Legal Research

Did Inmante Tip Lead To "Break" In Levy Case?

By David Badertscher, PLL

Source: Crime and Justice News, February 23, 2009.

"Washington, D.C., police are seeking an arrest warrant against an imprisoned Salvadoran immigrant for the eight-year-old slaying of federal intern Chandra Levy, whose case became famous because of her relationship with former Rep. Gary Condit (D-CA), the Washington Post reports. The Post ran a series last year that pointed to the suspect, Ingmar Guandique, 27. He is in prison for attacking two women at knifepoint in Rock Creek Park, where Levy's remains were found in 2002. Washington Police Chief Cathy Lanier told Levy's parents in California that, 'We really came down with a break.' The Post didn't describe the break, but the New York Times, quoting anonymous law enforcement sources, says it was based on information from a fellow prisoner of Guandique in a federal facility in Adelanto, Ca."

"The Post series cited a number of police missteps. Police corrupted a search of her computer, making it difficult for them to figure out which Web sites she visited before she disappeared. Police did not learn for a month that she was looking for information about Rock Creek Park on the day she disappeared. Police began to focus on Guandique in 2002. An inmate came forward to say Guandique confessed to the crime while they were in jail. He has denied killing Levy."

Washington Post

Full post as published by New York Supreme Court Criminal Term Library on February 24, 2009 (boomark / email).