Reliance on jailhouse informant dooms Chandra Levy case

Associated Press ^ | Jul 29, 2016 9:14 PM EDT | Matthew Barakat

[Olog-hai]

Armando Morales was a gang leader, drug dealer and a jailhouse snitch. But he was also a commanding, dynamic presence on the witness stand when he told jurors that his cellmate, Ingmar Guandique, confessed to the murder of Washington intern Chandra Levy.

Jurors believed Morales, and prosecutors obtained a conviction against Guandique at his 2010 trial despite lacking a confession, witnesses or DNA evidence. They obtained a conviction even though everyone knew that police had initially suspected another man, former California congressman Gary Condit.

But for the last five years, while Guandique was imprisoned on what was to have been a 60-year murder sentence, defense lawyers accumulated new information that cast doubt on Morales’ truthfulness. They learned that he asked to be put into the witness protection program in exchange for his testimony, even though he testified he hadn’t sought any benefit for testifying. …

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

I'd bet the farm Condit did it or paid some homeless guy to kill her. Nobody was supposed to raise too much fuss over the ne'er-do-well that they pinned it on. Fast forward a few years and the case completely fell apart (probably on purpose). No problem, this guy served his purpose and he's now being let go for being a good boy. I'm sure he's been good and threatened over what happens if decides later to not be a good boy.

Mr. Condit was long ago completely exonerated

Yeah, we're all supposed to forget that he's the only person on planet earth that would have any kind of motive to do this. Chandra being involved in an affair with a congressman AND being killed by somebody completely random is an astronomical coincidence. I'm more likely to accidentally run into my dad while vacationing in Mozambique.

[buffyt]

He either killed her or had her killed.