Condit continues to keep a low profile - Attorney says discovery of remains exonerates congressman

Associated Press ^ | May 24, 2002 | Associated Press Staff

[MeekOneGOP]

Condit continues to keep a low profile

Attorney says discovery of remains exonerates congressman

05/24/2002

Associated Press

MODESTO, Calif. - In the year after Chandra Levy mysteriously disappeared from her Washington apartment, Rep. Gary Condit was sympathetic but mostly silent. At times, he was defiant.

It was no different when her skeletal remains were found partly covered by leaves in a Washington park.

In a scene reminiscent of last summer, the Democratic congressman avoided the media and had a high-profile Los Angeles defense lawyer do the talking.

Attorney Mark Geragos expressed sorrow for Ms. Levy's family on behalf of Mr. Condit and then used the opportunity to criticize Washington police. Mr. Geragos said the discovery Wednesday exonerates Mr. Condit and supports his theory that her death was the work of a serial killer.

Washington Police Chief Charles Ramsey said Thursday that detectives may want to speak with Mr. Condit again.

Mr. Condit, 54, a married grandfather, has acknowledged an affair with the 24-year-old federal intern, a police source said, but has denied any involvement in her disappearance. Police have said repeatedly that he is not a suspect but have expressed frustration that it took four interviews to get adequate information from him.

Whatever the cause of Ms. Levy's death, her name and Mr. Condit's forever will be linked. Only after word spread of a relationship did her disappearance gain nonstop news coverage. Interest and later resentment intensified as he avoided public appearances and reporters' questions.

Abandoned by many Democratic allies and running in a newly drawn district, Mr. Condit was swept out of office in the March primary by a protege, Assemblyman Dennis Cardoza.

Still, support remains strong in his hometown of Ceres, just south of Modesto, where his political career began on the City Council.

Neighbors in his neatly trimmed subdivision said Mr. Condit had been connected unfairly to Ms. Levy's tragedy and the media had pried into his private life and rushed to judgment.

"Everybody jumped the gun," said Pam Adomyetz, who voted for Mr. Condit this year.

Not everyone on the block, however, thinks Mr. Condit should be judged only by his work in Congress. "He was dishonest toward his family and toward the nation," said Genell Michael.

At Mr. Condit's district office Thursday, there was no word from the congressman. Reporters were told to call his lawyer.

A flier announcing a $25,000 reward for finding Ms. Levy was removed from the front window in the morning.

---

Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/nation/stories/052402dnnatcondit.68a78.html

[MeekOneGOP]

Chandra Levy:
Rest in Peace

[The Old Hoosier]

He doth protest too much. The body was placed there, and this is a setup against the already-jailed park stalker. Whoever did this is somebody important.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Some of the news reports say that there is evidence that Chandra's body had been tied up, or restrained. With what???? Does everyone remember that Anne Marie Smith reported that she became spooked when she found men's ties tied end to end to the bed post in his bedroom and he described it as some kind of sex game.....

[Judith Anne]

Fox reported it was like "old clothes line." My first thought was ties, too.

[concerned about politics]

Attorney Mark Geragos expressed sorrow for Ms. Levy's family on behalf of Mr. Condit and then used the opportunity to criticize Washington police. Mr. Geragos said the discovery Wednesday exonerates Mr. Condit and supports his theory that her death was the work of a serial killer.

Of course his lawyer would say that. DUH! Where's the evidence of a serial killer? Anyone?

Everybody jumped the gun," said Pam Adomyetz, who voted for Mr. Condit this year.

That's because they knew who did it. They weren't the dumber democrats, Pam.

[Saundra Duffy]

I think her body was dumped there AFTER the search. Those blood hounds would not have missed her body. I don't care what they say. Condidit's lawyer is a sickening democrat lying hack from hell. "We have not forgotten; Gary Condit's rotten!"

[Saundra Duffy]

I think the hiker and his dogs should get the whole reward. Now, at least, Chandra's family can have a funeral and burial.

[concerned about politics]

Fox reported it was like "old clothes line." My first thought was ties, too.

It helps when you're trying to move a body.

[technomage]

I heard on FNC about an hour or so ago (4PM Eastern) that the police have admitted that that particular area of the park was NOT searched back when they were doing the searches using academy cadets (among others). If true, this means the body could have been there while they were searching.

According to the person reporting (do not have his name), if true, this would be scandalous and another black eye (to go along with the other dozen or so) for the DCPD.

[another cricket]

They could have missed her body. See below.

Body found after 5 years

a.cricket

[Paul Ross]

Actually, the fact that her body has been found allows them to finally treat this as a murder investigation after the obvious determination of foul-play by the coroner. The suspicious timing of the whole incident, and planting her with her walkman, etc. also runs afoul of a problem: The alleged serial killer was seeking to steal the walkman's of the two other girls. Here, Chandra had hers on her body still. Plus the criminal MO sounds like it may be different. The head was apparently severed and quite a distance from the torso...

[Zon]

The head was apparently severed and quite a distance from the torso...

I'm not up to speed but last I heard was that they used dental records to identify the body (skull). They need to do a DNA match on the body/skeleton.

[kaylar]

There was also a truly tragic Unsolved Mysteries episode : A guy disappears while traveling cross country. His remains are not found . His mother sends out posters of him to homeless shelters across the nation (he was believed to be depressed at the time of his disappearance) and a shelter worker recognizes him. The UM episode is aired repeatedly as a disappearance, not a death. Finally, the body is discovered 100 yards from where the car was found parked in a roadside park. So for several years, his mother thought her son was insane and wandering around undergoing who knows what kind of treatment, when he died a few days after he left home and his body was there all those long months.

Granted that case was not near as prominent as the Chandra Levy disappearance, but it shows it happens. I do not know if the Sheriff used dogs to search the park area.

[kaylar]

That reminds me of still another case : Girl disappears from NY state. Woman in SC positively identifies her from a poster, and the case is treated as a runaway. YEARS later, the man who raped and killed her the day of her disappearance confesses , after being arrested for a different crime, and leads the police to the body. IIRC , it was left within sight of the football field and school from where he'd abducted her. Again, the police said they'd searched the "wooded areas" around the school and in the area thoroughly ; and again, a mistaken identification led to years of false hope and the agony of uncertainty for the survivors.

[Irene Adler]

FOX news has reported this afternoon that the DC police admit they never searched the area where the body eventually turned up, either with dogs or even with just personnel. I believe the body has been there all along since they day she disappeared after looking up the location of the mansion on her computer.

[PolishProud]

Who cares. Give us a break. This soap opera story was over blown, over done and, hopefully, now OVER. I stopped watching Fox when the Levy story was reported 24/7. Am I the only one that feels that this story was boring?

[terilyn]

Yes

[ET(end tyranny)]

FNC reported that two pieces of laundry rope were found by the body.