WASHINGTON — A man imprisoned for attacking two female joggers was found guilty Monday of murdering Washington intern Chandra Levy, wrapping up a murder mystery that took down a congressman and captured the nation’s attention a decade ago.

Ingmar Guandique was convicted of first-degree murder for attacking Levy while she exercised in Washington’s Rock Creek Park in May 2001. Her disappearance made headlines when she was romantically linked to then-Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif. Condit was once a suspect, but police no longer believe he was involved in her disappearance.

Speaking outside the courthouse, Levy’s mother said she’ll never be free from the pain of losing her daughter.

“I have a lifetime sentence of a lost limb missing from our family tree,” Susan Levy said after the hearing. “It’s a lifetime of a broken heart.”

Investigators eventually focused on Guandique, an illegal immigrant from El Salvador, and brought formal charges last year. Prosecutors acknowledged they had little direct evidence but said Levy’s death fit a pattern of other crimes committed by Guandique in the park.

The defense argued that the 29-year-old Guandique became a scapegoat for a botched investigation. Levy’s body was found about a year after she disappeared.

In a telephone interview, Condit’s lawyer Bert Fields said the verdict represents a vindication that comes too late to repair the damage to his client’s career.

Still, trial testimony that Condit’s DNA was on underwear at Levy’s apartment bolstered the idea that the married politician had an affair with the intern.

Fields said his client, whose primary loss in 2002 was largely blamed on negative publicity from the case, wasn’t going to speak to reporters.

The jury deliberated over parts of four days before returning with a verdict shortly before noon Monday.

Guandique was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder, one alleging death as part of a kidnapping and one alleging the death as part of an attempted robbery. Jurors had the option of convicting him on a lesser charge of second-degree murder.

Guandique could be sentenced to a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of life in prison. Sentencing was set for Feb. 11.