GUILTY GA - Lauren Giddings, 27, Macon, 26 June 2011 #10

[Irene_Adler]

In my opinion, Buford did an excellent job questioning the detective. He introduced new evidence unknown to the detective and got the detective to describe the arrest warrant as one for "felony murder," while the affidavit contains no description of the underlying felony on the warrant.

 

[Hyrax]

DA is saying "is there sufficient reason to believe the accused caused the death of the victim, not whether it is malice murder/felony murder." "All elements needed set forth in the warrant."

DA sums it up, claiming probable cause from following factors: keys, dogs, hacksaw, statements from McD about similar murder plans.

Court finds that burden is met. Probable cause found.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

Bound over - bond denied!!!

 

[SouthernKate]

Bad news: The detective was asked whether he had ANY other evidence from the FBI that would support the murder charge. Once Winters' objection was overruled, the detective answered "No."

Oh no...I was hoping that the evidence and info released on the murder warrant was just the minimum - it now appears that's all they've got..

 

[MaconMom]

I would love to know what was found on SMD's computer that the witness was so reluctant to reveal. The first thing that came to my mind was photos of dismemberment that weren't of LG. That would be relevant to the case but not to the murder warrant. This is my speculation only.

 

[MaconMom]

Oh no...I was hoping that the evidence and info released on the murder warrant was just the minimum - it now appears that's all they've got..

That's not all they have. That's all they have from the FBI.

 

[SouthernKate]

That's not all they have. That's all they have from the FBI.

Well, from what was revealed today and what we know so far, that doesn't give me assurance that they have enough to convict. In other words, I was hoping for something more conclusive that without a doubt tied McD to the murder. Hopefully they do have that and it will be revealed at trial and/or later.

 

[Irene_Adler]

Oh no...I was hoping that the evidence and info released on the murder warrant was just the minimum - it now appears that's all they've got..

My thoughts exactly. The FBI has yet to return all the evidence, though, so there is still a very real possibility that they could obtain more evidence in the coming days. As someone who believes McDaniel was responsible for this, I certainly hope they're able to procure more evidence before the case is presented to the grand jury.

I do wonder about those blue gloves, though. The fact that they were discovered by the PI, and not LE, raises some serious issues.

ETA: I think I'm right about pending evidence from the FBI, but I could very well be wrong.

 

[Destini]

Did they say the blue gloves had her blood on them, or is this something just discovered that hasn't been tested yet??

 

[Irene_Adler]

I'm so confused (as usual).

Were the hacksaw & blue gloves found in the storage closet or the laundry room, or is that the same thing?

I'm fairly sure I heard laundry room, but the responses were difficult to hear at times. I'm sure one of the local media outlets will answer your question more affirmatively within the next couple of hours, though.

ETA: Destini, I think Buford said: "...blue gloves, that appeared to have bloodstains on them." I'm guessing the gloves are still in the defense's possession, since the detective was unaware of their existence.

 

[SouthernKate]

Did they say the blue gloves had her blood on them, or is this something just discovered that hasn't been tested yet??

Since an investigator for the defense found them, I wouldn't think they would have the capabilities to do a test to match to Lauren's DNA (since they probably don't have a sample to test from). It seemed that it was just gloves with blood on them.

 

[HellonHeels]

If this is the only evidence they have, I don't feel good about this case. I was disappointed that they didn't have McD's DNA linked in...not a good sign IMO. Certainly they were able to pick up something on her remains that were recovered. Shouldn't that be the treasure trove here for evidence of the perp?? I wish we knew more.

 

[MaconMom]

Defense says that blue gloves with blood stains were found in the storage closet (law enforcement not aware???) Wonder if that is the blue fibers they were searching for??

Is anyone else not buying this? Do you think the police would not find bloody gloves in the storage closet where the hacksaw was found (assuming they are referring to the same closet)? How long had it been since the hacksaw was discovered until the gloves were discovered?

Besides, they could have been blue latex gloves that the LE were using when they investigated the scene. Did they say what type of material the gloves were?

 

[Hyrax]

I would say that I was not all that impressed with Buford, but that's not fair at all. He had very little to go on -- multiple warrants had already been issued, finding probable cause for evidence of a murder based on the facts already revealed -- and a 99.5% chance of losing. Which he did.

But his whole argument was pretty much just a stunt. Basically, he was attacking the affidavit because it was, in fact, confusingly written, and the DA has been extremely coy about what McDaniel is getting charged with. This has bothered me as well, but it isn't enough to get McDaniel free at this stage of the proceeding. The affidavit does not even need to establish probable cause behind every element of a charge, in and of itself, nor does it need to exactly specify that each element is met:

"The fact that the affidavit mis-cited the statute that Golden was accused of violating is irrelevant. The plain language of OCGA § 17-4-41 did not require the affidavit to identify or otherwise reference the specific statute which Golden allegedly violated. ... Rather, the affidavit had to contain information sufficient to inform Golden “of the specific charge against him and of all basic pertinent particulars pertaining thereto.” OCGA § 17-4-41(c). “The affidavit which served as the basis for the arrest warrant issued against [Golden] satisfies the statutory requirements of, and is in conformity with, [OCGA §§ 17-4-41 and 17-4-45]. The arrest [warrant] was not, therefore, illegal on the ground that the affidavit was improper.” Golden v. State, 299 Ga. App. 407, 410, 683 S.E.2d 618, 621 (Ga. Ct. App. 2009) (cert denied) (internal citations omitted).

To me, it seemed that Buford was making an argument attacking the sufficiency of an indictment, while still at the commitment hearing stage. Because if an indictment had been issued stating only what the affidavit does, Buford might be correct -- the indictment should have failed:

The true test of the sufficiency of the indictment is ... whether it contains the elements of the offense intended to be charged, and sufficiently apprises the defendant of what he must be prepared to meet, and, in case any other proceedings are taken against him for a similar offense, whether the record shows with accuracy to what extent he may plead a former acquittal or conviction. Jordan v. State, 220 Ga. App. 627, 629 (Ga. Ct. App. 1996).

In addition to all that killing a person stuff, a malice murder charge needs to allege the element of malice aforethought, and a felony murder charge needs to allege the murder occurred in the course of a felony. When the grand jury convenes, it is going to need to clarify which theory the state is going on.

But they didn't need to now, so really, Buford was kind of just wasting people's time.

 

[Irene_Adler]

Is anyone else not buying this? Do you think the police would not find bloody gloves in the storage closet where the hacksaw was found (assuming they are referring to the same closet)? How long had it been since the hacksaw was discovered until the gloves were discovered?

Besides, they could have been blue latex gloves that the LE were using when they investigated the scene. Did they say what type of material the gloves were?

For what it's worth, around the same time Buford asked the detective about the gloves, he also asked about the search of McDaniel's apartment for "blue fibers." Based on his line of questioning, and considering their proximity to that storage closet with gardening tools, I was imagining the gloves looking like those heavy-duty gardening gloves.

 

[tut med]

Wonder if its been too long for them to get fingerprints from inside the gloves?
Or would the gloves now be considered contaminated?

 

[Destini]

Is anyone else not buying this? Do you think the police would not find bloody gloves in the storage closet where the hacksaw was found (assuming they are referring to the same closet)? How long had it been since the hacksaw was discovered until the gloves were discovered?

Besides, they could have been blue latex gloves that the LE were using when they investigated the scene. Did they say what type of material the gloves were?

I find it very hard to believe LE would have missed blue gloves with blood on them (whether you could see the blood or not) when they searched that closet or laundry room or whatever it is. Now I'm wondering if this was even a locked room at all, where the gloves were found & also where the hacksaw was found.

If those gloves come back with Lauren's DNA on them, I'll be totally surprised. (And I'll also wonder when they were put there.)

 

[Irene_Adler]

"The fact that the affidavit mis-cited the statute that Golden was accused of violating is irrelevant. The plain language of OCGA § 17-4-41 did not require the affidavit to identify or otherwise reference the specific statute which Golden allegedly violated. ... Rather, the affidavit had to contain information sufficient to inform Golden “of the specific charge against him and of all basic pertinent particulars pertaining thereto.” OCGA § 17-4-41(c). “The affidavit which served as the basis for the arrest warrant issued against [Golden] satisfies the statutory requirements of, and is in conformity with, [OCGA §§ 17-4-41 and 17-4-45]. The arrest [warrant] was not, therefore, illegal on the ground that the affidavit was improper.” Golden v. State, 299 Ga. App. 407, 410, 683 S.E.2d 618, 621 (Ga. Ct. App. 2009) (cert denied) (internal citations omitted).


In addition to all that killing a person stuff, a malice murder charge needs to allege the element of malice aforethought, and a felony murder charge needs to allege the murder occurred in the course of a felony. When the grand jury convenes, it is going to need to clarify which theory the state is going on.

But they didn't need to now, so really, Buford was kind of just wasting people's time.

I respectfully disagree. I haven't had a chance to read the case law you quoted, but the quotation itself indicates (to me, at least) that the affidavit does need to sufficiently inform the accused of the specific charges against him. I think Buford was raising a legitimate challenge to the specificity of the affidavit based on the affidavit itself and the detective's own admission during the commitment hearing.

 

[Givsmetheshivers]

Well, I guess the defense IS introducing new evidence at the hearing. Per Buford: Blue gloves with bloodstains on them were found by their investigator in the laundry room last week. The detective was unaware of this recent discovery.

Well, that is cool. They can turn those boogers inside out, put them in that chamber thingy that evaporates glue and get a finger print. WORD! :woohoo:

 

[MaconMom]

Well, that is cool. They can turn those boogers inside out, put them in that chamber thingy that evaporates glue and get a finger print. WORD! :woohoo:

Or, have SMD try it on. If it doesn't fit, you must acquit! :shakehead: