US prosecutors drop case against man in intern's murder

WASHINGTON: US prosecutors on Thursday dropped murder charges against a man facing retrial for the 2001 death of a young Washington intern, in a case that was a tabloid sensation and destroyed a congressman's career.
Chandra Levy was a 24-year-old intern at the Federal Bureau of Prisons when she went missing on May 1, 2001 while jogging in the US capital's sprawling Rock Creek Park.
The case riveted Washington and the nation, particularly after it was revealed that she had a romantic relationship with California congressman Gary Condit, a married lawmaker 30 years her elder.
Her death was a cold case for years, until investigators identified Ingmar Guandique, who was in prison for the assault of two women in the same park, and charged him with first-degree felony murder in 2009.
Guandique was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to 60 years in prison for Levy's murder, based partially on an alleged confession to a fellow prisoner.
Guandique was granted a retrial in 2015, which lawyers had been requesting for years, saying the prisoner who spoke to police gave unreliable testimony in hopes of a reduced sentence.
On Thursday, Judge Robert Morin granted a motion by prosecutors to dismiss charges against Guandique, citing "new information that the government received within the past week".
"The office has concluded that it can no longer prove the murder case against Mr. Guandique beyond a reasonable doubt," prosecutors said in a statement.
There were no further details about the new information exonerating Guandique.
Levy's remains were found in Rock Creek Park a year after she disappeared.
Her romantic links to Condit initially fuelled suspicion that he killed her.
The case against Guandique appeared to absolve Condit, who was repeatedly questioned in the case but was never named as a formal suspect.
After admitting to the relationship, the Democrat failed to win reelection, ending a 13-year career in the US House of Representatives.
The US Attorney's Office said Guandique, a Salvadoran who was in the US illegally, would be released to the custody of immigration agents and faces removal proceedings. — AFP