Chandra Levy Charges 'Flawed' Attorneys Claim

The suspect in the murder of intern Chandra Levy has been returned to Washington D.C. and officially charged with her death, but his attorneys say the case against him is seriously flawed. Ingmar Guandique made his first appearance in District of Columbia Superior Court Thursday.

His attorneys said the case against him is based on the accounts of "jailhouse snitches."

Public defenders Santha Sonenberg and Maria Hawilo made a motion to dismiss the charges against Guandique because they said prosecutors did not have enough probably cause to even arrest him for Levy's murder.

"There is not a single witness to ever see Mr. Guandique and the decedent together and little information unknown to the government in 2002 beyond the made-up claims of unbelievable self-serving jailhouse informants," the attorneys said.

Described Murder in Detail?

Prosecutors claim Guandique told one witness that he was involved in her slaying and he described the incident in great detail.

The motion was denied.

Guandique will remain in the District jail until his next scheduled court hearing May 27. He is currently serving a 10-year sentence in California for another assault.

The 24-year-old Levy, originally from Modesto, had recently completed her internship with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons when she took her dog for a walk in the Washington park near her apartment. She disappeared wearing jogging clothes.

More than a year later, her remains were found in Rock Creek Park.

See Also:
Attorneys Attack Case Against Levy Killing Suspect

Background:
Profile of Chandra Levy

What Is Your Opinion?
Discuss The Chandra Levy Case

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