In 2001, Chandra Levy disappeared.  Her picture and her story were on every news station and discussed on the radio.  Hers was a high profile case because she was a Washington intern and was linked romantically to then California Representative Gary Condit.  Condit was even a suspect in Levy’s disappearance.

Nine years later, the trial for Ingmar Guandique, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, has now started in Washington DC.  Guandique is charged with the attempted sexual assault and murder of Chandra Levy.  Guandique was arrested and charged with the murder because he allegedly bragged to other inmates about killing Levy.

Police were so focused on Gary Condit as the prime suspect that they failed to notice that there could have been another lead.  There was someone attacking women at Rock Creek Park.

Seven weeks after the disappearance of Levy, Guandique was accused of assaulting and kidnapping Christy Wiegand.  Wiegand was running in Rock Creek Park and Guandique came up behind her and held a knife to her throat.  Wiegand got away from Guandique and later identified Guandique as her attacker.

Another woman, Halle Shilling, was also attacked in the same park around the same time.  Guandique was questioned about this attack and he incriminated himself by saying he saw the woman at the day in question and was at the scene of the crime.

Police then questioned Guandique about the disappearance of Chandra Levy.  He admitted to seeing Levy in the park, but no evidence was found against him.

One of the last searches from Levy’s computer from the day that she disappeared was a map of Rock Creek Park.  Still, the police did not consider Guandiqe as a suspect even though he had confessed to attacking two women in the park around the same time as Levy’s disappearance.  Police did not suspect Guandique of the disappearance of Levy until Guandique confessed to a jailhouse informant that he had murdered Levy.

Now that Guandique has confessed to the murder of Chandra Levy, he will have to face the consequences in a court of law.

by Jana Hughes

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