Editing Killing of Chandra Levy (section)

=== Dropped charges ===
In May 2015, prosecutors dropped their opposition to a new trial.<ref>{{Cite web|title = New trial possible in Chandra Levy killing - CNN.com|url = http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/22/us/chandra-levy-case/index.html|website = CNN|date = May 23, 2015|access-date = June 4, 2015|archive-date = May 26, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150526001949/http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/22/us/chandra-levy-case/index.html|url-status = live}}</ref> This resulted from defense claims that the prosecution's star witness, Armando Morales, had [[perjury|perjured]] himself on the stand. The defense contended that prosecutors failed to disclose that Morales was a [[jailhouse informant]] with a reputation for being untrustworthy. Morales had denied ever being an informant. The defense also argued that Morales made up Guandique's confession in order to boost his stock with prosecutors.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/new-trial-likely-for-man-convicted-of-killing-intern-chandra-levy/2015/05/22/d5c5ac20-00c4-11e5-833c-a2de05b6b2a4_story.html|title=New trial likely for man convicted of killing intern Chandra Levy|author1=Keith Alexander|author2=Mary Pat Flaherty|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=May 23, 2015|access-date=December 22, 2018|archive-date=January 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128132610/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/new-trial-likely-for-man-convicted-of-killing-intern-chandra-levy/2015/05/22/d5c5ac20-00c4-11e5-833c-a2de05b6b2a4_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On June 3, the defense said that a new witness, a neighbor, called 911 at 4:37&nbsp;a.m. on the last day Levy was alive in order to report hearing a 'blood-curdling scream', possibly coming from Levy's apartment.<ref>{{Cite web|title = New Witness Emerges in Chandra Levy Murder –– Could The Real Killer Still Be Out There?|date = June 3, 2015|url = http://radaronline.com/celebrity-news/chandra-levy-murder-new-witness-emerges-14-years-after-her-disappearance/|access-date = June 4, 2015|archive-date = June 3, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150603161240/http://radaronline.com/celebrity-news/chandra-levy-murder-new-witness-emerges-14-years-after-her-disappearance/|url-status = live}}</ref> The following day, Judge Gerald Fisher granted a motion for the new trial.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Chandra Levy murder retrial granted by US judge|work = BBC News|date = June 4, 2015|url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-33000019|access-date = June 4, 2015|archive-date = June 7, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150607012936/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-33000019|url-status = live}}</ref> Judge Robert E. Morin set the retrial of Guandique for March 1, 2016, but at that time, it was moved to October 11.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Judge sets 2016 retrial date in Chandra Levy case|date = June 12, 2015|url = http://www.kcra.com/news/local-news/news-modesto/judge-sets-2016-retrial-date-in-chandra-levy-case/33553438|access-date = June 15, 2015|archive-date = September 4, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150904054011/http://www.kcra.com/news/local-news/news-modesto/judge-sets-2016-retrial-date-in-chandra-levy-case/33553438|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Retrial in Chandra Levy case now set for fall|url=http://wtop.com/national/2016/03/retrial-in-chandra-levy-case-now-set-for-fall/|date=March 4, 2016|access-date=April 8, 2016}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In November 2015, prosecutors told a D.C. Superior Court judge that their office had failed to turn over documents to the defense before the defendant's first trial.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Prosecutor in retrial of man charged in Levy murder acknowledges 'mistake'|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/prosecutor-in-retrial-of-man-charged-in-levy-murder-acknowledges-mistake/2015/11/20/ab31854c-8fbc-11e5-ae1f-af46b7df8483_story.html?tid=ss_fb|newspaper = The Washington Post|date = November 20, 2015|access-date = December 29, 2015|issn = 0190-8286|language = en-US|first = Keith L.|last = Alexander|archive-date = January 2, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160102045332/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/prosecutor-in-retrial-of-man-charged-in-levy-murder-acknowledges-mistake/2015/11/20/ab31854c-8fbc-11e5-ae1f-af46b7df8483_story.html?tid=ss_fb|url-status = live}}</ref> In December 2015, defense attorneys argued in new court filings that the charges should be dismissed because of those errors.<ref>{{Cite web|title = In Chandra Levy case, defense attorneys seek dismissal of murder charges|url = http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/crime/article49891190.html|website = mcclatchydc|access-date = December 29, 2015|archive-date = January 2, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160102045332/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/crime/article49891190.html|url-status = live}}</ref>

Specifically, the defense argued that they had only received two of three pages of a memo detailing prosecutors' contacts with Morales. At trial he had testified that he had never cooperated with law enforcement prior to the Levy case. The missing first page noted that he had previously approached law enforcement to discuss gang activity, including the actions of gangs to which he belonged. The defense argued this information had been purposely withheld from them, as it might suggest that Morales had shaded his testimony to gain favor with prosecutors.<ref name="2021 WashPost disciplinary hearing story">{{cite news|last=Alexander|first=Keith|title=Ex-federal prosecutors in Chandra Levy murder case dispute allegations they withheld information on key witness|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/chandra-levy-ethics-violations-prosecutors/2021/05/28/d858bb30-be28-11eb-9c90-731aff7d9a0d_story.html|url-access=subscription|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=May 28, 2021|access-date=April 4, 2022|archive-date=May 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210530144311/http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/chandra-levy-ethics-violations-prosecutors/2021/05/28/d858bb30-be28-11eb-9c90-731aff7d9a0d_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On July 28, 2016, prosecutors announced that they would not proceed with the case against Guandique and would, instead, seek to have him deported.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/28/us/charges-dropped-in-chandra-levy-murder/index.html|title=Charges dropped in Chandra Levy murder |first1=Ralph |last1=Ellis |first2=Cheri |last2=Mossburg |date=July 28, 2016 |website=[[CNN]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728230411/http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/28/us/charges-dropped-in-chandra-levy-murder/index.html|archive-date=July 28, 2016|access-date=July 28, 2016}}</ref> According to ''[[The Washington Post]]'', prosecutors lost confidence in the case after learning that Morales, who now lives in Maryland, was secretly recorded admitting lying on the witness stand during the 2010 trial. Babs Proller, the woman who made the recording, turned it over to the police. The U.S. Attorney's Office said only that based on new information that had come to light during the previous week, there was no longer enough evidence to go forward with the retrial.<ref name="WaPoDropped">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/charges-dropped-against-man-accused-of-killing-washington-intern-chandra-levy/2016/07/28/36f36630-54ee-11e6-bbf5-957ad17b4385_story.html|title=Why prosecutors dropped charges against the man accused of killing Washington intern Chandra Levy|author1=Lynh Bui|author2=Keith Alexander|author3=Scott Higham|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=July 30, 2016|access-date=December 22, 2018|archive-date=December 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206192540/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/charges-dropped-against-man-accused-of-killing-washington-intern-chandra-levy/2016/07/28/36f36630-54ee-11e6-bbf5-957ad17b4385_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In March 2017 Guandique lost his bid to remain in the United States and was deported to his native El Salvador in May.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=4956|title=Ingmar Guandique|work=National Registry of Exonerations}}</ref>