Episode 4: Chandra Levy
Hello,
In this episode, I want to take about another case that I have always been obsessed with since I heard about it. I was 13 when this one happened so I vaguely remember it. I do remember seeing it on 20 Most Shocking Unsolved Crimes that came out in 2007 and listed this one at number 5.
I am still trying to figure out the best camera angles for these things so please bear with me. Suggestions are welcome.
I basically read this post in the Episode so if you want to start it and read along you can.
Let’s start with a little background on Chandra.
A little background on Chandra. She was born to parents Robert and Susan Levy. The family had moved from Ohio to California where she attended High School. Chandra got her Journalism degree from San Francisco State University. During her time in college, she interned for the California Bureau of Secondary Education and worked in the office of Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan. After that, she attended the University of Southern California to earn a master's degree in public administration before moving to D.C for part of her final semester to become a paid intern with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
In October 2000 she began her internship at the bureau's headquarters, where she was assigned to the public affairs division. Dan Dunne, who was her supervisor said he was impressed with her and especially the way she handled media inquiries regarding the upcoming execution of Timothy McVeigh. In April of 2001, her internship was abruptly terminated because her academic had expired in December 2000. She was scheduled to return back to California in May since she had already completed her master's degree requirements. She was 24 years old at this time.
Since we have discussed the background let’s talk about the timeline of events. We are starting in 2001 when she 1st disappeared.
May 1st- The last day she was seen.
May 6th- Her parents called the DC Police because they hadn’t heard from her in 5 days.
May 7th- Her father told the police she was having an affair with a congressman.
May 10th- Police got a warrant to search her apartment. In which they found her purse which contained credit cards, identification, and mobile phone. Also a partially packed suitcase and a full answer machine with 2 messages from a congressman.
July 25- There was a search along Glover Road in the park but failed to find evidence related to Levy.
Aug 2nd-anonymous tip claiming Chandra Levy's body was buried on the grounds of a military installation near Richmond, VA. It was false.
May 22, 2002- A man walking his dog discovers skeletal remains in Washington's Rock Creek Park. They used dental records to determine the remains were Chandra Levy.
May 28, 2002- A medical examiner concludes that her death was a homicide but says there is not enough evidence to determine the manner of death.
Not really much happens from then to when the body is found. The main focus during this time is the Congressman who I will talk more about him when I get into the suspects. Also, the Attacks of September 11th put a hold on the case.
Now that we have the basic information let’s talk about the suspects.
Suspects-
Gary Condit- The congressman Chandra was having an affair with. He was 53 at the time of the affair started while she was 23. She had mentioned to several people that she had a congressman boyfriend including her parents, who when through her phone bill and found his office number. He did offer up a DNA sample to police but 3 hours before they got a search warrant he did toss out a watch box from a former aid. It was just sketchy and a tip came in about it so they were able to recover it. He played it off as nothing and for years he denied the affair. He finally kind of admitting it by saying He had seen her outside the office once at a restaurant and twice she came by my condo, which was again no big deal since several people had come by his condo. He was the main suspect at the beginning cause of his status this affair is ultimately what ended his career.
Ingmar Guandique- He was taken into custody in July for attacking two different women in the same park where Chandra Levy disappeared -- one attack was in early July 2001 and the other was in mid-May 2001. He took and passed an FBI-administered polygraph examination in Sept 2001 about Chandra and was dismissed as a suspect. In 2009 The case against Guandique relied largely on testimony from his former cellmate Armando Morales, who states he told him that he saw her with a fanny pack and decided to rob her, so he hid up in the bushes, then ran up behind her, grabbed her from behind... by the neck to drag her into the bush. Also stating that by the time he got her to the bushes that she had stopped struggling. He has claimed that he is innocent of killing Chandra. On November 22, 2010, He was convicted of all charges of his crimes and sentenced to 60 years in prison. The charges were dropped in July 2016 citing “unforeseen developments”, due to Babs Proller, who had met Morales after he was released from prison, and got him on tape admitting that he lied about the jailhouse confession. He was deported back to El Salvador, in 2017 after his sentence was up.
John Conyers- who was the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives. He had allegations of sexual misconduct which led to him stepping down in 2017. One of his accusers stated that when she denied his advance he brought up Chandra. They stated he said he had insider information on the case, but she wasn’t sure if that was just a threaten or legit. It’s a strange fucked up tactic and why I am including him on this list.
What do I think happened?
This case still remains unsolved with no more leads coming forward in years. There is someone out there who knows what happened to her and has lucked out not getting caught. This one has always bothered me cause she seems like she had a lot of potentials and could have been doing some good work if she wouldn’t have been murdered. This case also helped me learn at a young age how dumb young girls are for falling for older men who are usually married.. You know what, it happens to the best of us just remember they never leave the wife so get out before you get too deep. It does make me think if she fell for Condit’s charm could there have been another congressman? Since Conyers suggested he knew something is there some elite boys club that knows something and put the hit out on her? It’s DC and there have been and probably always will be dirty politicians who will prey on the young and dumb interns. If that is the case I don’t think we will find that out until someone's guilty conscience kicks in or we get the ever so popular deathbed confession.
What are your thoughts? Who do you think killed Chandra Levy?
References:
Crime Junkie post on the Case.
Case Details information I found
History.com page on Chandra Levy.
Recipes for Chicken Lo Mein
Total Cook Time: about 40 Mins.
Ingredients for your grocery list
Chicken or whatever protein you want
Mushroom
Broccoli
Noodles of your choice4 (I used Spaghetti)
Chicken Broth
Honey
Sesame Oil
Cornstarch
Soy Sauce
Minced Garlic
Olive Oil
Directions for the recipe
Put some water and a little salt in a pot for the pasta. Turn it to Medium Heat. You need to bring it to a boil before you put in the noodles.
Put your frying pan on the stove and pour in some Olive Oil. Turn to Medium Heat.
While your pan is heating up wash and cut up however much Chicken/Protein and Vegetables that you want to use.
Dump your cut-up things into the pan and add some minced garlic and a little soy sauce. Use however much you need. Cook everything until the Protein is cooked all the way through.
If your water is boiling then go ahead and put your noodles in.
Next, let’s start the Lo Mein Sauce. Add the following amount into a saucepan and mix until everything dissolves together.
1 tsp sesame oil
Tbsp honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 tsp cornstarch
Once the pasta is cooked drain it.
Add all the things you made into the Saucepan. I did the noodles then the Chicken and Vegetables.
Finally, make yourself a plate and enjoy!
