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CNN Live Today
For Some, Chandra Levy Was a Cherished Friend
Aired May 23, 2002 - 10:36 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: For millions of us, Chandra Levy was the embodiment of scandal, a name repeated endlessly, a photo flashed across the television screen, but to others she was a cherished friend, a trusted confidant, and finally, a heartbreaking loss.
CNN's Rusty Dornin spoke to some of Chandra's hometown friends.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the street where Chandra Levy grew up, yellow ribbons have always told a story filled with hope, a neighborhood where the people next door were often like family. And like family, they took the news hard.
JOANNE TITTLE, LEVY'S NEIGHBOR: I'm devastated. And I'm angry. And I'm worried about Sue and Bob, their mental well-being after hearing the news, and I'm heartbroken and I don't know what else. I'm numb.
DORNIN: Chandra Levy, like most teens, didn't tell her parents everything. In high school, Levy would often come down the street and talk to Joanne Tittle.
(on camera): What's your most vibrant memory about Chandra?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bounding over here after a jog or something, and telling me about her day, and her life, and her feelings for people, and then combing her hair. Girl talk. Oh, God.
DORNIN (voice-over): Before her senior prom, Chandra posed for a photo at her next door neighbors, Melva Giannini. For Giannini, it was sometimes hard to be optimistic.
MELVIN GIANNINI, LEVY'S NEIGHBOR: We always tried to speak of her in the present tense, and sometimes you slip and say "was" or...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.
DORNIN (on camera): And correct yourself if you where with...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
DORNIN: But they really did hold this glimmer of hope.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes. I think so.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. They did. Especially pop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He came over here and hugged my mom, keep hope, and Chandra is alive.
DORNIN (voice-over): to keep the search alive, Sue and Bob Levy would make the pilgrimage from their front door to the microphones almost daily last summer, anything to make sure no one forget their daughter. In the background was Adam, Chandra's brother. Neighborhood teens tried to make sure that he wasn't forgotten.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But there's a need to kind of be with the tight, kind of neighborhood family friends.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the neighbors -- all the neighborhood kids would go hang out with Adam, and they'd all take him out to movies and spend time with him, and it was really nice.
DORNIN: Now, there is closure of sorts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obviously, she was murdered. So who did it, and why?
DORNIN: Questions the Levys say they, too, want answered.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, Modesto, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Who did it and why? Where does the investigation go from here? For that, we turn our attention to an expert. Henry Lee is a professor of forensic science at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. His expertise has ushered in his testimony in more than 1,000 civil and criminal cases, including the murder trials of O.J. Simpson and Michael Skakel.
Thanks for joining us this morning.
HENRY LEE, FORENSIC EXPERT: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: They found only skeletal remains. How much of a detriment is this to the investigation?
LEE: Well, the investigation going to much difficult, because the time element and decomposition take place. However, it's not hopeless. Right now, the investigator use the three-prong approach. First, the medical examiner have to find the manner and cause of the death. Second, the crime scene investigator forensic scientist have to come and see look for any clue, any piece of physical evidence, location of the clothing, Walkman, any (UNINTELLIGIBLE) location was found. The third, the investigator have to look at timely analysis of the information from the witness and try to tie the pieces together.
COSTELLO: What can you find out by looking at the bones, as far as how she died? LEE: The bones, of course, medical examiner now contact us, Smithsonian, forensic anthropologist. First scene usually we look as obvious physical damage. For example, if you found a bullet hole or a sharp instrument, could be a knife or blunt object, fracture of the bone. And those are much easier to detect and to reach a conclusion. If you don't have external so-called obvious physical damage, then you have to look at whether or not they have toxological analysis possible, look at the surrounding area, look at the skeleton remain, whether or not we found a pool of bloodstain (ph) and look at the skeletal remains, whether or not it's half buried. If it's buried, of course, which indicative of foul play. If it's not, what is the distribution and ability or animal activity or manmade activity.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about where the body was found. We don't know if it was in a shallow grave or not, because there have been conflicting reports about that, but we know from the D.C. police chief that her body was under a foot of leaves. Is that helpful for maintaining something left of the body?
LEE: A foot of leaves, that can be a reasonable explanation, because that place apparently have a lot of trees. And her -- she disappear almost 13 months ago. So last fall, all the leaves will fall on top of her body. So a foot of leaves, not necessary her body was buried under a foot of leaves. The leaf may have fall on top of her body. However...
COSTELLO: As far as decomposition goes, though, would that...
LEE: That really has a detrimental effect on the investigation. However, there's trace evidence, such as hair, fibers, gunshot residue. Those are organic and inorganic material. It's not subject to environment, and (ph) so easily can be preserved and can do analysis.
COSTELLO: One more question. There were all sorts of rumors out there that Chandra Levy out there that Chandra Levy may have been pregnant. If they find hair at the scene, is there a way that we can determine that?
LEE: Hair will we can only look at so-called mitochondrial DNA, we can trace to the mother origin. What we're looking at is any foreign hair than her hair. If somebody else pubic hair, or body hair, head hair commingle with her bones, that become important.
COSTELLO: But as far as being able to tell she was pregnant, is there anything from skeletal that could tell us?
LEE: Probably not. You have an early stage of pregnancy. Most of the fetuses is cartilage and really not going to stay behind, so it's going to be very difficult.
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