Court holds secret hearings on Chandra Levy murder case

A judge has been holding secret hearings on the May 2001 murder of congressional intern Chandra Levy, a surprising move that casts doubt on the conviction and imprisonment of El Salvador illegal immigrant Ingmar Guandique.

Levy was working as intern in California Rep. Gary Condit’s office when she disappeared in May 2001. Suspicions were initially cast on Mr. Condit after it was revealed the two had been engaged in an affair. Levy’s body was discovered in a wooded section of a Washington, D.C., park in 2002, and Guandique was subsequently arrested.

He was convicted of her murder in 2010, based on allegations of two other women who claimed he attacked them in the park and absent of any physical evidence that linked him to Levy.

Guandique has always denied his guilt and defense attorneys allege prosecutors have withheld information. Court documents indicate new hearings have been taking place, but attorneys and legal insiders aren’t saying why, though CBS speculates in one report the discussions could lead the judge to toss Guandique’s conviction.

The Associated Press is petitioning the court to open the hearings to the public. The next one is set for Feb. 7, in D.C. Superior Court.

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