This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
2002-05-29 04:00:00 PDT Modesto -- More than 1,200 people came, relatives and friends and strangers who never met Chandra Levy but felt they had to say goodbye to a young woman remembered as a generous and vivacious spirit eager to see the world.
Tuesday's memorial was the hopeful occasion Levy's family wanted, filled with tears and laughter as a packed auditorium celebrated her life, mourned her passing and contemplated her legacy.
But word from Washington, D.C., where Levy's remains were discovered last week, that her death a year ago was a homicide and that investigators may never know how she died, cast a pall over the service and deepened the anguish of her parents, Dr. Robert and Susan Levy.
"It breaks their heart again," said family attorney Billy Martin. "It's not easy to accept that your child is the victim of murder."
And it wasn't easy for those who filed into the Modesto Centre Plaza beneath a clear blue sky, some of whom came all the way from Los Angeles.
But many wanted the Levys to know they weren't alone in their grief.
"This is a wonderful gesture for the family to know that Modesto stands behind them," said Edith Kern, who did not know Levy but volunteered to help out at the service.
A string quartet played "Israel Sings" as mourners streamed into the auditorium and took the peanut butter cups -- Levy's favorite candy -- and programs offered by volunteers. A harpist played "Memories" from a vast stage festooned with huge photographs of Levy and towering arrangements of red and white roses.
The 90-minute service was by turns somber and joyous, marked by heartfelt remembrances from Levy's relatives and friends -- but not her parents, who avoided the media throng by entering the auditorium under guard just minutes before the service began.
There was no mention of Levy's time in Washington, nor was there any talk of Rep. Gary Condit, the 54-year-old Ceres Democrat whose reported affair with the 24-year-old intern focused national attention on her disappearance 13 months ago and cost him his political career.
PRAYERS IN 2 LANGUAGES
Instead, eulogies focused on Levy's personality and painted a vivid portrait of a woman Rabbi Peter Gordon called "a good person taken from us much too soon" as he offered prayers in Hebrew and English.
Loved ones recalled a quiet, introverted girl who blossomed into a confident, outgoing woman with an insatiable thirst for life. Mourners laughed at recollections of Levy bounding through Paris during a whirlwind vacation and donning her University of Southern California sweatshirt on even the hottest summer days to show everyone where she attended graduate school.
The most heartfelt eulogy came from Levy's 20-year-old brother, Adam Levy, who said he and his sister "almost drove each other nuts" but left indelible marks on each other's lives.
"I feel Chandra's presence every day," he said. "She hasn't left us, merely changed into a different form of energy."
He recalled how she loved the piano, an instrument he never had any interest in playing. He found himself plinking away on the family piano after his sister vanished and found he could play a few tunes by ear.
"It was a sign that she has transformed me, just as she's transformed others," he said.
Levy's bones were found a week ago today in Rock Creek Park, not far from her apartment. Investigators also found her jogging outfit and tape player, supporting a theory that she was attacked while out for a run.
Jonathan Arden, the city's chief medical examiner, announced Tuesday that Levy had been murdered, confirming what many in Washington and Modesto have long suspected. But he said Levy's body was too severely decomposed to determine how she died.
"It is possible we will never know the injury that caused her death," he said.
Arden spent a week examining Levy's remains, enlisting the help of a Smithsonian Institution forensic anthropologist. He said he is sure Levy met a violent end because her body was found hidden beneath underbrush in a remote part of the park.
CHIEF VOWS TO SOLVE CRIME
Washington Police Chief Charles Ramsey vowed to solve the crime, which is now classified as a homicide investigation.
"We're looking at it from a fresh perspective now that we know that this is a murder," Ramsey said. "At least we know it's not an accident, she's not just a missing person. She had to get to that location somehow.
"Did she do it on her own? Was she just a victim of random violence? Did someone lure her there? There's a whole new set of questions that need to be answered."
Ramsey said detectives have questioned Ingmar Guandique, a Salvadoran immigrant serving a 10-year prison sentence for assaulting two women in the park last year, and are likely to interview him again.
Investigators also plan to interview Condit again, police sources told the Washington Post.
"We'll speak with anyone who we think can add some value to this investigation in terms of telling us what happened to Chandra Levy, how she got there (and) what happened to her once she was there," Ramsey said.
Martin, the Levy family's attorney, also would like to talk to Condit, saying his alleged relationship with Levy could provide valuable insight into her state of mind when she disappeared. But he stressed that the Levy family is not accusing the lawmaker of any wrongdoing.
Word that Levy met a violent end hung like a dark cloud over the memorial, but some said finally knowing what happened might allow the family to move on.
"Maybe there'll be some sort of closure," said Barbara Bolton, a longtime neighbor of the Levys. "At least to know she's safe, she's where no one can hurt her anymore."