GUILTY GA - Lauren Giddings, 27, Macon, 26 June 2011 # 1

[bessie]

The judge says something about why he can't make bail here. Truthfully I don't understand what he is saying. Something about the second burglary charge and more potential counts-

http://www.13wmaz.com/video/1034267397001/0/Video-of-McDaniels-entire-court-appearance-on-Friday

After the first burglary charge, his bond was set at $8450. When he was charged with the second count of burglary, the bond was revoked, and new bond can only be set by a superior court judge. Apparently, the judge only sits for the hearings on Thursdays.

A police news release said that with a second charge, only a Superior Court judge can set bond. Police said the next Superior Court bond hearings are scheduled for Thursday.

http://www.13wmaz.com/news/topstori...Missing-Womans-Neighbor-Charged-With-Burglary

I'm not sure why that didn't happen last Thursday, the 7th. But now it seems he'll get his hearing on the 14th.

 

[Knox]

After the first burglary charge, his bond was set at $8450. When he was charged with the second count of burglary, the bond was revoked, and new bond can only be set by a superior court judge. Apparently, the judge only sits for the hearings on Thursdays.

http://www.13wmaz.com/news/topstori...Missing-Womans-Neighbor-Charged-With-Burglary

I'm not sure why that didn't happen last Thursday, the 7th. But now it seems he'll get his hearing on the 14th.

Still confused on how that went down. He was arrested and charged, then another count was added after some time had passed?

 

[bessie]

The timeline still bothers me, guys. The thing is that anything seems to be possible in the time between ~10:30pm on that Saturday and the time that her friends called in the missing persons alert. Granted, it would seem that between Sat night and Monday would be the most logical, but of any of this, we have no proof.

Guess we're on the hook for waiting until the FBI findings are pressed...

I agree. The abduction apparently happened on Saturday night, based on what we've heard about her internet and cell phone activity. But we can't be sure when the murder occurred. I'm praying both happened at the same time and very quickly. The truth is, however, she could've died as late as Wednesday.

 

[bessie]

Still confused on how that went down. He was arrested and charged, then another count was added after some time had passed?

It sounds that way. This little blurb was pasted into the original article I linked below.

According to the news release issued after the initial charge, McDaniel entered the residence of a fellow resident of 1058 Georgia Ave. -- not the missing woman -- and removed property without their knowledge in late December 2008 or January 2009.

 

[PDUBBY]

Also, thinking about the timeline and McD. He said he was taking Barbri, a bar prep course. Here is a link for Barbri's schedule for Mercer:

http://content.barbri.com/wps/wcm/c...ERES&CACHEID=93ae368046a07fb89070d47cb23ccc2c

He should have been in class Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Was he there?

 

[Knox]

The timeline still bothers me, guys. The thing is that anything seems to be possible in the time between ~10:30pm on that Saturday and the time that her friends called in the missing persons alert. Granted, it would seem that between Sat night and Monday would be the most logical, but of any of this, we have no proof.

Guess we're on the hook for waiting until the FBI findings are pressed...

We know from Lauren's family that it would be def out of the norm not to hear from her at some juncture in the day. Even if she was hard core studying, at some point she would have taken a break to make a call or send a text. No one heard from her at all on Sunday, just sayin' that if a person has a predictable pattern of behavior ...

 

[SaMy]

I agree. The abduction apparently happened on Saturday night, based on what we've heard about her internet and cell phone activity. But we can't be sure when the murder occurred. I'm praying both happened at the same time and very quickly. The truth is, however, she could've died as late as Wednesday.

I'm also hoping that LG didn't suffer. I know there's a link on this forum to an article where her mom is interviewed and she says that it looks like Lauren never knew what hit her. To me that means they're pretty confident the murder happened right away.

 

[PDUBBY]

It sounds that way. This little blurb was pasted into the original article I linked below.

These apartments cater to law students. The law school takes a month off between late December and early January for the holidays. He probably entered other students' apartments while they were away for the break (and if I had to guess from the statements made by police, it sounds like he liked to steal ladies' underwear).

The condom story only makes sense to me if the police tried to accuse him of sexual impropiety with Lauren (I could see him saying...."no, I haven't even had sex with anyone.")

 

[Dupree]

I agree. The abduction apparently happened on Saturday night, based on what we've heard about her internet and cell phone activity. But we can't be sure when the murder occurred. I'm praying both happened at the same time and very quickly. The truth is, however, she could've died as late as Wednesday.

Well, we know the body was located by it's odor, and there was the photo of the investigators wearing respirators when they were processing the crime scene, http://www.macon.com/2011/06/30/1615815_a1615777/body-found-at-downtown-macon-apartments.html Which means advanced decomposition was most likely occurring. There would be approximately 4 full days between last known contact and discovery of remains. Any decomp experts out there who might be able to shed light on a time frame? I doubt it would take too long for a body to start decomposing in the 95+ heat down here.

 

[bessie]

Well, we know the body was located by it's odor, and there was the photo of the investigators wearing respirators when they were processing the crime scene, http://www.macon.com/2011/06/30/1615815_a1615777/body-found-at-downtown-macon-apartments.html Which means advanced decomposition was most likely occurring. There would be approximately 4 full days between last known contact and discovery of remains. Any decomp experts out there who might be able to shed light on a time frame? I doubt it would take too long for a body to start decomposing in the 95+ heat down here.

The speed at which decomposition occurs varies greatly. Factors such as temperature, humidity, and the season of death all determine how fast a fresh body will skeletonize or mummify. A basic guide for the effect of environment on decomposition is given as Casper's Law (or Ratio): if all other factors are equal, then, when there is free access of air a body decomposes twice as fast than if immersed in water and eight times faster than if buried in earth. Ultimately, the rate of bacterial decomposition acting on the tissue will be depend upon the temperature of the surroundings. Colder temperatures decrease the rate of decomposition while warmer temperatures increase it.

Decomposition - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[bessie]

Also, thinking about the timeline and McD. He said he was taking Barbri, a bar prep course. Here is a link for Barbri's schedule for Mercer:

http://content.barbri.com/wps/wcm/c...ERES&CACHEID=93ae368046a07fb89070d47cb23ccc2c

He should have been in class Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Was he there?

That's what I've been wondering. Does he have an alibi for his time between Saturday night and Wednesday or early Thursday? If he's something of a loner, then he probably doesn't, but it's also not out of the ordinary for him not to have contact with people. The only place we know where his absence would be noted is in the review lectures. So was he there or not?

Nice find, btw.

 

[Knox]

Also, thinking about the timeline and McD. He said he was taking Barbri, a bar prep course. Here is a link for Barbri's schedule for Mercer:

http://content.barbri.com/wps/wcm/c...ERES&CACHEID=93ae368046a07fb89070d47cb23ccc2c

He should have been in class Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Was he there?

In all that babbling he did, no mention of being in class-

I have to think if McD was such a loner, he would spend time on the internet. Maybe lot's of it, but I haven't been able to find anything on him.

 

[crredwards]

This may be a stupid question, but why in the world would McD need to disclose to LE that he is a virgin?

Unless he is awkward enough to just blurt that out, it may have been part of a larger statement if the police asked him about sexual activity. Given the rumor of found condoms especially, I could easily envision an investigator asking "So do you have any girlfriends or casual sexual partners?" to see how he responds regarding females as a whole. In that situation, as an investigator, I'd be trying to determine if women are objects in his mind.

 

[Knox]

Snipped from Destini's transcript-

MCDANIEL: No. I'm -- we're -- we don't know where she is. I mean, the only thing we can think is that maybe she went out running and someone snatched her, because I'm -- we went -- we went over -- one of her friends had a key. We went inside and tried to see if there was anything amiss, but the -- she had a door jamb that was sitting right by it. So there was no sign that anyone broke in. I mean, the door was locked when everyone got here. I mean, we just don't know where she is.

A "door jamb" is some sort of device to prevent the door from being opened. So once Lauren was in her apartment she would put it in place I assume. Maybe not until she went to bed or she was in for the night. If it was routine for her to do so, it would have made entry into her apartment difficult. So did she open her door to someone she knew?

 

[McMunn]

Snipped from Destini's transcript-


A "door jamb" is some sort of device to prevent the door from being opened. So once Lauren was in her apartment she would put it in place I assume. Maybe not until she went to bed or she was in for the night. If it was routine for her to do so, it would have made entry into her apartment difficult. So did she open her door to someone she knew?

Either that, or that someone that she knew, caught her before she entered her apartment, then used her key to go in and place all of her personal items (purse, keys, cell phone) in the proper places.

Also, McD mentions that the door was locked when they got there. As I recall from the police report, the landlady entered her apartment on Wednesday, and then put a note on the door for Lauren. http://download.gannett.edgesuite.net/wmaz/docs/giddingsreport1.pdf

I'm guessing that the landlady locked it when she left, but I wonder if it was unlocked before she entered the apartment?

 

[crredwards]

Hey all. I'm trying to track down any online presence of Stephen McD. Does anyone know where his hometown is? I found one in Macon, and many others in GA. I'm trying to eliminate as many as possible as I wade through accounts on (for example) Twitter. I read through the provided links in the thread but I only see his age, not a hometown.

UPDATE: Found it. He's from Lilburn, as per this article:

http://www.gadailynews.com/news/macon/69741-macon-police-saying-little-about-week-old-killing-lauren-giddings-x92-father-says-situation-has-x91-turned-into-a-nightmare-x92.html

 

[angelanalyzes]

That's what the two counts of burglary are?

On the luminol, did your source say whether there were indications of blood and in which apartment?

Apparently LE was alarmed by the way in which he went about describing the way these people kept their condoms. I think that in concert with the fact that he entered the apartments unlawfully and then one of his neighbors turned up as just a torso on the property, cops had plenty to be suspicious about regarding McD. Stealing condoms via burglary compulsively when you're not even sexually active potentially points to some kind of paraphilic tendencies, even if not dangerous [seems voyeuristic in nature]. :twocents:

Source did say that the luminol turned up some blood evidence in McD's apartment but who knows whose blood it is until the tests come back.

 

[Truthful Lies]

Snipped from Destini's transcript-


A "door jamb" is some sort of device to prevent the door from being opened. So once Lauren was in her apartment she would put it in place I assume. Maybe not until she went to bed or she was in for the night. If it was routine for her to do so, it would have made entry into her apartment difficult. So did she open her door to someone she knew?

I have one of these. Made by a company called US Patrol - ordered online from Bed, Bath & Beyond. http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=16098515&RN=1031

It's pretty sturdy (they have it angled the wrong way in the picture, you adjust it so it's more directly from door and really wedge it under door knob. I asked 2 200 lb guys try to rush the door and nothing budged - but that's with metal door frame - wood would probably split.

I can see Lauren as being the type who would use that and maybe even have ordered the same one - easy when you're busy - I found it while browsing for stuff for new apt. I dont turn the "alarm on", but it slides down to be small enough to fit in carry-on luggage size....I take it along if I'm not totally comfortable where I'm sleeping (rare, but nice to have). Not endorsing, but I really like having it.

 

[bessie]

Hey all. I'm trying to track down any online presence of Stephen McD. Does anyone know where his hometown is? I found one in Macon, and many others in GA. I'm trying to eliminate as many as possible as I wade through accounts on (for example) Twitter. I read through the provided links in the thread but I only see his age, not a hometown.

Hometown is Lilburn, GA, but if you turn up the info on his family members, please DO NOT post it here.

 

[Knox]

Hey all. I'm trying to track down any online presence of Stephen McD. Does anyone know where his hometown is? I found one in Macon, and many others in GA. I'm trying to eliminate as many as possible as I wade through accounts on (for example) Twitter. I read through the provided links in the thread but I only see his age, not a hometown.

Lilburn, GA I believe-