Dog Walker Recounts Discovery of Chandra Levy's Skull

(Oct. 28) -- The Washington man who found Chandra Levy's remains described in court how a peaceful morning in the woods turned to tragedy when he discovered a human skull on his morning walk through Rock Creek Park.

Phillip Palmer testified Wednesday in the trial of Ingmar Guandique, telling the jury about the balmy morning on May 22, 2001, when he and his dog Paco came across the remains of the government intern. Levy, 24, had been missing for more than a year. Guandique, 29, has been charged with first-degree murder, attempted sexual assault and kidnapping in the 2001 slaying. He has pleaded not guilty.

The Washington Post reported that Palmer told the jury he was hoping to add to his turtle shell collection and saw what he thought appeared to be a white turtle shell just off the trail.

"But it wasn't," he told the court. He knew immediately that it was a skull, he said, and marked the spot where it lay before racing to get help. "This was a tragedy. People want to know who this person was," he recalled feeling that morning, according to the Post. "It was very emotional."

The paper also noted that Palmer became visibly annoyed when court discussion turned to the way the police handled the crime scene, which he said he found "nonprofessional and appalling." He said officers were "traipsing" around the site where the body was found.

Iris Portillo, Guandique's ex-girlfriend, also took the stand Wednesday, the third day of testimony in the trial. She told the jury Guandique became physically abusive with her.

"He got mad at me and punched me in the nose," she said, according to McClatchy Newspapers. She also said she had seen scratches on his chest around the time of the murder, but the defense later cast doubt on the testimony by pointing out that Portillo couldn't recall the exact date of the fight.

Sheila Phillips, an acquaintance of Guandique's at the time, testified that he came to her home the day Levy disappeared and that she had seen scratch marks on his face and neck, wounds the prosecution said Levy inflicted on her attacker. Phillips said Guandique told her he had gotten into a fight with his girlfriend, NBC reported.

But defense attorney Santha Sonenberg questioned Phillips' memory of the timing of events. "You've said a lot of different things about when [Guandique] came to the apartment," she said.