Registered: Aug 2000
Location: In a Blue, Blue State
Posts: 12544

If you haven't heard yet:

Remains in D.C. Park Are Chandra Levy's

By MARK SHERMAN and BRIAN MELLEY
.c The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (May 22) - The remains of Chandra Levy were found in a Washington park Wednesday, ending an agonizing 13-month search for the federal intern whose disappearance riveted the nation and cost a congressman his career.

Police said they still had no idea how Levy died.

A man walking his dog and looking for turtles in Rock Creek Park found a skull and other bones, Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said. The medical examiner used dental records to confirm the remains were Levy's.

The 1,754-acre park had been scoured by police before, to no avail.

Her baffling disappearance had gripped the nation for months - until last Sept. 11 - and led to the political demise of her hometown congressman, Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif.

Condit denied having anything to do with the disappearance but he acknowledged to investigators that he had an affair with her, a police source said. Condit lost the Democratic primary in his district and is in his final months as a congressman.

He said Wednesday in a statement issued by his attorney:
''Congressman Gary Condit and his family want to express their heartfelt sorrow and condolences to the Levy family. The Levy family will remain in our prayers.''

In a late-afternoon news conference, Police Chief Ramsey said simply, ''The remains found earlier today are in fact Chandra Levy.''

The identification did not end the mystery. Ramsey said the medical examiner was working to determine the manner and cause of Levy's death.

He said the case was now a death investigation but stopped short of calling it a criminal case, pending word about how she died.

Levy, 24, of Modesto, Calif., disappeared sometime after logging off her computer about 1 p.m. on May 1, 2001. When police searched her apartment they found her wallet, credit card, computer and cell phone. Only her keys were missing.

Police searched intensively as national interest increased but turned up no solid clues. They looked at a variety of theories - murder, suicide or that Levy had gone into hiding or lost her memory.

They questioned Condit several times but repeatedly said the 54-year-old, married lawmaker was not a suspect.

Police had found evidence last year on Levy's laptop computer that she had searched a Web site for the park's Klingle Mansion on the day she vanished.

On Wednesday, bones, a jogging bra, tennis shoes and other items were found about a mile north of the mansion and about four miles away from Levy's apartment. Friends had said she frequented the park, located in northwest Washington.

Levy came to Washington for an internship with the Bureau of Prisons. In late April 2001, her internship was abruptly cut short when supervisors learned she was ineligible to continue because she had finished her college coursework the previous December.

A sociable, earnest student who enjoyed travel abroad with her family and staying fit, Levy was last seen April 30 when she canceled her membership at a health club near her apartment.

She had been preparing to return to California for graduation from the University of Southern California and sent her parents, Dr. Robert and Susan Levy, an e-mail on May 1 noting airfares for the trip home.

The Levys called police five days later when they could not reach her, and her father also telephoned Condit asking for his help.

Condit called Levy a good friend and established a reward fund to help find her. In July, he reportedly told police he was having an affair, though publicly he never made such a disclosure, saying only they shared a close relationship.

Condit, abandoned by all but a few Democratic allies, lost the Democratic primary in March to former protege Dennis Cardoza, a state assemblyman.

Within weeks of her arrival in Washington, Levy and a friend visited Condit's office, where they had their photo snapped with the congressman. He also took them to the House gallery to watch him vote. Within months Levy told family members she was having an affair with Condit.

After her disappearance, police searched Condit's apartment with his consent and obtained a DNA sample from him. Condit submitted to a lie detector test arranged by his lawyer, who said the congressman was found to be truthful when denying any knowledge about what happened to Levy.

A grand jury has been reviewing Levy's disappearance and whether Condit or his aides obstructed the investigation. The grand jury subpoenaed documents from Condit last year.
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It's about time.

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Registered: Apr 2002
Location: sitting in the waiting room
Posts: 622

i heard they couldn't verify it was her body

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Registered: May 2002
Location: Where you live
Posts: 144

I was wondering...I hadn't heard about her in the news for ages. That must be heart breaking to her mother...especially if it isn't even really her.

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Registered: Aug 2000
Location: In a Blue, Blue State
Posts: 12544

It's official. The ID was made by dental records.

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Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 1800

Poor girl. I'll bet she went for a jog in the park and was abducted, raped and murdered.

It sure took them a God damn long time to find her. I don't think they were looking very hard, expecting that Condit had something to do with her whereabouts.

However, it could be possible that the murderer waited until after the search was called off to dump her body.

This thread makes me sad and frightened.

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Registered: May 2002
Location: any place you aren't
Posts: 32

yeah, they positively IDed the body as Chandra's. I think everyone pretty much expected that this would be the outcome. I read an article a month ago about her parents, and how her mother was certain that she would come home.

very sad indeed.

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Registered: May 2002
Location: Where you live
Posts: 144

quote:

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Originally posted by grapefanta
I read an article a month ago about her parents, and how her mother was certain that she would come home.

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Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Baton Rouge
Posts: 1574

You know, they're going to figure out she went jogging along this creek, tripped, fell and hit her head on a rock and bled to death, Gary Condit not involved at all. I'd feel very very sorry for the guy. I'm not a fan of the courtroom of public opinion.

leakynips.

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Registered: May 2001
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 987

quote:

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Originally posted by greenleakynipples
You know, they're going to figure out she went jogging along this creek, tripped, fell and hit her head on a rock and bled to death, Gary Condit not involved at all. I'd feel very very sorry for the guy. I'm not a fan of the courtroom of public opinion.

leakynips.

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Registered: Nov 2001
Location:
Posts: 996

actually, they did an extensive search of rock creek park, it's just a big, very nature-like park. it'd be easy to miss a body in there esp. if the remains were scattered or if there were a shallow grave.

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Registered: Dec 2000
Location:
Posts: 1800

quote:

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Originally posted by Indigo
actually, they did an extensive search of rock creek park, it's just a big, very nature-like park. it'd be easy to miss a body in there esp. if the remains were scattered or if there were a shallow grave.

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Registered: May 2001
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 987

the dogs aren't 100% accurate all the time. THere are a number of things that can mess up their scent and trail.
They should be able to tell something about how long the body has been there by the ground around it. I mean if it has decomposed enough so that her head is nothing more than a skull you'll find some of her organic matter in the surrounding soil. Plus they could get an idea about how long it's been out there if her body still has some flesh on it by studying the cycle of blow flies and such.

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