Superior Court Judge Gerald Fisher ordered the release of sealed documents and transcripts from court proceedings related to the murder case of Washington intern who disappeared in 2001, CNN reported.
Judge Fisher ruled that the U.S. Attorney's office for the District of Columbia ought to release the transcripts of secret conversation between lawyer and the judge at the judge's bench in the hearings from earlier this year, CNN also reported.
Ingmar Guandique was convicted and sentenced to two concurrent 60-year sentences for murder with kidnapping and murder with attempted robbery in her death, but his defense attorneys have called into question one of the key prosecution witness's testimony.
Armando Morales, a convicted felon and gang member had testified at Guandique's trial, and testified that Guandique had confessed to him that he killed Levy. Guandique had repeatedly said he had nothing to do with her murder.
Jonathan Anderson, Guandique's defense attorney, said on Monday that he questioned Morales' credibility, underscoring that he gave contradictory testimony about his client.
A status hearing has been scheduled for September 26, news reports said.
While working as an intern in Washington for the Bureau of Prisons, she was last seen on May 1, 2001. Her skull was found one year later in Rock Creek Park, identified through dental records. Levy was tied to her connection with the California district congressman Gary Condit. The two were believed to have an affair, as Condit, while never a suspect in the case, had been questioned routinely for her whereabouts.
Media outlets, including the Associated Press, Gannett, McClatchy, The Washington Post and Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed court papers seeking to unseal the information.
