Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Larry King Live
Interview With Robert & Susan Levy, Billy Martin
Aired April 30, 2002 - 21:00 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.
LARRY KING, HOST: Tonight, the unsolved mystery of Washington intern Chandra Levy. It's been one year since she vanished without a trace. What happened to her? Does Congressman Gary Condit know anything about her fate that he's not telling?
Joining us for their first interview since the anniversary of their daughter's disappearance, anguished parents Susan and Robert Levy. They're next on LARRY KING LIVE.
It is Tuesday night, April 30. Just one year ago today was the last time anyone saw Chandra Levy. She was 24 years old, just ended an internship with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. Disappeared April 30, 2001, at her health club in Washington, a few blocks from where she lived. She has been officially missing since May 1 of last year.
And we welcome her parents, Susan Levy and Dr. Bob Levy, who have become very familiar figures on the American scene. A major story in People magazine this week.
What's it been like, Susan? What's -- recap the year for me.
SUSAN LEVY, CHANDRA'S MOTHER: It's been very hard. You can see I'm not wearing a wristwatch. I have stopped wearing watches because time is really painful when you don't have your loved ones with you.
KING: So you don't like to look at anything that tells you what time it is?
S. LEVY: Well, I know in the world we have to watch the time and be aware of what's going on and schedule our lives, but time is excruciating pain when you're waiting and hoping for answers.
KING: We have this button I want to show you. It's called "Where is Chandra?" This button is being given where, Doctor? How is this working?
ROBERT LEVY, CHANDRA'S FATHER: Well, we've passed it out to our friends and relatives and people in Modesta as well as sending to people in Washington and different friends around the country, just to remind everyone that Chandra's still missing. We want to know where she is, and we hope someone out there knows and will help us.
KING: What is the yellow ribbon? S. LEVY: The ribbon is a reminder that we are still looking, we're waiting for our loved one to come home. And if anybody is out there that happens to know anything, if they have any answers, we'd appreciate them helping us bring our daughter home.
KING: Does hope fade, Doc?
R. LEVY: Well, it's pretty tough after -- after any time. I mean, the first week was just horrible, and it's like that still. You sort of get used anything. I mean, we're not really used to it, but we're just -- get used to feeling...
KING: You haven't heard her voice, you haven't...
R. LEVY: No. We haven't heard her voice. We haven't seen her. We haven't talked with her. We really miss her. We hope that she's alive, but we really miss just seeing her, knowing what's going on.
KING: What reaction do you get, just like, when the phone rings? Do you jump still at the phone, or has it become...
S. LEVY: Well, it depends on the time of the week. And I would say that I don't think I jump thinking that she's going to be on the other line, but I'm going to tell you, Larry, that I still have faith and hope that Chandra will come back to us alive.
KING: Do you ever get calls late at night?
R. LEVY: Um...
KING: As a doctor, you might.
(LAUGHTER)
R. LEVY: Yes, I do. I do for that. But, unfortunately, we don't really expect to hear anything, you know, from one day to the next because it's been so long that we haven't heard anything. You know, we hope to. We hope to get a call saying they found her and she's alive and, you know, she'll be back.
KING: When did you first know -- let's just recap a little -- that she was missing? Was she supposed to call you? The last time you spoke to her was when? Did you talk to her that morning of the 30th?
R. LEVY: No.
S. LEVY: No, sir.
R. LEVY: I think it was May the 27th we talked to her last.
KING: You mean April.
R. LEVY: I mean -- yes, I mean April the 27th.
KING: And were you supposed to be hearing from her? S. LEVY: Yes.
R. LEVY: Yes.
KING: I mean, was she coming home? For graduation, right?
S. LEVY: That's right.
R. LEVY: She was supposed to fly home, come home, meet us in Sacramento. She was supposed to be in touch with friends in L.A. that she was going to stay with and see. And we, you know, we didn't hear from her.
We called and left a message and we didn't hear from her the 1st or the 2nd,and 3rd and 4th -- well, actually, the 4th we started getting more anxious. And the 5th, I think that was Friday, I started calling the police in Washington trying to get them to check in to things. And finally, by Monday -- or Sunday,I knew she was missing.
KING: The last thing you got was an e-mail, right?
S. LEVY: Yes.
KING: Saying what?
S. LEVY: Good morning, just generalized talk about airlines. Didn't really specifically say...
KING: Was that the morning of the 30th or the morning of the -- when did you last get a response from her for anything?
S. LEVY: I think it was that morning. From the e-mail, that is.
R. LEVY: Yes, May 1.
KING: You got it on May 1? But she's been missing since April -- no one's seen her since April...
R. LEVY: No one's seen her since April 30.
KING: she left the apartment cold, right? I mean by that is, keys in the apartment...
R. LEVY: Her wallet..
KING: ... her wallet, jewelry...
S. LEVY: Jewelry, everything.
R. LEVY: It was packed, you know, half packed, ready to leave.
KING: What's the toughest moments? What about her birthday, April 14?
S. LEVY: Very hard.
KING: She would've been -- she is...
R. LEVY: She is 25.
S. LEVY: She's 25 in every...
KING: Forgive me if we say it in the past tense.
R. LEVY: No, that's OK.
KING: It's very hard not to talk, you know, when someone's missing this long,to not to say stuff in the past.
S. LEVY: Yes.
KING: She is 25 years old now. Was April 14 tough?
S. LEVY: Yes, it was. Very hard.
R. LEVY: It was really impossible, but with the help if friends and relatives we got through it. You know, we were with people and that really helped.
KING: Was Passover hard? Jewish holidays hard?
S. LEVY: Yes, yes.
R. LEVY: Yes, because last year we were with her for Passover, and we saw her last just before Easter.
KING: Her brother Adam, who has managed to avoid the media completely...
R. LEVY: Yes, yes.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: ... I guess you've done a good job there. How old is Adam?
S. LEVY: He's 20 years old.
KING: Why does -- where is he?
S. LEVY: He's trying to live life normal, going to school. And he has a belief, a brotherly belief that Chandra is alive and OK. He feels that strongly.
KING: He's in college out here in California, right?
S. LEVY: Yes, he is.
KING: And what is he -- want to be a doctor?
R. LEVY: He's still thinking. He's searching. He's going to Modesto Junior college right now, a sophomore.
KING: He was very close with his sister?
S. LEVY: Yes.
KING: Misses her a lot then?
S. LEVY: Yes.
R. LEVY: He does.
KING: How has he escaped media attention, which is near to impossible in this day and age?
(LAUGHTER)
Does he work at it?
S. LEVY: I don't know. It comes natural.
R. LEVY: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) avoids. I mean, he's sort of shy and, you know, he doesn't want to really get out there. He's been on TV a couple of times.
S. LEVY: He wants to live life as, as he would call it, a regular guy.
R. LEVY: Yes.
KING: Now, the toughest part, I guess, in addition to having her missing, is public interest, right? You get -- you can't hear from as many people today as you did six months ago?
R. LEVY: No.
S. LEVY: No.
KING: So how do you keep that...
S. LEVY: Well, we hear once in a while and we know there are people out there that are praying. And how we keep going is through faith and hope, but also through friends -- good friends and family support and just a belief.
KING: A hope.
S. LEVY: A faith and hope.
KING: Do you go to your practice every day?
R. LEVY: Yes.
KING: Your specialty is what?
R. LEVY: Oncology and hematology, treating cancer and blood problems.
KING: You not only have to face this, but you deal with patients in dire stress.
R. LEVY: Yes.
KING: We'll be right back with Susan Levy and Dr. Bob Levy on this edition of "Larry King Live." It is April 30. One year ago was the last time anyone saw their daughter. Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
S. LEVY: It's been just a nightmare. I appreciate anyone and everyone helping me bring my daughter back. Any kind of smallest little ideas, clues or anything, please call the hotline.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back with the Levys -- Susan Levy and Dr. Bob Levy. Later on in the program, in the last segment, Billy Martin, the Levy family attorney, will join us.
Do you think this could lead to some clues that we have -- we celebrate anniversaries in a way? Susan?
S. LEVY: We hope somebody will be touched and want to help us out and come forward.
KING: You think so, Doctor? Sometimes an anniversary can rekindle something.
B. LEVY: Well, it does, but we keep her in our memory and our minds all the time anyway and...
S. LEVY: That's right.
B. LEVY: ... you know, we hope the interest will bring about -- you know, will have someone come in to really help, you know, have answers as far as clues or knows something. We really hope someone will help.
KING: What do you do with your mind, as minds will wander, when it thinks the worst?
S. LEVY: Oh yes. It has moments.
KING: What do you do with that? In other words, how do you deal with that when you think -- when it thinks the worst?
S. LEVY: Sometimes I do cry and, I mean, I let out...
KING: Very understandable.
S. LEVY: ... and I cry and I ask why, and that's hard. I sometimes meditate,and I believe in talking to any kind of support groups you can get. And, for instance, the mind does think sometimes really bad thoughts. KING: Sure.
S. LEVY: And, you know, we formed Wings for Protection. I've talked to my co-founder and other members in Wings.
KING: What is Wings?
S. LEVY: It's a group where we're supporting missing people that have...
KING: Families of missing...
S. LEVY: ... families of missing people, yes.
B. LEVY: Families of missing people.
S. LEVY: And at those meetings sometimes we share our worst thoughts, or we cry. Even once in a while we'll laugh.
But I also talk to the Carrington Sund Foundation, Kim Peterson, and....
KING: Yes, that's a great group.
B. LEVY: Yes, they've been really helpful for us...
S. LEVY: They've been great.
B. LEVY: ... and for other families of missing people.
KING: A lot of people missing in this country.
B. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: Yes, there is.
B. LEVY: And, unfortunately -- well, fortunately, a lot of them are found or they turn up.
KING: It's weird in a way, Dr. Levy, but what you pray for is she ran away.
(LAUGHTER)
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: I mean, it's kind of...
B. LEVY: That's really what we would...
KING: Your thinking is you hope that she turned off from the world and is somewhere in some -- living in -- wherever she's living, she's living, right?
B. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: Yes.
B. LEVY: She's living, that's the main thing. There's a state where people can be in like that -- it could happen without intentionally running away or not contacting us and we know it's, you know...
KING: Remote.
B. LEVY: ... not likely -- it's remote, but that's what we have to hope for.
KING: Opposite that is foul play.
B. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: Yes.
KING: And that's what you have to think of.
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: So if you think of foul play, you have to think of who's ever committed the foul play has kept her alive, right? Is that where the wish goes, Susan?
S. LEVY: Well, that sounds a bit ambiguous -- who committed a foul play...
KING: No, no, no. That's someone who's taken her away...
(CROSSTALK)
S. LEVY: Oh.
KING: ... whoever took her...
S. LEVY: That is...
KING: ... didn't kill her.
S. LEVY: That's right.
B. LEVY: Yes. Oh, yes.
KING: So whoever was responsible for this has kept her alive...
S. LEVY: I hope.
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: ... for whatever purposes they may be using her.
S. LEVY: Yes, that's correct.
B. LEVY: We pray for that too, that she's still alive and, you know, that they'll eventually, you know, let her go. And, you know... KING: What do the police tell you?
S. LEVY: Well, you know there's a grand jury going on right now.
KING: I'm going to ask about that.
B. LEVY: Yes. The police, however -- you know, we haven't really been...
KING: Would you call them?
B. LEVY: Not really anymore because it's been -- the case has been solved by the Department of Justice and...
KING: So it's federal, too?
B. LEVY: It's federal, and we really haven't been in touch with the police recently, but...
KING: Do you have your own investigators?
B. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: Yes.
KING: What do they tell you?
S. LEVY: There's a lot going on.
B. LEVY: Yes, they say there's a lot going on, you know. They think...
KING: They do?
B. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: Right.
KING: What can you tell us?
S. LEVY: That the investigation is going on strongly, and they're working very hard at it.
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: To find out what happened to her?
S. LEVY: Yes, sir.
B. LEVY: Yes. Yes, but we -- they don't have specifics. You know, we don't really have specifics.
KING: Do we know if Gary Condit testified before the grand jury?
B. LEVY: I believe...
KING: There is a grand -- we know there is a grand jury investigation...
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: ... that we know.
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: A grand jury, of course, is secret.
S. LEVY: Right.
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: Do we know if he did testify or not?
B. LEVY: We believe that he was called in.
KING: Because you could stand in front of the courthouse every day and watch the grand jury go in and watch...
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: ... to see if he went in, right?
S. LEVY: Right.
B. LEVY: Yes. I believe he did but I -- you know, we don't know what was said or...
S. LEVY: Right.
B. LEVY: ... if he took the Fifth Amendment or what.
KING: He appeared on this program in February. Did you watch him?
S. LEVY: Yes, I did.
KING: OK, let's just watch one clip. We're not going to belabor this but I do want to -- I certainly have to ask about it. Here is Gary Condit in February,watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CONDIT: This is about a tragedy. It's not about me, Larry. And the media needs to focus on this. There is a missing person, and somebody knows what happened. And to focus on me -- here, all this attention on Gary Condit. I had nothing to do with her disappearance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: All right, Dr. Levy, do you not believe him?
B. LEVY: Oh...
KING: When you see that, what goes through you? B. LEVY: Well, it's just different emotions, but I have my own thoughts and ideas about it. And it's -- you know, it's just really tough because of everything that's gone on and what we do know.
KING: You think he was involved?
B. LEVY: Well, I -- you know, I can't really say. You know, it's...
KING: Susan?
S. LEVY: I think...
KING: You seemed definitive at one point, saying you think he was.
S. LEVY: Yes. I only -- not listening to this tape, but hearing him saying that if he got elected, he would certainly help and make sure that that...
KING: He said that at the same interview.
B. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: Yes.
KING: If he were re-elected, it would keep the focus on the case.
S. LEVY: And he would be out there doing what he really can...
B. LEVY: Doing what he could.
S. LEVY: ... and that makes me wonder, there must be something out there that he could be doing regardless of whether he's elected or not.
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: Did you root against his election?
S. LEVY: Well, I'm not talking about politics.
(LAUGHTER)
We're not even in the same district.
KING: But in the...
S. LEVY: Well, our concern is finding our daughter.
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: Yes, in a sense though -- perverted it may sound -- had he been re-elected, every time he went in, they'd have followed him around -- bad clue-- so it would have focused attention, in a sense. S. LEVY: Yes.
B. LEVY: That is true, but that was not really -- you know, we don't think much of that as an election ploy. You know, to say that -- you know,"Renominate me and I'll keep the story alive." You know, that's...
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Our guests are Susan Levy and Dr. Bob Levy.
This is "Larry King Live" on the one-year anniversary of the last day their daughter was seen. She is now 25 years old. Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FEBRUARY 25, 2002)
REP. GARY CONDIT (D), CALIFORNIA: I did what I thought I was supposed to do, and that was to tell law enforcement everything that I knew about Chandra and about the case. And I did that, Larry, in a timely fashion. I did it within 48 hours. I invited them to my house. And so, this thing about he delayed or he didn't tell them or he didn't tell them the whole thing, I told them everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHANDRA LEVY: ... state government tours and the federal government tours and you do the insurances. And actually we have our probably the biggest paper is a 15 to 20-page paper in this city government course. And I should show you guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: We're back with the Levys.
Gary Condit, when he appeared on this program, also said that he really tried to cooperate with you. He said, "I called them several months ago. Members of my family have called them several months ago. We've been rebuffed by Mr. and Mrs. Levy." He said, the Levys' attorney sent him a letter not to contact you.
First, did the lawyer do that? Did your lawyer do that? I can...
B. LEVY: We're not aware of that. We're not aware of that.
KING: Why would he do that? Wouldn't you want him to contact you?
B. LEVY: Oh, if he...
KING: He says he's tried to contact you.
B. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: Well, I do remember once that he called the house one Saturday afternoon and he wanted to talk. Basically, I said he would have to talk with my lawyers and me.
B. LEVY: Yes, talk with our attorney present.
S. LEVY: Present. So it wasn't a matter that we didn't want to be in communication with him.
Also, his son, Chad, called our house and wanted to mend fences just before election.
B. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: His father wanted him -- he said, speaking for his father...
KING: Oh, really?
B. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: Yes. He said, "I'm calling on behalf of my father. My father wants to know what's going on in Washington, D.C., as far as the investigation, and my father would like to mend the fences between our families."
KING: What did you say to him?
S. LEVY: I didn't say much.
(LAUGHTER)
B. LEVY: Well, again, I think we said we couldn't really meet with him except with our attorney present, so we would...
KING: Were you shocked at the call?
S. LEVY: I was rather surprised, yes.
B. LEVY: I thought it was -- you know, made sense from the election viewpoint as far as, you know...
KING: And you had no knowledge of your daughter's involvement with him, other than that she knew a congressman, right?
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: You didn't know about any relationship with him, et cetera.
S. LEVY: No.
KING: And the first time you spoke with him he denied that, right?
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: And now, it's pretty well convinced that they did have a relationship;through things she had said to, what, her aunt.
B. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: Well, yes, but even before then I had talked to a gentleman named O.C., and that's how I started thinking that there may be some connection.
KING: Between the two.
S. LEVY: Yes.
B. LEVY: Yes. And Sue did get it out of Chandra.
S. LEVY: And I tried to...
B. LEVY: She did get it out of...
S. LEVY: I tried to tell her, be careful. I don't know why but it was just a mother's feeling and...
KING: Oh, you did?
S. LEVY: Yes, yes, before she went missing.
KING: Be careful.
S. LEVY: I said I don't want you to get hurt.
KING: You meant emotionally hurt, though.
S. LEVY: Any kind of hurt.
KING: You had no fear that she could physically...
S. LEVY: No. No.
B. LEVY: No.
(CROSSTALK)
B. LEVY: I mean, it was very odd to me, you know, I was -- we tried to get the name of the person she was seeing, but she said he -- they had to keep it secret. She couldn't tell us, you know, it was...
KING: Because he was married and a congressman, as you now know.
B. LEVY: Yes. But she said, no, he's divorced, you know.
KING: Did you ever think she was pregnant?
B. LEVY: Oh...
KING: It has been reported she's got some great news to tell her aunt.
B. LEVY: No. I didn't really think so but, you know...
S. LEVY: Who knows?
B. LEVY: We don't know. You know, we don't know what's -- you know, she -- I guess she could have been, but we just don't know. She's not a -- you know, she wasn't favorable of abortion at all. So, you know, she wouldn't do that.
S. LEVY: And if she was pregnant, we would love her and her grandchild just --our grandchild just the same no matter who...
KING: Yes. The other side is, the police had three theories: suicide, which you have completely discounted, right?
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: There's no chance.
S. LEVY: No.
B. LEVY: No, no.
KING: And also, if you do that, how do you hide your own body?
B. LEVY: Yes, and why would you want to? You know, why...
KING: In other words, what could be so sad as to want to kill yourself?
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: The other is abduction...
S. LEVY: Yes.
KING: ... or murder by some sort of wacko, serial guy.
Now, there are missing people in that neighborhood, aren't there? Or, in the surround -- in Washington? Or have they been solved?
B. LEVY: I think they've been solved or there's not that many. It's not -- I don't believe, although we haven't gotten information from the police that there are a number of cases of women who are missing in the same circumstances. I mean, there were in the past, but I think those were, you know, those were solved in a way.
KING: Were you surprised that Chandra was involved with someone much older?
S. LEVY: No, I'm not surprised. She's 24...
KING: She liked older men?
S. LEVY: She's 24 years old and she's an independent thinker. And she -- you know, I wouldn't be surprised.
KING: The police are the only ones that have said they've had a relationship,right? It was a police leak. He's never said they've had.
B. LEVY: Not that I know of, he hasn't admitted to...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: He...
S. LEVY: He denied...
KING: Yes, he denied it. Said, you know...
S. LEVY: ... on the phone to me when I had called him.
KING: You believed him then, right?
B. LEVY: Oh, we didn't believe him then, no.
S. LEVY: No. I asked him...
KING: Didn't you at first, if not like him, want information from him? I mean, at first, you bought the friendship story, right? Didn't you?
B. LEVY: Not from him. Not from him.
KING: But it was first reported they were friends.
B. LEVY: Yes, I mean, we knew that -- we told the police and the FBI, and the Justice Department when we went to Washington back in the middle of May exactly what we thought and what we knew was going on. And so, the police and the FBI knew about it, even though -- you know, we didn't talk to the press about it at that time.
S. LEVY: Immediately I didn't buy into the story because when I first called this number that was his office number and the kind of elevator romantic music he had with -- answering the phone, it just seems kind of strange to me, so.
KING: What was it like to watch him that night for an hour here, sitting right where you're sitting? He sat on that chair. What was it like for you emotionally?
S. LEVY: Very difficult. Very heart-wrenching.
B. LEVY: Yes. It was just real tough, you know, not -- just seeing him and,you know, he looked, you know, a certain way -- cocky and, you know, arrogant and, you know, he's like -- you know, he's...
KING: Now what -- let's say you take it to a full and you think he was somehow involved. What scenario tells you, why would he want to do this? Why would he want to harm your daughter? So what do you try to tell yourself? You know,what's the end of the puzzle? B. LEVY: Actually, you know, there's a lot of possibilities of that but we don't...
S. LEVY: We do not go there.
B. LEVY: ... we don't really know.
S. LEVY: We try not to...
B. LEVY: We try to not think about that.
KING: Trying not to think about why he would want to harm her.
B. LEVY: Yes. It's just too painful. I mean, we can imagine reasons, you know, that she -- you know, she's pregnant or she was going to...
KING: Or she was...
B. LEVY: ... talk about it.
KING: ... pressuring him to get divorced or...
B. LEVY: Yes. I mean, those are all possible, but...
KING: Are you hurt she didn't confide in you?
S. LEVY: Yes, of course, I'm a mother, you know. But then, also, I know that sometimes daughters have good friends...
KING: And mothers...
S. LEVY: ... you know, and will talk to an aunt or someone more their age...
KING: Yes.
S. LEVY: ... and talk first -- you know, to their mother for a while and develop -- you know, they have to have their own boundaries and space.
KING: We'll be right back with the Levys on this edition of LARRY KING LIVE. Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF CHARLES RAMSEY, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE: Obviously, we're very, very concerned. She's been gone now for more than a month. We're very, very concerned about it. But there's been no evidence that indicates that it's anything other than a missing person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: OK, we're on the west side of the creek bed. Remember, we're going to spread out an arm-span apart from one another. We're going to take our time. We're going to go slowly. Watch out for revines, any rocks, anything. Your safety is No. 1 priority out here. As we're walking, anything unusual, just raise your hand, I'll be behind. Sergeant Petty (ph) will be behind you. OK, we'll stop and see what we got.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: If you have just joined us, where is Chandra is the topic. One year ago today was the last time anyone saw Chandra Levy. She is now 25 years old.
By the way, if you want any information or have any information, you can call 1-800-860-6552, 1-800-860-6552. And the web site, takes you right to the law firm, is levy@dejlaw -- one word -- dejlaw.com. And I'll repeat that again before the interview ends. And their attorney will join us -- Billy Martin will join us in the last segment of LARRY KING LIVE.
Looking -- as you look at this whole concept...
S. LEVY: Yes.
KING: ... do you believe he was involved? I mean, you've hinted at it, you've said it, you're suspicious. In your gut feeling, do you think he was involved?
B. LEVY: Well, I know he was involved with Chandra, so I -- you know, I believe he had something to do with it.
KING: He had something to do -- you think he knows more than he's saying.
B. LEVY: I'm not sure what he said to the grand jury. You know, he does know something, though.
KING: You're positive. You think he knows more than he's saying.
S. LEVY: I think he does. I think he could be helping us more.
KING: When you think about her leaving the apartment as she did, what goes through your mind? What would -- you know, you're her mother...
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: ... what would cause her to leave a wallet and keys?
S. LEVY: Well, the worst-case scenario, I mean, it -- say he himself may not.
KING: But he sent someone.
S. LEVY: Could have, yes. Because I've been told that when she would go out,she was to not carry identification.
KING: He asked her not to carry identification.
S. LEVY: That's right.
KING: But not carrying keys and not carrying a -- would tell you that maybe she -- there's been the rumors like a motorcycle pulled up and she went down there. If you're going to get on a motorcycle, you're not going to carry anything because you have to hold onto the guy driving the motorcycle.
Is that part of your theory, thinking that someone said, "Hurry down, we've got to do something quickly," and she ran downstairs?
S. LEVY: It's possible.
B. LEVY: Yes, that could be.
S. LEVY: She's not one to always carrying big purses or anything like that,so...
B. LEVY: She didn't have her wallet even.
S. LEVY: Yes. So just makes you wonder if she...
KING: She also carried -- didn't she carry pepper spray and stuff maybe?
B. LEVY: Yes, had that on the key chain -- on the regular key chain.
S. LEVY: Yes.
B. LEVY: You know, it was left.
KING: So she was aware that, you know, Washington has a crime rate...
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: ... and she was aware of protecting herself. In fact, she was interested in criminology, wasn't she?
S. LEVY: Right.
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: What, did she want to work for the FBI?
B. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: Yes, that's correct. She wanted to help make a difference and help people.
KING: Did she have boyfriends, a lot of boyfriends? B. LEVY: Not a lot. I mean, she had a lot of friends, and male friends also. But not more than one boyfriend at a time, you know, it was...
KING: Do you hear from her friends?
S. LEVY: A couple of them, yes.
KING: Girls that were close to her at school or out here?
S. LEVY: More male friends that were her friends that I've talked to and a couple of girlfriends down in Modesto.
B. LEVY: In Modesto.
S. LEVY: Not a whole lot.
KING: What's -- what, Doctor, is the hardest thing?
B. LEVY: Just...
KING: Not knowing?
B. LEVY: Not knowing, but it's just missing her. Just not having her and going -- every day you wake up in the morning and, you know, it's -- you know it's the same thing; she's not -- we don't have her, we don't know, and we've got to go through another day. At night we can go to bed and we sort -- we have hope and, you know, we hope -- well, we get to go to sleep and have a peaceful time. In the morning we wake up, and it's all there again.
And, you know, we're not really use to it, but it's been going on so long that we're just sort of in that frame of mind of not really being happy.
KING: So when you open your eyes in the morning, Chandra's the first thing you think of?
S. LEVY: Oh, sure. Yes. When I -- if I go to the store and I hear about somebody else talking or -- about their daughter or about their graduation or their wedding or, you know, that goes on -- you know, happy times with their children basically, I feel like I've been -- it's been...
KING: Robbed.
S. LEVY: ... my daughter's...
(CROSSTALK)
B. LEVY: We've been robbed.
S. LEVY: Robbed, yes.
B. LEVY: Been robbed.
KING: Think about her a lot as a little girl?
S. LEVY: Oh, yes. In fact...
B. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: ... on her -- on her birthday, it was excruciating pain that I went through because, you know, when you child birth there's a certain pain but it's also like the same -- because I feel it's so much achiness because...
KING: Oh.
S. LEVY: ... where -- where is this person...
B. LEVY: Where is she? You know, she is alive?
S. LEVY: ... you just created?
KING: Well, there's no worse thing for parents.
B. LEVY: No.
(CROSSTALK)
S. LEVY: No, because it is...
KING: And losing a child is the worse. Maybe this is worse than knowing.
B. LEVY: Yes, it's just...
S. LEVY: Yes.
B. LEVY: The only thing that's a little bit better is we hope that, you know,that she's alive.
KING: Now, in order to help you, the media showed her picture a lot and they showed videos of her...
B. LEVY: They did.
KING: ... a lot which, of course, is -- the idea is to get people...
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: ... that they see her. But, also, when you're watching it, you see her all the time.
B. LEVY: Yes.
KING: So is that a mixed bag for you?
S. LEVY: No, not for me.
B. LEVY: Not, not -- not really. I look at my own videos of her a lot, too.
KING: You do?
B. LEVY: I do, and keep her fresh. Keep everything fresh. That's -- it's painful sometimes, but then I get a comfort at looking at them.
KING: Has the police treated you well?
S. LEVY: In Modesto, I...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: Modesto...
B. LEVY: The sheriff's department -- the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department and Les Whitingman (ph) were wonderful.
KING: It's not their case.
B. LEVY: No, it isn't.
KING: I'm talking about the Washington police.
B. LEVY: They -- they...
S. LEVY: They've been OK.
B. LEVY: Yes, I mean, they...
S. LEVY: I don't know -- I haven't been down there that much. You know,they...
B. LEVY: They were -- they were -- you know, helpful and cooperative as much as -- you know, as much as they could be.
KING: One of the things, you might bug them every day.
S. LEVY: They showed...
B. LEVY: Well...
S. LEVY: They showed us their state-of-the-art facilities that they have...
B. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: ... developed, but I don't -- you know, just maybe we haven't...
KING: Hasn't helped you.
B. LEVY: Hasn't helped us.
S. LEVY: Maybe we should be talking to them more frequently, but I figured we can't with the grand jury thing going. KING: Yes. We'll ask your lawyer about that in a little while.
S. LEVY: Yes.
KING: One more segment with the Levys, and then Billy Martin will join us. We'll be right back on LARRY KING LIVE. Don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back with the Levys.
An occurrence happened on September 11 that took Gary Condit off the front pages and took the Levys off the front pages and took Chandra off the front pages. Where were you that morning?
We were on the way out to go back East to do some interviews.
R. LEVY: We were going to leave on September 11 and fly back to New York and Chicago for interviews.
KING: Interviews with -- to discuss...
R. LEVY: With the media, yes.
S. LEVY: Yes.
R. LEVY: And then we heard our friends from back East call us up to say, you know, "Look at the TV. You're not going anywhere."
KING: And you were going to go to the airport that day?
R. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: Right, that morning.
R. LEVY: And it was a big shock. And, you know, that really hit us hard, not because we couldn't go, but just because of what happened to the whole country...
S. LEVY: Right.
R. LEVY: ... and all the people that died and people who were missing.
S. LEVY: Just magnified it.
R. LEVY: Just magnified it.
S. LEVY: Our loss is their loss as well.
KING: Washington and New York. Washington is always home.
S. LEVY: Too much.
R. LEVY: Yes.
KING: Did you also say to yourself sometime later, "This is going to focus attention away from our plight"?
S. LEVY: I didn't think...
R. LEVY: Well, we didn't really think about it much because actually the media had sort of left us the week before that, as far as being out in front of the house, and you know, Condit went back to D.C. a week before. So it was really not out there as much in the headlines.
KING: I guess you were doing media because it was going to be the six-month anniversary?
R. LEVY: It was...
KING: April, May, June, July, August -- around that time.
R. LEVY: Yes. It was approaching...
KING: How about when the van Dam story broke? The couple whose daughter was taken. We waited a whole week and then she was found. What was that like,living that week? That was out here.
R. LEVY: Yes, that was another...
S. LEVY: Hard.
R. LEVY: ... another bad week.
S. LEVY: Very bad.
R. LEVY: And what's been going on in the Middle East just gets to us, you know, with people -- children being killed, you know, and people being killed,the Palestinians and the Israelis, you know, and -- it's just...
S. LEVY: Also, the way we treat each other and not value lives.
KING: Do you commiserate with the van Dam family?
S. LEVY: Yes, I do.
KING: What they had to go through?
R. LEVY: Oh, yes.
S. LEVY: Yes, yes, very much.
R. LEVY: No one should have to go through that, and you know, it's -- it happens.
KING: You haven't had the other worst part happen. You haven't had anybody found -- where they called you up and said, "We found someone. Could you come and identify someone" or -- no leads like that.
S. LEVY: It's always a fear. R. LEVY: It's a fear.
KING: That's the greatest fear, right?
S. LEVY: Every time...
R. LEVY: Yes. They'll find somebody and they'll match DNA. Right now it would be that. They do have DNA, but you know, we just...
KING: Do you get a lot of crank calls?
S. LEVY: I've had psychics that have called...
(CROSSTALK)
S. LEVY: I don't really talk to them all that much.
KING: Did you talk to them for any period of time?
R. LEVY: We did, and they're well-meaning, and maybe a psychic somewhere really knows, but you know, we don't -- we haven't found one that really...
S. LEVY: No, we're not running around looking for psychics.
R. LEVY: No, we're not looking.
S. LEVY: But one time someone did (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at our front step.
(LAUGHTER)
S. LEVY: Do you want another story?
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Go ahead.
S. LEVY: I asked a person where my daughter sits at the dinner table, and they couldn't even guess. And I asked them where her bedroom is -- had the door closed -- they were way off.
KING: Yet they're going to tell you where she is now?
S. LEVY: They're communicating with Chandra all the time, and the first thing they said, you know, you're kitchen's a little messy...
(LAUGHTER)
... and your daughter's telling me to clean up the kitchen. And, you know, I decided...
KING: That's unfair advantage...
R. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: It is amazing. And then I had called my lawyer to make sure somebody was there, and then I decided I want to find out how much these people really know. So that's when I asked...
KING: Sharp...
(LAUGHTER)
S. LEVY: She was wrong. She didn't know where she sat at the dinner table.
KING: Is it hard to give 100 percent to your patients?
R. LEVY: No, because when I'm there, I'm there for them. And they're supportive of me -- my patients and staff and my associates. That (UNINTELLIGIBLE) is completely supportive of me.
KING: Cancer patients so often pass on. You have to deal with death a lot. Any oncologist deals with death a lot. Is that doubly difficult for you, loss?
R. LEVY: Yes, it really hits, because a lot of people I've known for a longtime, and then, you know, they're not doing well, and then they pass on. But,you know, a lot of them have had more time, they've had good quality time, so we're happy with that. And hopefully a lot of them will live for many years and be comfortable, you know. That's the hope.
KING: What do you do with your days, Susan?
S. LEVY: I try to help others and I...
KING: Get involved in these groups?
S. LEVY: Well, I do a variety of things. I got involved with the Red Cross right after the...
KING: 9/11.
S. LEVY: 9/11, and worked with them. And then, unfortunately, I had several friends that had been very, very ill, and I've been going over there and helping them out in the ways I can help them emotionally and physically sometimes. And I've also worked with the Wings for Protection as well as go over Sund Carrington center when they need help.
And, yes, I go get a massage. That helps.
KING: You have to have a life, right?
S. LEVY: Yes.
R. LEVY: Yes.
KING: And there is your son. R. LEVY: Yes.
S. LEVY: Yes, that's right. And just managing the home and just managing staying healthy. Number one thing that we have to do is take care of our physical and emotional self, so that we could be there for whatever is going to happen.
R. LEVY: Hopefully for Chandra.
S. LEVY: Yes.
R. LEVY: Yes, hopefully for Chandra.
KING: Hopefully for Chandra.
Where is Chandra? If you have any thoughts, 1-800-860-6552, or the web site is levy@dejlaw -- that's one word -- levy@dejlaw.com.
When we come back, Billy Martin will join us from Washington. He's the Levy family attorney. Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
R. LEVY: We miss our daughter.
S. LEVY: We miss our daughter terribly. We want her back home alive. We appreciate all the help we can get, including from Mr. Congressman, who said to me that he would he help me, he would do anything to help me at the Jefferson Hotel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're heading over there. And we're seeing them, of course, as they head toward the microphones. They're going from here to the police department. But first, here is Billy Martin, attorney Billy Martin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: We're back with Chandra's parents, Susan Levy and Dr. Bob Levy. Chandra now 25 years old, missing one year today.
Joining us from Washington is Billy Martin, the Levy family attorney, who's become a very familiar figure on television.
What's the status, Billy, of the investigation to this date?
BILLY MARTIN, LEVY FAMILY ATTORNEY: Larry, to say it's frustrating would be an understatement. But there is an investigation that's ongoing. We do know that the D.C. police, although they're not very outspoken on what they are doing, are still investigating this matter, as well as the FBI. And most important to Dr. and Mrs. Levy and to us as their lawyer is a grand jury. There's an open investigation.
KING: Have the police done enough, in your opinion?
MARTIN: Until we find Chandra or until we find out what happened to Chandra, I know that Dr. and Mrs. Levy will never feel that the police or anybody has done enough. They want their daughter back, so they're not pleased.
KING: Do you know if Mr. Condit appeared before the grand jury?
MARTIN: I have no first-hand knowledge. I've read the same reports that you have, that he did appear. I do not know what happened when he appeared. I don't know if he testified or he took the Fifth Amendment.
But, Larry, it's meaningful to the Levys and for me to know that the grand jury is active and that Congressman Condit and others associated with him who may have information relevant to Chandra's disappearance are being pulled in there.
KING: Well, it's logical to think he'd be brought in. Everyone connected with her would be brought into a grand jury investigation, right?
MARTIN: Absolutely. And I think this grand jury here in Washington, they do a good job. I would hope that they would have the opportunity to ask all the questions that have any impact whatsoever on Chandra.
And, Larry, from the beginning, for almost a year now, my law firm and I have been sending in our investigators, have taken all the leads that we had, all the questions that we may have, and we've sent them over to the police or the FBI,and we think they've acted upon them.
KING: Can you assume the grand jury has subpoenaed telephone messages, slips,all the things relative to missing persons?
MARTIN: I think that's a very safe assumption. As a matter of fact, I think,before the congressman changed lawyers, there was a comment by one of his lawyers that there was no need to issue a subpoena for that information, they would have voluntarily turned it over. So I think that information has been required and, I believe, produced.
KING: In his February interview on this program, Billy, he said that you sent him a letter saying not to contact the Levys.
MARTIN: Absolutely.
KING: Why?
MARTIN: I asked him to contact me, because I think it's not comfortable for Dr. and Mrs. Levy -- and they're with you now and I know they'll agree with me-- that if Gary Condit calls their home, or if occasionally he's had his son Chad call their home, it's very upsetting to them.
Dr. and Mrs. Levy have asked the congressman to please meet with me or my investigators. They feel that they are overwhelmed by a person with his charisma, with his experience in public speaking, and it's a mismatch. They've asked him simply, "Pick up the phone and call my lawyer. We don't want to talk to you."
KING: What has he got to lose by talking to you, Billy?
MARTIN: Well, right now I think...
KING: I mean, you're not a police, it's not binding. Why can't he meet you and talk to you?
MARTIN: Well, Larry, now that he's been summoned to a grand jury, he has some issues. I don't know if he's been told that he's a subject or a target or a fact witness. I don't know what his status is with the grand jury, but if you're ever called in as a potential witness, if you say the wrong thing, you give the wrong answer, if you lie, if you impede, if you obstruct, that creates a lot of problems for you. So I would think that anybody going before a grand jury has potential jeopardy or issues, but I would love to talk to the congressman.
KING: Susan, are you happy with how Billy's handled all this?
S. LEVY: Yes, I am. Yes, definitely.
R. LEVY: Yes. He's been wonderful.
KING: Been a tough thing for him.
S. LEVY: Yes.
R. LEVY: Yes.
KING: When to speak, when not to speak; when to send his clients out, when not to send his clients out.
They're very hopeful, Billy. Honestly, are you?
MARTIN: I help them with their hope, Larry. I spoke with them tonight just before they went on the show with you. When I speak with them, I give them hope.
We have no information whatsoever that Chandra is not alive. Until we have that information, as unlikely as the odds may be, they hope. They have their beliefs, they have their faith, and they have each other and Adam, and there's a lot of love in the Levy family. And they're hopeful, and I have no reason whatsoever not to be encouraging that hope.
KING: It is, though, Billy, a confounding matter, isn't it?
MARTIN: Absolutely. And, Larry, for years here in Washington I was the head of the homicide unit. KING: I know.
MARTIN: And I've dealt with parents and victims and others, of victims of homicide, so I do know of the pain that's associated with this. And they have hope, and they should have hope.
I have children's Chandra's age, and I cannot imagine my daughter disappearing and never hearing from her. So when I speak with them it's very painful, it's very painful because you feel their pain, you feel their hurt.
KING: Yes.
MARTIN: I thought they did a great job tonight on your show. They've come along way in the year since Chandra disappeared, but they're still in a lot of pain.
KING: Where do you get your resilience from, Bob? I mean, I'm talking, as Billy says, he's a father; I'm a father.
R. LEVY: Yes.
KING: How do you get up every day?
R. LEVY: Well...
(CROSSTALK)
KING: To me, I don't think I could.
R. LEVY: Larry, I know. It's tough. Just try to have faith, you know...
KING: You got no other choice.
R. LEVY: Got no other choice.
KING: You can either live or die.
R. LEVY: Yes. We've got to keep going for each other and for Adam and, we hope, for Chandra and for my patients and our friends and relatives and, you know, everyone else.
KING: You've got closure, Susan? What do you want?
S. LEVY: Do I have closure?
KING: You don't have closure.
S. LEVY: No.
R. LEVY: No.
KING: You want knowledge, right?
S. LEVY: We want knowledge. R. LEVY: We want knowledge, yes.
S. LEVY: Knowledge. A lot of knowledge.
KING: Billy, do you think we're going to find the answer?
MARTIN: Larry, somebody out there knows what happened to Chandra.
KING: That's right.
MARTIN: And we're going to stay on this thing. And we've told Dr. and Mrs. Levy, you know -- I've convinced my partners at the law firm. DEJ is Dyer, Ellis and Joseph, which is my law firm.
KING: Yes, I know.
MARTIN: We've convinced them to allow us to stay on this matter for as long as it takes.
KING: I salute you and them.
MARTIN: Thank you.
KING: Thank you, Levys.
Thank you, Billy.
Today is the anniversary of her disappearance. We're still asking the same question: Where is Chandra? You can call 1-800-860- 6552, or the web site is levy@dejlaw.com.
Thanks for joining us on this very special edition of LARRY KING LIVE on this very special day.
"NEWSNIGHT" with Aaron Brown is next. See you tomorrow night. Good night.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
