According to the New York Post, Robert Chambers' trial in 1988 was not an easy one for the prosecution, not only because of its incredibly high-profile and tabloid-friendly nature (via Bustle) but because there were no witnesses. Although the media barrage had uncovered no less than two joggers who may or may not have seen Chambers and Levin in the park (per NY Mag), the actual legal back-and-forth soon proved that Chambers' explanation of the events was more than enough to deadlock the jury. 

It was evident that it would be hard to lock Chambers up on a murder charge. The situation was ultimately resolved with a plea deal that saw him plead guilty for manslaughter, though some of his lawyers have expressed an opinion that the deal was simply a smart business move, and doesn't necessarily reflect their true views about the case. "So the question was how could we not accept such a favorable plea bargain," Chambers' lawyer Roger Stavis said in 2016. "To this day, 30 years later, I continue to believe that what happened in Central Park on that evening was a terrible accident and that Robert Chambers never intended to kill Jennifer Levin." 

Terrible accident or not, Chambers' prison stint proved he was far from harmless. In fact, he turned out to be such a dangerous prisoner that he ended up serving the full 15 years, and spent nearly a third of it in solitary confinement. 

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