Defense Argues for Retrial in Chandra Levy Murder Case

Lawyers for the man convicted of killing congressional intern Chandra Levy in 2001 requested a new trial Wednesday in D.C. Superior Court, claiming the conviction was obtained “through false evidence.”

Attorneys from the D.C. Public Defender Service representing 31-year-old Ingmar Guandique, who is serving a 60-year sentence for Levy’s death, argued the defense convicted on false or misleading testimony given by his former cellmate Armando Morales.

During Guandique’s 2010 trial, Morales testified Guandique had confided in him that he was responsible for Levy’s death, despite the fact that there was no physical evidence linking Guandique to Levy.

According to a court document filed earlier this year asking for a new trial, Guandique’s attorneys accuse Morales of lying under oath several times during trial.

Morales testified that he had never cooperated with prosecutors in other cases in exchange for special treatment from authorities, though Morales reportedly provided information about his own gang to a California sheriff’s department in the 1990s. Guandique’s attorneys are hoping to overturn his conviction because it was obtained “through false evidence,” The Washington Post reports.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Gerald I. Fisher is expected to hear from various prison officials and officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives this week to determine what may have been known about Morales’ background at the time of his arrest. Hearings are expected to continue through Feb. 2015.

Chandra Levy, a 24-year-old Modesto, California native, disappeared May 1, 2001. Her remains were found in 2002 in Washington’s Rock Creek Park, where she had reportedly gone for a jog.

Prosecutors argued Levy’s death matched a pattern of attacks Guandique had previously committed on female joggers, The Associated Press reports. Guandique maintains that he is innocent.