Chandra Levy Trial Begins in Washington

Oct. 25, 2010 — -- As the trial for slain political intern Chandra Levy is set to begin today, it could be the beginning of the end for a nine-year-old odyssey that began in mystery and exploded in scandal before turning to heartbreak.

Levy, a 24-year-old intern for California congressman Gary Condit, disappeared on May 1, 2001 while jogging in D.C.'s Rock Creek Park. The woman's body wasn't discovered until more than a year later.

The story, already a headline-maker across the country, sparked a media frenzy when it was revealed that Levy was romantically linked with married congressman Condit.

"The Chandra Levy case was really the perfect storm in the summer of 2001," Washington Post reporter and author of "Finding Chandra" told "Good Morning America." "It became a parlor game in Washington. Everybody was obsessed with the idea that Gary Condit, congressman from California, had something to do with this murder of a young intern."

The allegations pushed Condit's political career to the brink and in July, 2001, he admitted to having a sexual relationship with Levy. In an interview with ABC News' "Primetime," he denied knowing anything about Levy's disappearance and stated that he did not kill her. No hard evidence ever connected Condit to Levy's disappearance.

Then, just last year, authorities arrested Ingmar Guandique, 29, and charged him with murder, kidnapping and attempted sexual assault among other counts. When he was arrested Guandique, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, was already serving a 10-year sentence for separate assaults that took place in Rock Creek Park.