Warrant Issued in Chandra Levy Case
Ingmar Guandique allegedly said "f--- it's over" on hearing of pending arrest.
March 3, 2009— -- Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for an incarcerated felon, alleging that he killed Chandra Levy, the Washington intern murdered in 2001 whose disappearance and death became one of the nation's most famous cold cases.
Documents filed as part of the case also claim that the suspect, Ingmar Guandique, plotted a prison escape during which he would kill the detectives there to arrest him.
Guandique, 27, has been in custody since approximately July 2001 for two nonfatal attacks on women in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C., the same park where a hiker discovered Levy's remains in 2002.
U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor said that a judge signed a first-degree murder arrest warrant for Guandique, who is originally from El Salvador, earlier today. According to the criminal complaint filed in the case, Guandique, "in perpetrating and attempting to perpetrate the crime of first degree sexual abuse, killed Chandra Levy by inflicting injuries from which [she] died on or about May 1, 2001."
The affidavit claims that, based on evidence found at the alleged murder scene, Levy was "apparently subdued. Given that her shoes were unlaced, her clothing turned inside out, and her tights knotted into restraints, it appears that Guandique wanted Ms. Levy naked and incapacitated."
"The evidence clearly demonstrates that this crime was not a simple robbery," it continued.
If tried and convicted on the murder charge, Guandique would face a mandatory minimum 30 years in prison. Taylor said he expects that Guandique will be transferred back to Washington within the next two months to make an initial appearance in court.
The affidavit includes information from several witnesses, including two other women assaulted by Guandique and several others who said he admitted killing Levy.
"Over the intervening years, additional evidence came to our attention, people came forward and in weighing that evidence, analyzing it… we are confident at this point that it is appropriate to charge Guandique with that murder," Taylor said.
