A link between Gary Condit and the disappearance and murder of Chandra Levy was never proven, but many conspiracy theorists believed that Levy was “eliminated” to prevent exposure of her relationship with Condit.
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Officials said the unforeseen events happened within the last week, but did not specify what those developments are.
The U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia issued a statement saying it has moved to dismiss the case charging Ingmar Guandique, now 36, with Levy’s 2001 slaying.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office “has concluded that it can no longer prove the murder case against Mr. Guandique beyond a reasonable doubt”, it said in a statement.
Police eventually cleared him, but Guandique’s lawyers tried to raise doubts about Condit at his 2010 trial. The lawyers had said in court that they had been seeking testimony about Condit’s sexual habits from other women with whom he had had relationships.
The 15-year-old mystery of who killed Washington intern Chandra Levy is again an open question after prosecutors dropped charges against the man who once stood convicted of her murder.
Levy’s remains were found in Washington’s Rock Creek Park in 2002 and prosecutors had argued at Guandique’s trial that he preyed on female joggers. The suspect, Ingmar Guandique, was set to go to trial in October.
The “without prejudice” part of the dismissal means prosecutors reserve the right to prosecute Guandique at a future date if new evidence emerges in the case.
In recent months, Mr. Guandique’s lawyers have raised questions about Mr. Condit. “It is now clear that the jailhouse informant, who was central to the government’s case, was a perjurer who too easily manipulated the prosecutors”, Hankins wrote. He was charged with Levy’s murder in 2009. Morales testified at trial that Guandique confided in him that he was responsible for Levy’s death.
Guandique’s lawyers argued that Morales’ testimony was unreliable and that no physical evidence linking Guandique to the crime existed. Prosecutors say they will not retry a man convicted of killing Washington intern Chandra Levy. Guandique had been convicted of the slaying in 2010, but a judge granted a retrial previous year because of the prosecution’s failure to disclose evidence about the cellmate who testified against him. Some of the women expressed fear of the former congressman and said he instructed them to keep their relationships secret.
Police called Condit, who told investigators that he had not heard from Levy for a week.
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At the time that he was charged with the murder of Chandra Levy, the defendant was already incarcerated on a 10-year sentence for for attacking two women. Efforts to reach Ms. Levy’s parents were not immediately successful on Thursday.
