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Monday, Nov 22, 2010 6:44 PM UTC

Ingmar Guandique guilty in Chandra Levy murder

Washington intern's 2001 disappearance saga finally ends in a first-degree conviction for Salvadoran immigrant

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Topics: Crime,

A jury found a Salvadoran immigrant guilty on Monday of murdering Washington intern Chandra Levy back in 2001, when her disappearance became a national sensation.

Ingmar Guandique was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for attacking Levy while she exercised in Washington’s Rock Creek Park in May 2001. Her disappearance made headlines when she was romantically linked with then-Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif. Condit was once a suspect, but police no longer believe he was involved.

Investigators eventually focused on Guandique (gwahn-DEE-kay) and brought formal charges last year. Prosecutors acknowledged they had little direct evidence but said Levy’s death fit a pattern of other crimes committed by Guandique in the park.

The defense argued that Guandique became a scapegoat for a botched investigation.

The jury deliberated over parts of four days before returning with a verdict shortly before noon Monday. They could have opted for a conviction of second-degree murder, but instead chose the more serious counts. Guandique could be sentenced to a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life in prison. Sentencing was set for Feb. 11.

Defense lawyer Santha Sonenberg declined comment on whether Guandique would appeal the verdict. Prosecutors said they would issue a statement later in the day.

Guandique stared straight ahead as the verdict was read, and he shook his head as he left the courtroom. As he has throughout the trial, he wore a turtleneck that covered his gang tattoos,

Levy’s mother squinted and took notes during the hearing, then craned her neck to observe Guandique’s reaction to the reading of the verdict.

Prosecutors Amanda Haines and Fernando Campoamor-Sanchez obtained a conviction even though they had no eyewitnesses and no DNA evidence linking Guandique to Levy. And Guandique never confessed to police. Prosecutors hung their hopes in large part on a former cellmate of Guandique, Armando Morales, who testified that Guandique confided in him that he killed Levy.

Morales said Guandique was worried about being labeled a rapist by fellow inmates if word got out that he was a suspect in the Levy case. According to Morales, Guandique admitted killing Levy as part of an attempted robbery, but said he never raped her.

The government also presented testimony from two women who were attacked by Guandique in May and July of 2001 in Rock Creek Park. In both cases, Guandique attacked the women from behind while they jogged on isolated trails but ran off after each woman fought him off.

Defense attorneys said Morales’ testimony couldn’t be trusted. They also pointed to DNA from an unknown male that was found on Levy’s black running tights. The DNA matched neither Guandique nor Condit, and the defense said it was powerful evidence that the wrong person was on trial. Prosecutors argued the DNA was the result of contamination during the testing process.

The monthlong trial featured testimony from Condit himself, who denied any involvement in Levy’s disappearance or death. But as he has for the past decade, he refused to answer whether he had an affair with Levy, saying he was entitled to some privacy. Even though defense lawyers asked him several times on cross-examination, he refused to answer and the judge never required him to do so.

In their closing arguments, the defense indirectly pointed a finger at Condit, suggesting that he acted “like a guilty man” throughout the investigation by trying to cover up his affair with Levy and refusing to answer questions to a grand jury. Prosecutors said he was simply trying to protect his reputation.

Guandique, 29, listened to the entire proceedings through headphones providing a Spanish interpretation. His legs were shackled through the trial, though that was hidden from jurors’ view.

More Matthew Barakat.

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