New trial granted for Chandra Levy’s convicted killer

A federal judge has granted a new trial for the man convicted in the killing of Washington intern Chandra Levy more than a decade ago, according to multiple reports. 

D.C. Superior Court Judge Gerald Fisher agreed to the new trial, setting aside the 2010 trial verdict he oversaw leading to the 60-year prison sentence for Ingmar Guandique, 34, The Washington Post reported.

{mosads}Prosecutors dropped their opposition to another trial before a new judge and jury.

They said the government “continues to believe the verdict was correct,” but the “passage of time and the unique circumstances of this case” made opposition to the defense motion more difficult, according to the Post.

Defense lawyers have raised concerns over the testimony from a key government witness.

Key testimony in the case came from former cellmate Armando Morales, who had said Guandique told him he attacked Levy for money and that he hadn’t worked with prosecutors in other cases. 

Guandique was convicted of killing Levy, a 24-year-old college student interning at the Federal Bureau of Prisons when she went missing in Rock Creek Park in 2001. Her remains were found the following year. 

Other female joggers from around that time had testified against Guandique, who was serving a decade in prison for assaulting two women at knifepoint when he was charged in 2009.

Levy’s disappearance sparked national attention after it was revealed she was romantically involved with a married lawmaker from her home state, then-Rep. Gary Condit (D-Calif.), who was later cleared.