Chandra Levy
On May 1, 2001, Chandra Levy, a 24-year-old intern with the Bureau of Prisons, was reported missing. In the months that followed, the public learned that Congressman Gary Condit (D-CA) had developed a close personal relationship with Levy. A year after her disappearance, her skeletal remains were found.
In the Fall of 2000, Chandra Levy moved to Washington D.C. in pursuit of a career with the FBI. She was in her last year at the University of Southern California – on her way to a Master’s Degree in criminal justice. In Washington, she developed a friendship with Congressman Condit, a man who represented her parent’s congressional district and 28 years her senior. Some speculated it was more than a friendship. However, Condit, a married man, never publicly admitted to an affair.
Rep. Gary Condit
On May 1, Chandra left her apartment in Dupont Circle without identification, credit cards, or a cell phone. Five days later, her parents reported her missing to Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police. Levy’s disappearance created a media firestorm after it was leaked that Chandra’s aunt told police her niece confided in her that she was having an affair with Condit.
The media ran with the Levy case. In August 2001, Condit sat down for an interview with ABC News’ Connie Chung. He denied killing or harming Levy. However, some of his evasive answers did not exonerate him from public scorn.
A year after her disappearance, Levy’s body was found in Rock Creek Park in Washington D.C. Her remains had been so badly decomposed that a cause of death could not be determined. Several years passed with no cracks in the case. However, in 2009 a man named Ingmar Guandique was charged with her murder, after his former cellmate Armando Morales said Guandique admitted to killing Levy. Morales’ testimony was used in the conviction of Guandique, even though no DNA evidence linked him to the crime scene.
In 2015, Guandique was granted a new trial. However, by 2016 his conviction was overturned due to Morales admitting in a recording that he lied about Gaundique’s involvement in the Levy case. The case remains unsolved to this date.
Condit would end up lost in the 2002 Democratic primary against Dennis Cardoza. He still maintains his innocence.
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