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Asst. Chief Gainer Updates on Levy Search

Aired July 17, 2001 - 16:54   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.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

ASST. CHIEF TERRANCE GAINER, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE: ... it shouldn't shock anybody's conscience. When we find those things we will pick them up, mark them properly and send them to the appropriate forensic lab or medical examiner to determine what they are. But we are going to find a lot of things searching in the next two or three weeks.

QUESTION: The Blood evidence that you removed from Condit's apartment, could you talk about that? We understand the results were either (AUDIO GAP) or not available (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Could you talk about that?

GAINER: Well, the evidence that was taken from the congressman's apartment was sent to the FBI forensic lab. To my knowledge it's not back. And frankly, when it does come back it's not something about which we would be talking.

QUESTION: The (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is there anything that leads you to believe this has anything to do with Chandra whatsoever?

GAINER: No. There is nothing on the naked visual lookat that that is related to it at all.

QUESTION: Observers have said that you have -- the department has really raised the bar in terms of the search for a missing person. What happens next time a young woman goes missing in D.C.? What will the search be like?

GAINER: It will depend on the circumstances. There has been missing cases we have brought recruit classes out or military units to search fields too. I really do think we put the same effort into it. The only thing public doesn't know is what that effort is and on this case or any other ones as long as there are leads to follow, we will follow them.

QUESTION: What (UNINTELLIGIBLE) leads on the polygraph results so far?

GAINER: Nothing. It has to be analyzed. It really takes a strong person who is an exert in that field to make heads or tail of it and it would be pitiful if I tried that. QUESTION: You keep referring to a place in the park where maybe somebody could have driven a car and potentially dumped a body. Is that a theory you are working on as opposed to potentially she was killed there? GAINER: Either one of those could happen. Again, if it's a crime of passion or not planned out, it would be pretty unusual for the murderers to keep the bodies. Our experience is and this based anecdotal things that people normally get away from a dead body as quick as they can.

So the thought process is if something happened in car or in a place she was walking, that the if she was murdered the murderer would try to get her off the beaten path as quickly as possible and probably wouldn't put too much time or effort into that. But again, it's only based trying to work a theory that maybe she was murdered by someone either she knew or didn't know. We just do not know, and we are exploring all of those.

QUESTION: Do you still want Gary Condit to take your polygraph test? GAINER: We haven't had the privilege yet of fully examining what he did. But as myself and the chief and other experts across the country have said, the police are in the best position to decide which questions are relevant. And it would be our preference still to have an opportunity to have the congressman sit down and explore other questions with us.

I do appreciate what the Congressman and his attorney have attempted to do, but it falls short of bar that we have in this. But it remains to be seen. No one has to take a polygraph. You can't force someone to do that. So, to his credit, he opened up his apartment, he turned over some items, allowed us to review his polygraph and we will have to see where that takes us.

QUESTION: Have you gone to the FBI for a personality assessment?

GAINER: We have been working closely with the FBI to do that, yes.

QUESTION: And what are you hoping to gain from that?

GAINER: An insight into Chandra's mind-set. As we have said all along, I think it would help us determine whether she was suicidal, whether she ducking and trying to hide out from people, or whether it was none of the above and that might lend credence to the fact that she was the victim of a street crime.

QUESTION: Why are you doing that at this pointed in the investigation?

GAINER: We have been doing it. It's only that you know about it at this point because it's the first time you have asked the question. We have been taking a look at the psychological and social profile of Miss Levy since the beginning of this and frankly, we have been conducting interviews and interrogations since the beginning of this and we have been doing searches since the beginning.

QUESTION: Have any scenarios been ruled out?

GAINER: No. We have to keep an open mind.

QUESTION: Have you been able to determine whether she left fingerprints to determine if she was the last one on her computer?

GAINER: I don't have any comment on that. Again, we feel pretty comfortable that it was her. And I know that an active imagination could try to write some other scenario. Anything is possible but I don't think that's probable.

We looked at the password, the nature of her transmissions, and it's very consistent with looking at the nature of her transmissions in days long before this. You would be surprised what people can tell looking at your patterns of use of the computer. We are probably pretty consistent on that.

QUESTION: What is the next move for you, what's the next step starting tomorrow?

GAINER: We will continue those searches throughout the District of Columbia. We continue the interviews at her apartment building. We continue to follow up on the tips that are called in and we are waiting to have the analysis done of the polygraph that was given to us. So there is a lot of work to be done in this case.

QUESTION: How specific can the computer forensic experts get with her Web site? You can only tell what Web site someone has been in, right? You can't tell anything beyond that? Is that right?

GAINER: As a rule, but again, I don't profess to be a computer whiz. We've got experts doing that and Gainer isn't one of them. Anything else? Thanks.

CHEN: Assistant police chief for Washington, D.C. speaking with reporters, giving them a late update. As you know, they have been continuing that search in Rock Creek Park as well as another park in Washington, D.C. looking for any clues they can find, giving reporters up in Washington their latest on their investigation as well as what their strategy is and what their thinking is to this point.

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