A decade after the slaying of Capitol Hill intern Chandra Levy, the public's fascination with her murder endures. The case, which shocked the nation and dominated national headlines, had all the makings of a great mystery novel -– a controversial affair, a seemingly botched police investigation and a long overdue conviction.
In marking the 10th anniversary of Levy’s homicide, TLC will air "Who Killed Chandra Levy?" a docu-movie about the 24-year-old victim's life and untimely death. The network has described the television event to The Huffington Post as a "cautionary tale of sex, power, murder -– as well as the heartbreaking story of a girl with big dreams who left behind a shattered family."
Levy disappeared on May 1, 2001. Her body was found a year later in the District of Columbia's Rock Creek Park. In the months after Levy’s death, Rep. Gary Condit, the congressman representing Levy’s home district in California, quickly came under scrutiny after reports that he and the intern were involved in a sexual relationship. Condit was never charged in the case, and he never admitted an affair, but the scandal torpedoed his political career.
Eventually, authorities zeroed in on Ingmar Guandique, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador who was behind bars for attacking two female joggers in Rock Creek Park.
Guandique finally went on trial last October on charges that he murdered Levy. There was no DNA or physical evidence linking him to the crime, but prosecutors presented testimony from a former cellmate who said Guandique told him he had robbed Levy but had never meant to kill her.
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On Nov. 22, Guandique, 29, was found guilty of first-degree murder. In February, he was sentenced to 60 years in prison. Guandique will be required to serve no less than 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. He will be approximately 80 years old when he goes before the parole board for the first time.
During sentencing, Levy's mother, Susan Levy, asked Guandique, who has repeatedly professed his innocence, if he had killed her daughter. When he shook his head, she said: "Mr. Guandique, you are lower than a cockroach. Fuck you."
According to TLC, "Who Killed Chandra Levy?" will weave dramatizations together with original on-camera interviews and first-hand accounts from several people connected to the case, including Levy's aunt, Linda Katz, and Scott Higham and Sari Horwitz, the authors of "Finding Chandra: A True Washington Murder Mystery."
Despite the judicial closure in convicting Levy's killer, some still question Condit's level of involvement, Higham told Fox News.
"To this day, people come up to me all the time ... and say, 'Are you sure that Gary Condit didn't have anything to do with this? Are you really sure?' People will always have doubts about the case," Higham said.
"Who Killed Chandra Levy?" premieres Sunday, May 1 on TLC at 9 p.m. (EST/PST).