February 21, 2009 8:44 AM
- Text
Students To Reexamine Chandra Levy Case
(CBS/AP)
Criminal justice students at a Georgia college are preparing to undertake their own investigation of the 2001 slaying in Washington of Chandra Levy, the Modesto resident whose death tainted a congressman's career.
The students at Bauder College in Atlanta also will look into the disappearance three years ago of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba.
Since 2005, Bauder students have studied old evidence and case files from unsolved crimes as part of the school's Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, said institute director Sheryl McCollum.
The 50 students plan to turn their findings and recommendations over to Washington police and prosecutors at the end of the term. However, they will not be graded or get course credit for their work interviewing experts associated with the two cases, preparing timelines and looking for clues in Levy's computer.
"Our motto is 'Justice delayed, not denied.' How do you just stop trying?" McCollum said.
McCollum's previous students have researched the 1996 shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas and the conviction of Wayne Williams, who was blamed for the murders of two dozen children and young men in Atlanta during the late 1970s and early '80.
Levy, 24, had just finished working as an intern for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in May 2001 when she disappeared. Her body was found in a Washington park a year later and her death ruled a homicide, but no one has been charged.
The case attracted widespread attention over allegations that Levy had been romantically involved with married U.S. Rep. Gary Condit. It was cited as the main cause of his re-election defeat in the March 2002 primary.
In the Aruba case, three young men have been questioned in Holloway's disappearance on the island, but prosecutors closed their investigation Dec. 18, saying they didn't have enough evidence to prosecute.
Levy's mother, Susan Levy, said she welcomes the renewed attention her daughter's death will receive. Most of the investigators originally involved in the case have retired or moved on to other jobs.
"It's always good to have a fresh look," she said, adding that "a lot of things still don't make sense."
McCollum's students have previously examined such cases as the 1996 shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur and the arrest of Wayne Williams, who police identified as the key suspect in more than 20 child murders in Atlanta from 1979 to 1981, reports the Modesto Bee.
The college started its Cold Case Institute in 2005.
© MVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report
The students at Bauder College in Atlanta also will look into the disappearance three years ago of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway in Aruba.
Since 2005, Bauder students have studied old evidence and case files from unsolved crimes as part of the school's Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, said institute director Sheryl McCollum.
The 50 students plan to turn their findings and recommendations over to Washington police and prosecutors at the end of the term. However, they will not be graded or get course credit for their work interviewing experts associated with the two cases, preparing timelines and looking for clues in Levy's computer.
"Our motto is 'Justice delayed, not denied.' How do you just stop trying?" McCollum said.
McCollum's previous students have researched the 1996 shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas and the conviction of Wayne Williams, who was blamed for the murders of two dozen children and young men in Atlanta during the late 1970s and early '80.
Levy, 24, had just finished working as an intern for the U.S. Bureau of Prisons in May 2001 when she disappeared. Her body was found in a Washington park a year later and her death ruled a homicide, but no one has been charged.
The case attracted widespread attention over allegations that Levy had been romantically involved with married U.S. Rep. Gary Condit. It was cited as the main cause of his re-election defeat in the March 2002 primary.
In the Aruba case, three young men have been questioned in Holloway's disappearance on the island, but prosecutors closed their investigation Dec. 18, saying they didn't have enough evidence to prosecute.
Levy's mother, Susan Levy, said she welcomes the renewed attention her daughter's death will receive. Most of the investigators originally involved in the case have retired or moved on to other jobs.
"It's always good to have a fresh look," she said, adding that "a lot of things still don't make sense."
McCollum's students have previously examined such cases as the 1996 shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur and the arrest of Wayne Williams, who police identified as the key suspect in more than 20 child murders in Atlanta from 1979 to 1981, reports the Modesto Bee.
The college started its Cold Case Institute in 2005.
© MVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report
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