GUILTY GA - Lauren Giddings, 27, Macon, 26 June 2011 #13

[Secrett]

Judge says "as for now, we're going to leave things the way they are".

So... I guess the motion for a new bond is denied?

Good.

 

[AgentFrankLundy]

Judge says "as for now, we're going to leave things the way they are".

So... I guess the motion for a new bond is denied?

Good.

That is correct !
Score one big one for the defense here, even though Judge Brown denied the bond reduction request .

 

[Sonya610]

It is also interesting to note that apparently the defense CAN subpoena prosecutors and put them on the stand to answer questions.

That came up ages ago when the internet post fiasco was first discussed. Hogue may get a chance to grill Winters on some of this stuff if he can call him as a witness.

 

[Backwoods]

I had not been aware that SM's grandfather has died! Very sad.

Update: Judge declines to alter McDaniel bond amount

...Prosecutor Nancy Scott Malcor said the family’s assets may have changed following the death of McDaniel’s grandfather.


The Telegraph learned in April that Hollis Browning, the grandfather who owns a farm in Molena, died April 24. ...

http://www.macon.com/2012/06/19/2066150/bibb-county-prosecutors-seek-to.html

http://www.macon.com/2012/06/19/2066150/bibb-county-prosecutors-seek-to.html#storylink=cpy​

 

[AgentFrankLundy]

http://www.macon.com/2012/03/20/1954692/river-north-murder-suspect-in.html FWIW, this is the case referenced by Judge Brown where Hogue picked the woman up on Friday and brought her back on Monday . It was also very interesting .

 

[AgentFrankLundy]

The hearing started a little late, like at 1:35. Judge Brown said there some motions that needed to be heard and he asked who wanted to go first. Hogue offered to but deferred to Nancy Scott Malcor, assistant district attorney .She said they have a motion to quash and a motion to continue . The motion to quash was over the request for evidence in the possession of Gary Wood, another assistant prosecutor in Winter’s office. Malcor argued such evidence would fall under the work product privilege and therefore not have to be produced. She offered precedents. Hogue countered with some precedents of his own. Judge Brown made the point it did not seem that way to him, that Wood was not actually producing anything, he was just turning over stuff the FBI had given them . The motion to continue was so that evidence they were expecting to get from the FBI related to the authenticity and validity of what I refer to as the barbecue v-card post could be obtained.
They wanted to wait until they got it to have the bond reduction hearing.
The original hearing where Winters mentioned the V-card BBQ post was April 3. On April 16th the DA’s office got a note from the FBI, apparently telling them that McD could not have posted it , since he was ion jail. They immediately (April17) turned this over to Hogue . Why all this stuff still takes so long to figure out is beyond me, but apparently the FBI will be able to say definitively , tomorrow, whether Stephen sent it or not. Winters office learned that this weekend. Hogue asked Greg Winters to take the stand. At that point, Judge Brown intervened and said that he did not consider the post when making his $850,000 bond . Malcor said that she was willing to stipulate that the post should be discarded and ignored (Easier said than done, Nancy the toothpaste is already out of the tube!!) They move on to the next issue, McD’s resources. At most his parents could only scrounge together $150,000, and to set a bond of $850,000 is in violation of a reasonable bond under the 8th amendment to the Constitution . Now I am no constitution al scholar, but it just seems to me that the crime committed ought to have more to do with the amount of bond than the financial resources available to the defendant Malcor cited more precedents, which I found not to be on point. She cited cases of two different drug dealers that had bonds of over $300,000 , although it was only a drug trafficking violation, and those bonds were upheld as reasonable . To me , drug dealers by their nature deal in a lot of cash and that may have been the reasons the bonds were set where they were . She finally did score points by telling every one that this is a death penalty case where the victim was dismembered, and that there ware also child exploitation charges to consider .She also mentioned McD’s maternal grandfather recently passed, insinuating he left a fortune . Hogue said he doesn’t know what if any assets will become available to the McDaniels when they settle Grandpa’s estate. Hogue tells the tale of the two bonding companies in town , AllState Bonding and Anytime Bonding . He spoke to Terry Genone, owner of Allstate, who told him he would need at least $1.5 million in assets in order to obtain the $850,000 bond. Buford read an affidavit from Glenda McDaniel promising that if Stephen were released on bond she would make sure he would be a good little boy ( a little late for that , Mrs. McD, but nice try) Hogue told of how he has the ankle bracelet monitoring all set to go with 24/7Anklemonitoring.LLC in Gwinnett County . http://www.anklemonitoring.com/ The Bibb County sheriff has expressed concerns about how to handle a situation if McD should actually wander from his lair. Hogue has discussed this with Gwinnett County sheriff and thinks he has a solution worked out. Judge Brown said the main reason to let McD out on bond is so that he can prepare for his own defense , do an effective investigation. He cited the Pamela Frye case (link provided earlier) where Hogue picked the lady up on Friday, they worked on her case, and then he brought her back Monday morning (should have kept her locked up, she recently killed again!) Judge Brown said he was being asked to accept an awful lot of Ms. McDaniel in her affidavit, that there is no possible way he could trust her to tend to the welfare of the 11, 9, 7 & 6 year old children of McD’s drugged out sister, nor could she keep him off of playing World of Warcraft or Magic-The Gathering on his computer . “He is entitled to prepare a vigorous defense, especially given how tentative the evidence is thus far” I may be paraphrasing here but I know Judge Brown used the words “tentative evidence “.
His cell phone then went off and he told the prosecution and the defense to work it out amongst themselves. He retired to his chambers to catch his call. Buford , Winters, and Malcor left to go to a conference room outside the courtroom , Stephen went another way escorted by the bailiff. . Hogue hung around a little. Upon Judge Brown’s return, he says he is inclined to leave things the way they are.
My little humble opinion of today’s proceedings: Huge victory for the defense. Although the bond stayed where it was, they discredited Greg Winters as an overzealous district attorney , fabricating that an internet post that could not possibly have been made by McD was made by him. They wanted to continue (stall) the hearing, ( in other words, we are not quite ready to admit it is not Stephen’s post ,even though we have already thrown this falsehood out there as the truth even though we have now been told told by the FBI that it is bogus ) when they knew with a lot of certainty that it could not have been posted by McDaniel, as he was incarcerated at the time without access to any computer. Or they should have known, or if they weren't sure, do not bring it up at all Maybe I am making too much out of it, but it raises reasonable doubt to me about how overzealous they are to get this guy, ignoring all other suspects shortly after they locked in on McD.. Nancy Malcor had a bad cold, Judge Brown kept asking her if she was okay. She coughed and hacked her way through the hearing, while Winters never said a word adn let her get ripped to shreds by Hogue and Brown. Judge Brown seemed quite lucid and on top of his game , unlike other reports I have read about him . Sorry to be so long winded . Thoughts and opinions, differing POV’s always welcome .

 

[Backwoods]

Thanks very much, AgentFrank, for the eye (and ear) witness account!

I noticed the live feed did not show Lauren's family/supporters as extensively as usual (although did show enough to let us know they were present). Do you know if any of SM's family was present?

 

[AgentFrankLundy]

Thanks very much, AgentFrank, for the eye (and ear) witness account!

I noticed the live feed did not show Lauren's family/supporters as extensively as usual (although did show enough to let us know they were present). Do you know if any of SM's family was present?

I did not see them . I did see them at the previous hearing I attended , and seen pictures . They were not there. Stephen still has a wild eyed look, but he was very attentive , whereas previous hearing he looked drugged out, doing that zombie thing , and in a orange jumpsuit . But he didn't make any eye contact towards us , just the Judge, and the attorneys

 

[pearl]

My opinion is still that SM is guilty and that the prosecution has the evidence to prove it. However, I am concerned about this specific prosecutor. Has he the ability to present evidence to a jury? The 90 day error, the questionable internet post, and, now, not standing up in court to answer for his possible error leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[Backwoods]

I did not see them . I did see them at the previous hearing I attended , and seen pictures . They were not there. Stephen still has a wild eyed look, but he was very attentive , whereas previous hearing he looked drugged out, doing that zombie thing , and in a orange jumpsuit . But he didn't make any eye contact towards us , just the Judge, and the attorneys

Do the dark circles under Stephen's eyes seem as extreme in person as in photos and video, AgentFrank? They seem more exaggerated, to me, at every appearance -- I wonder if he may be ill.

 

[Sonya610]

Do the dark circles under Stephen's eyes seem as extreme in person as in photos and video, AgentFrank? They seem more exaggerated, to me, at every appearance -- I wonder if he may be ill.

They do seem bad, then again the Telegraph may be choosing photos that look as bad as possible (seriously) and possibly even "adjusting" them a bit.

The expression on Winter's face is priceless:

 

[southern_comfort]

Lagging a little behind, in regards to the articles from roomates....filthy doesnt' make you a murder but also some people and/or sociopaths are asexual and it would seem it goes with this unsocial intellectual types, IMO, which SMD DOES SEEM to be. As we suspected him to be anyway, but i find that interesting about the "girl" acquaintance approaching SMD for an, um, evening of romance???


But that Zombie belief, if true, would that fall in line with schizotypal personality too, that some have mentioned here before?

Also, thinking about SMD not wanting to watch gory decapitations.............maybe he's been fighting this thing longer than we know

If he's guilty................

Interesting, I thought possibly schizoid personality disorder since he seemed to not care about being a recluse and had no interest in sex, but after looking up schizotypal p.d. you are right, it does fit in with the zombie fears.

Where I come from, refusing sex with a disgusting drunk is not something to frown upon. Just sayin'.

 

[Sonya610]

Where I come from, refusing sex with a disgusting drunk is not something to frown upon. Just sayin'.

Not just the incident with the drunk girl, it seems MCD might have been a virgin and not ever have had a girlfriend or been involved with women in a romantic way. That is unusual for a 25 year old male.

 

[southern_comfort]

Not just the incident with the drunk girl, it seems MCD might have been a virgin and not ever have had a girlfriend or been involved with women in a romantic way. That is unusual for a 25 year old male.

I suppose. Personally, I regret that a person being a virgin prior to marriage at any age now sends us running to DSM IV.

 

[SurfieTX]

One would expect at least a girlfriend or two, IMO, regardless of virginity.

 

[3doglady]

Thanks Agent. I missed the hearing today. It's always more interesting to hear from someone who was there.

 

[southern_comfort]

One would expect at least a girlfriend or two, IMO, regardless of virginity.

Eh... I have a brother who will be 45 this year, who is a virgin and has dated maybe 3 girls in his life, none of them seriously. He's doesn't suffer from sociopathy, or schizoid personality, or schizotypal personality, or any of the mental illnesses being discussed here. I realize he's not the norm, but we are not all cut from the same fabric. It doesn't mean a person has a mental illness.

McD has posted about how he wishes he knew how to be closer to people/women. Maybe he has mild neurological disorder, like Asperger's. Or maybe he just hasn't met the right girl yet.

 

[AgentFrankLundy]

From my perspective, probably fifteen feet away, I did not notice any black circles under McD's eyes. I did think he looked very pale , so any circles would probably stand out , but I didn't notice them. The 90 day issue never came up. I bet Hogue wishes he would have brought it up now. If I ever get arrested and am only allowed one phone call it would be to him. Despite the ponytail, which I do think is part of the act, he is smooth, professional, sincere and passionate.

 

[Sonya610]

McD has posted about how he wishes he knew how to be closer to people/women. Maybe he has mild neurological disorder, like Asperger's. Or maybe he just hasn't met the right girl yet.

If you read the description of schizotypal personality disorder it fits, they want relationships but can't develop them because of their odd behavior. They have really really weird beliefs (i.e. aliens or zombies). Maybe it isn't but it seems there is something going on with McDaniel and it doesn't sound like aspergers.

Lots of people have disorders and issues it isn't a big deal however MCD does seem to be an odd duck so there is probably something going on besides just being a "nice christian boy that wants to remain a virgin until marriage".

 

[Backwoods]

The video of Lauren's relative at the first link below (which includes a print story, too) was shown as part of this evening's 13WMAZ coverage of the hearing Tuesday, but it is easy to miss if you don't know to look for it, so I'm posting it separately. She talks about the day also having been Lauren's sister Kaitlyn's first wedding anniversary, reminiscing how the family was together last year at this time for the wedding, with Lauren as the maid of honor.

I have thought often of Kaitlyn and her husband -- I know they could never have imagined the "first year of marriage" that awaited them. Losing Lauren and the related happenings -- what a major test for a young marriage! I hope they've made it through and grown closer through it all, and wish them many happier years ahead.

Lauren Giddings' Family Pleased With Hearing

http://macon.13wmaz.com/news/news/72078-lauren-giddings-family-pleased-hearing


Here's the link to the same station's coverage of the business end of the hearing:

Judge Denies Stephen McDaniel's Request for Lower Bond

http://www.13wmaz.com/news/article/185612/175/Judge-Denies-Stephen-McDaniels-Request-for-Lower-Bond