Prosecutors won’t retry Chandra Levy’s accused killer

Federal prosecutors announced today they do not plan to pursue a new trial against the man accused of killing Washington, D.C., intern Chandra Levy in 2001. The decision paves the way for Ingmar Guandique to be deported back to his native El Salvador. A jury convicted Guandique in 2010 for Levy’s murder, based largely on the testimony of his former cellmate, who claimed Guandique confessed to the crime. A judge granted Guandique a new trial last year, and it was scheduled to begin in October. But in a court filing asking the judge to dismiss the case, prosecutors said they no longer believed they could prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. The decision was based on unspecified new evidence obtained in the last week. Guandique’s release leaves unsolved one of the most sensational murder cases of the early 2000s. Police investigated and later cleared then-U.S. Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., after he admitted to having an affair with Levy. The scandal ended his political career.