WASHINGTON -- The trial of the man accused of killing Chandra Levy resumes Wednesday.
With the prosecution case wrapping up, the court will convene only Wednesday and Friday afternoon this week.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda Haines said Thursday that she expects to call "three or four" additional witnesses before the prosecution rests. Their identities have not yet been publicly disclosed. In theory, Haines told D.C. Superior Court Judge Gerald I. Fisher, this testimony could be wrapped up in one day.
That would mean defense attorneys for accused killer Ingmar Guandique could potentially start presenting their case Friday afternoon.
In practice, it may not happen so quickly. Haines told Fisher that defense cross-examination has been taking longer than she had originally anticipated, and prosecutors and defense attorneys have had plenty to fight about during bench conferences that interrupt testimony.
Prosecutors previously have said that they have two prison inmates testifying against Guandique. One, Armando Morales, spoke Thursday. Haines said prison transportation or coordination problems apparently caused delays in bringing in the other inmate witness.
Assuming this witness appears, and assuming there isn't some other problem with him, his testimony could be a highlight this week.
One thing to watch for this week is how inmate testimony might differ. In a 2009 affidavit, for instance, detectives said they had a witness to whom Guandique allegedly confessed. Guandique's story to this informant, though, involved an attack by several men on Levy and was markedly different from what he allegedly told Morales. Detectives also have cited an informant who said he was raped in prison by Guandique, an episode that has not yet been mentioned during trial.
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