I'm with you, SS. The mom doesn't see how damning his stories are, because she's gulping down everything he says in her desire to believe him. My questions re: the hacksaw:
1) If he knew so much about blades - and we know that he enjoyed collecting them - wouldn't you think that he would know the difference between a blade used for cutting wood and a hacksaw?
2) Also, wouldn't you think that on a student's income, that if he was going to cut one branch, that he'd purchase a little $6 saw with a curved blade and wooden handle, rather than spending $18 - $30+ on a Stanley hacksaw?
3) On that same student's income, wouldn't you think that he would take that darn defective hacksaw back to the store to get his money back, rather than chucking it into the garbage? He was frugal enough to keep the sleeve it went into.
4) I'd like to know if the receipts/video record show that the hacksaw was purchased "months ago." If so, I see premeditation. If not, I see more lies.
JMO!
Even if he did buy a hacksaw in April to cut tree limbs, whose to say he didn't purchase another one?
The mother's statement is foolish, and I really wish she'd stop talking. The hacksaw wrapper found in his apartment left doubt about whether McD purchased it. Some members here have speculated that the "real killer" might've planted it. While I'm confident LE knows the truth, Mrs. McD now has confirmed for the public that her son did, in fact, purchase a hacksaw. Regardless of what she claims was the purpose, she has helped to dispel the suspicion that he was set up.
The Tale of the Hacksaw:
What a tale she weaves when Mrs. McDaniel's explains the Hacksaw:
1. Yes it is true, my son bought the hacksaw to cut the tree
2. However, he threw it away months ago
3, The real killer took it from the trash
4. The real killer used the hacksaw to frame my son (i.e., the RK killed Lauren then put it back in the storage room)
5. My son has been framed
My guess is the reason McD grew to live a life in which he could get away with anything is because of this very type of manipulation from his Mom.
She is jumping into the situation that she really knows nothing about except what her son has told her. I would say this is how his while life has been while growing up in that family.
I bet that his Mom took his word when he was growing up and never questioned him. She sided with him which is a huge mistake because Mcd has never had to be ACCOUNTABLE for his actions. I have seen parents do this over and over with their children.
"I didnt do it" says the child.
"OK that's good, I didnt think you did." says the parent.
The parent never questions or talks with their child or the other child involved to find out the TRUTH of what really happened when the incident occurred, be it an accident or play confrontation.
So what does the child grow up thinking?
" I CAN DO WHAT EVER I WANT TO DO WITHOUT REGARD FOR ANYONE ELSE."
I really do believe that we are witnessing the parental roles that have been happening for the past 25 years in the McDaniel household.
Where is Dad?
Silent.
Where is Mom?
Trying her best to take control of the situation and convince the rest of the world that she knows the truth.
Where is the son?
Caught in the lies that he has always been able to get away with all of his life....
until now.
IMO, in a nutshell, what I have attempted to explain here is the very reason Lauren is no longer with us and why McD is where he is today.
Glenda McDaniel says her son, Stephen, admits buying the hacksaw that authorities found traces of slain-and-dismembered Mercer University law graduate Lauren Giddings DNA on.
But, she says, he has told her that he threw away the saw months ago,that Giddings real killer must have plucked the saw from the trash and used it to frame him for a crime that she says detectives have -- in questioning her son -- threatened to seek the death penalty.
Read more: http://www.macon.com/2011/08/06/1656682/accused-murderes-mom-says-her.html#ixzz1UGzBLbnE