Man convicted of killing Chandra Levy

A Washington jury Monday found Ingmar Guandique guilty of murder in the 2001 death of intern Chandra Levy, whose disappearance transfixed the nation and brought down a California congressman.

Despite a lack of eyewitness testimony or forensic evidence, the jury of nine women and three men found Guandique, 29, guilty of first-degree murder. Levy was killed while running in Rock Creek Park in the nation’s capital.

The verdict brought little closure to Levy’s mother, who sought justice for nine years for her only daughter.

“The result of the verdict may be guilty, but I have a lifetime sentence of a lost limb missing from my family tree,” Susan Levy told reporters.

“I’m not sure if it’s a sense of peace,” she said in response to a question, “but I can certainly tell you it ain’t closure.”

At the time of her death, Levy had recently finished graduate studies and an internship with the Bureau of Prisons and was planning to return to her hometown of Modesto. Thirteen months after Levy disappeared, her remains were discovered on a secluded slope in the park.

The verdict came after 3½ days of deliberation. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 11. The maximum sentence is life in prison without the possibility of release.

Guandique, a Salvadoran immigrant who was in the country illegally, was charged with Levy’s killing last year while serving a 10-year sentence for attacking two women in the park about the time of Levy’s disappearance.

Guandique stared straight ahead, shaking his head as he listened with headphones to a Spanish translation of the verdict.

During the trial, prosecutors called former Rep. Gary Condit (D-Ceres) to the stand. Levy’s disappearance gained national attention when reports surfaced that Levy and Condit had been having an affair. On the stand, Condit refused to answer questions about his relationship with Levy, but prosecutors said they found Condit’s DNA on underclothes in her apartment.

After the revelations about Levy, Condit was ousted in a primary by a former aide. He moved to Arizona, where for a time he operated a Baskin-Robbins ice cream franchise.

xcxjsteffen@tribune.com

Michael A. Memoli in the Washington bureau contributed to this report.