‘Chandra Levy: An American Murder Mystery’ Probes Unsolved Case: Who Is Chandra Levy?

The nation was shocked when 24 year-old Washington, D.C., intern Chandra Levy disappeared while jogging on May 1, 2001. After more than a year of searching, she was presumed dead, her fate a mystery. Then, her bones were found in D.C.’s Rock Creek Park on May 22, 2002. If she had lived, she would be 40-years-old.

Fifteen years of twists, turns, and lies are highlighted in Chandra Levy: An American Murder Mystery, which premieres 8 p.m. September 4 on Investigation Discovery.

In 2001, the ill-fated intern’s name and face was as famous as any Kardashian. Levy’s alleged affair with 30-years-older, married California member of Congress Gary Condit dominated news and gossip at the same scandal level as Tiger Woods cheating on Elin Nordegren.

From 2010 to 2016, it seemed that Levy’s murderer had been arrested, tried, and convicted, and it wasn’t Gary Condit. Salvadoran immigrant and reported MS-13 gang member Ingmar Guandique was arrested in connection with Levy’s murder, standing trial in 2010. The gang member had been charged in two other rapes in Rock Creek Park where Levy’s body was found.

Guandique was convicted of Levy’s killing because of the detailed, vivid testimony of a jail cellmate, Armando Morales. In 2016, audio tapes emerged showing that Morales had made up his story of Guandique’s confession, which alleged that he robbed, but didn’t rape, Levy in Rock Creek Park on May 1, 2001.

The Washington Post reported that charges were dropped and Guandique was deported in May after a lengthy investigation proved that Morales had been lying.

Gary Condit was never officially named as a murder suspect, but shortly after the intern was reported missing, Levy’s aunt told journalists and the Washington, D.C., police that Levy had been having an affair with him.

Condit’s DNA was found on underwear that investigators gathered from Levy’s apartment, according to People. An FBI investigator confirmed the DNA findings during Guandique’s 2010 trial. Now age 69, Condit lost his bid for reelection in 2002 and retired from politics.

In 2016, Condit spoke out about the case for the first time since Levy’s remains were discovered. ABC News reported that Condit told Dr. Phil McGraw that he did not have an affair with Levy and had “been to her apartment once, maybe twice.”

Now that Guandique has been deported to El Salvador, Levy’s murder remains unsolved. Private investigator Joe McCann, who was hired by Levy’s family in 2001, told Fox News that the three-part “American Murder Mystery” special could inspire witnesses to come forward, even fifteen years later.

So much information came in after Levy’s disappearance, McCann said, that he was overwhelmed along with other investigators, with over 100 leads a day. “I hope we didn’t miss a valuable lead because there was so many things coming in,” he told Fox News’ Stephanie Nolasco.

While testifying in Guandique’s 2010 trial, Gary Condit refused to answer whether or not he had been intimate with Levy. He told prosecutor Amanda Haines “I didn’t commit any crime. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Now that Guandique has been cleared of the murder and the case is officially “cold,” Condit’s 2016 statement to Dr. Phil is that he didn’t have an affair at all.

“I’m heartbroken,” Levy’s mother Susan said. She told the Modesto Bee that she consented to be interviewed for “American Crime Story” in the hope that someone would come forward with information to solve her daughter’s killing.

“Our family is fractured,” Susan Levy said in an interview with the Modesto Bee. “It’s like broken glass or china. You try to put back the pieces but they never fit quite the same.”

[Featured Image by Debbie Noda/AP Images]