Former Washington Post executive editor Len Downie gave himself and the Post credit for finally cracking the Chandra Levy case. He said that the paper’s 2008 series on police missteps in the original investigation prodded cops to make an arrest.
“I think it did cause the police to redouble their efforts,” Downie told Editor & Publisher magazine when police arrested a suspect in Levy’s 2001 murder.
But top-level police and prosecutors said that the Post’s series was irrelevant. DC police chief Cathy Lanier reviewed the case in the spring of 2007 and reassigned it to a team of detectives that June. The Post series ran a year later, in July 2008.
Police sources said that three detectives and two prosecutors started following leads that resulted in the arrest of Salvadoran immigrant Ingmar Guandique a year before the Post focused on him.
The journalist who deserves some credit for fingering Guandique is Amy Keller. Her 2002 stories in Roll Call detailed his attacks on women in Rock Creek Park in 2001.
Downie talked up the Post’s Levy series as judges were reviewing stories entered in the Pulitzer competition. The 2008 prizes will be announced April 20.
This article first appeared in the April 2009 issue of The Washingtonian. For more articles from that issue, click here.
Post Watch: We Did It! We Did It! Well, Maybe Not
Former Washington Post executive editor Len Downie gave himself and the Post credit for finally cracking the Chandra Levy case. He said that the paper’s 2008 series on police missteps in the original investigation prodded cops to make an arrest.
“I think it did cause the police to redouble their efforts,” Downie told Editor & Publisher magazine when police arrested a suspect in Levy’s 2001 murder.
But top-level police and prosecutors said that the Post’s series was irrelevant. DC police chief Cathy Lanier reviewed the case in the spring of 2007 and reassigned it to a team of detectives that June. The Post series ran a year later, in July 2008.
Police sources said that three detectives and two prosecutors started following leads that resulted in the arrest of Salvadoran immigrant Ingmar Guandique a year before the Post focused on him.
The journalist who deserves some credit for fingering Guandique is Amy Keller. Her 2002 stories in Roll Call detailed his attacks on women in Rock Creek Park in 2001.
Downie talked up the Post’s Levy series as judges were reviewing stories entered in the Pulitzer competition. The 2008 prizes will be announced April 20.
This article first appeared in the April 2009 issue of The Washingtonian. For more articles from that issue, click here.
More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Society Photos
Editors' Picks
How Mindy Thomas Became Your Kids’ Favorite Podcast Star
What It’s REALLY Like to Be a Woman in Congress
How Lobbying Has Changed in Donald Trump’s Washington
The 100 Very Best Restaurants in Washington
Most Popular in News
Please Stop Calling My Humor Dad Jokes
A Woman on Jury Duty in DC Got Sick. Good Thing Anthony Fauci Was in the Jury Pool, Too
Alexandria Dog Owners Don’t Want Their Dogs Smelling a Proposed Halal Butchery
New Public Libraries Are Some of the Best Buildings in DC
Why Robin Givhan Lives in NoMa
March 2019: Washington Billionaires
Related
A Look Inside One of the Country’s Biggest Vinyl Record Plants
Federal Workers: Send Us Your Memos!
Washingtonian’s Best Photos of 2016
There Are Still Six Confederate Memorials Around DC. How’s That Possible?
More from News
Britain Still Plans to Take Part in the EU’s Open House Day This May
Life Gets Difficult for Local Boaters When Trump Golfs. A New Coast Guard Rule May Change That.
A Woman on Jury Duty in DC Got Sick. Good Thing Anthony Fauci Was in the Jury Pool, Too
Vote Now: What’s the Best Local Athlete, Politician, and Neighborhood for Shopping Excursions Around DC?
Washingtonian Today: Russian Man Excited to Visit White House
Please Stop Calling My Humor Dad Jokes
Why Robin Givhan Lives in NoMa
Celebrate the Cherry Blossoms the Trump Hotel Way