Who Killed Chandra Levy?

Sure, Mondays sometimes suck because they’re the start to the week. But that’s sometimes exactly why they rock, too. I’m taking my Monday the easy way — slept in, having some lattes, and then I’ll casually amble in by bike around noon. Why end the weekend sooner than necessary, hey?
But let’s talk about what I’m reading. The Washington Post is running what should be a terrific 12-part story on the unsolved death of Chandra Levy, an intern to Congressman Gary Condit, from back in 2000.
What you maybe don’t know about me is that I was addicted to true crime from about 15-25. I was a voracious reader of everything from Helter Skelter to The Stranger Beside Me. So, part of me is pretty stoked to see the Post take this topic on.
It’s going to be a story of political skulduggery, methinks. Allegations have been made by some in the past against Gary Condit, who has taken offense and launched slander suits but never won.
Still, he’s no longer in office and there are whispers in corners and at parties that maybe, just maybe, Gary really did do it. Maybe Levy got in his way. Maybe his silly little affair took him seriously when he promised to give up his wife and his political career for her. Maybe this charming politico had dreams of Pennsylvania Ave and this fling was getting in the way. Maybe, maybe. Fingers pointed but charges never laid. Still, it ended his career.
With the case yet unsolved, Condit’s a man exiled from Washington with a cloud over his head, even if he never even harboured a thought of harming that girl. He lied about his affair with her, so any cries of “I didn’t do it” get washed away with the reality that he’s just another lying, cheating hack in a game full of lying, cheating hacks.
It’s been eight years now, and it’ll be interesting to see if a crew of journalists can make a bunch of paid investigators look like the bumbling oafs anyone in the know really suspects they were.
The Levy case should’ve been called Operation Bungle, the way it was mishandled from the get-go. The Post, it would seem, aims to shine a light on that. I don’t find it that coincidental that the series should start running only four days after a judge has finally thrown out Condit’s $11-million slander suit against writer Dominic Dunne for alleging him a murderer. Just a little too convenient to be irrelevent, that.
The timing should also tell you a lot about the point of view I suspect The Post intends to take on this notorious unsolved crime.
If, like me, you find stories of sex, politics, lies, and incompetence fascinating, then check out the read. Part one’s here.

4 thoughts on “Who Killed Chandra Levy?

  1. Lara

    Oooh, Steff – thanks so much for letting us know about the article. I, too, am fascinated with this crime. I lived in DC at the time that Chandra Levy was killed so you can imagine how much this case was on peoples’ minds in that area. Who knows if Condit really did it or not – we may never know, but I bet that it did cause cheaters across the country to ponder what would happen if something unexpectedly happened to their “on the side” honey. If you’re sneaking around and lying about your whereabouts, you leave yourself very vulnerable to suspicion, whether you are guilty or not. Definitely something to think about…

    Have a lovely week!

    Lara

  2. Anonymous

    Till the Post series I’d forgotten the whole Levi/Condit affair. What I do remember is that he was tried and convicted by cable TV pundit. Most of whom are still spreading bile.

  3. Scribe Called Steff

    Lara — Cool. Enjoy! I think it’s going really well. đŸ™‚

    Blog Advert — So, I googled your stupid little ad and I see you’ve left hundreds of your little comments on blogs all over the place with no expounding, so I can’t help but to think you’re full of shit. Thanks, but I’ll pass.

    Anon — The guy fucking bungled it from the get-go. He wasn’t honest, he misled investigators, he had the chance to come clean when proof was already found he’d had an affair, and he still continued to lie to his constituents, mislead investigators, and fuck the case up.

    Everyone fucked up the Chandra Levy case, but the fucking that Condit got was of his own doing, and he’s had to live with his mistakes.

    I don’t think the media did anything to him that he couldn’t have undone with a little more honesty dished out sooner.

    And in an unsolved case, to talk about the main leads and the main suspects thus far is not “spreading bile” — it’s talking about what little is known.

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