Chandra Levy: Police Making A Second Mistake?

Prosecutors and defense disagree on whether the right criminal has been charged in the sexual assault, kidnapping and murder of Chandra Levy in May 2001. With then-congressman Gary Condit no longer the focus, all eyes are now on Ingmar Guandique, a native of El Salvador, who has now been charged with the crime, as reported by the Associated Press from Washington.

Prosecutors claim that police made the mistake in targeting Condit in Chandra Levy's disappearance, but are now telling a jury that they have the right perpetrator.

Condit was thought to be involved as he was romantically linked to the young intern. This information led police away from Guandique.

Prosecutor Amanda Haines told the jury that law enforcement "really let Miss Levy and her family down. They veered in the wrong direction because of the media and sensationalism."

Condit, who is expected to testify, is still reluctant to acknowledge a relationship with Levy. Haines said, "He tried - and will try to - keep it a secret but it had nothing to do with her murder."

Haines claims that  though they have no physical evidence, or eyewitness testimony, Guandique, while incarcerated on another crime, confessed to the murder to his cellmates. 

Levy's death fits in with Guandique's behavior in other attacks he made in the same Rock Creek Park area. He is currently serving 10 years for his assaults there in the spring and summer of 2001.

Haines said, "This is not an easy case, it's made up of bits and pieces that are going to come together."

Testimony from another women Guandique assaulted, Halle Shilling, was also heard by jurors.  Shilling stated that Guandique followed her while she jogged on a secluded trail and then jumped her from behind. She described fighting him off, "I shoved my hand into his mouth and clenched and squeezed as hard as I could. I locked my hand and didn't let go." She still feels that the incident has made her feel, "as afraid and as alone as I ever felt in my entire life."

Guandique listened to Shilling's testimony via headphones that translated her English into Spanish for him. He wore a turtleneck shirt that covered some of the gang tattoos he has on his neck.

Guandique's defense attorney, Maria Hawilo, claims that her client is nothing but a scapegoat. The DNA evidence found on Levy's clothes doesn't belong to Guandique anymore than it belongs to Condit or Levy herself. 

Prosecutors contend that the DNA has most likely been contaminated during the handling of the evidence.

Hawilo said, "The police failed and fumbled this investigation. They can't fix their failure. They can't undo their mistakes...They have turned him into an easy scapegoat."

She also said that jailhouse informants all have reasons to lie. Guandique was not charged in the Levy case until 2009, though his name was raised in 2002.

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