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Ingmar Guandique, who was convicted of the murder of Congressional aide Chandra Levy in 2010, is getting a new trial. This after prosecutors dropped their objections to retrying the case.
Guandique’s conviction was overturned because it was determined that a witness against him had lied on the stand during the trial. His former cell-mate Armando Morales apparently gave false or misleading testimony during the 2010 trial. Morales’ testimony was at the corps of the prosecution’s case since there was no physical evidence to tie Guandique to the murder.
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Guandique’s attorneys maintained that the prosecutors knew or should have known that this testimony had potential problems.
The disappearance of 24 year old Chandra Levy rocked Washington and all of America back in 2001. The native of Modesto, California worked for then Congressman Gary Condit. After she disappeared it was revealed that the married Congressman was having an affair with Levy. This led to rabid speculation that Condit was responsible for her death and basically ended his political career.
But When Levy’s remains were later discovered in Washington’s Rock Creek Park in 2002, it was determined that she was one of a number of female joggers believed to have been the victims of Guandique.
Prosecutors wrote in their motion agreeing to the new trial that, “The government continues to believe the jury’s verdict was correct, ” and that the there is nothing new which, “casts doubt on the defendant’s guilt.”
But because of the situation they conceded that in, “The interests of justice will therefore be best served by the government’s withdrawal of its opposition to the defendant’s motion and affording him a new trial.”
One of Guandique’s attorneys, Jon Anderson, released a statement saying, “The government’s case against Ingmar Guandique was based on a lie. We are gratified that the government has now acknowledged that it cannot defend this conviction, and we look forward to justice being served in a new trial.”
Guandique had been sentenced to 60 years in jail.
