy went missing had already been erased.
Critics have also suggested police botched the search for Levy, which likely delayed
the discovery of her remains and made it impossible for the coroner to determine
her cause of death. As reported by The Washington Post, officials who searched
the park in 2001 were told to limit their search to the roads in and around the park.