GUILTY GA - Lauren Giddings, 27, Macon, 26 June 2011 # 8

[PsychoMom]

Calling Pyschomom...I want your thoughts if you will give them. :seeya:

Without hearing the conversation or the tone, I would have to guess it is from pure depression. Flat affect is well documented in depression. While it does pop up in other things, it is pretty common for depression. They have nothing showing in their expression. Like everything has been drained out of them.

With the comment, it could be to soften the blow to her, or it could be how he is trying to process the charges. It is too short to be confident with going any further than that. Could it mean something more? Maybe. But based on what that says, it would be purely a guess.

He's acting as if he doesn't know......Is that "splitting"?? I was thinking schizoid personality disorder, but do they split? And is splitting considered disassociative (sp?) or like schyzophrenia where your personality actually splits, Iif that's right) as in, the left hand doesn't know what the right does STS. Just curious and trying to get a grasp on the personality types

Schizophrenia is not split personality. It is a common mistake. Dissociative Identity Disorder is where you would see a split personality. I am not seeing any schizophrenia symptoms. To me, that is good. If he has that disorder, then he can find an out if he did this crime. It is a mental health disorder which can qualify for not being competent to stand trial if they can state he was in a psychotic break during the crime.

I am not confident with schizoid personality disorder either. We have no proof he was a 'loner' by all standards. Only by the standards of someone extremely popular. It has been stated he was involved in groups, including being vice president. He had friends with whom he socialized. He participated in events with his friends. He wasn't 'flat' all the time, as the downstairs neighbor talked about him shouting and running around sometimes. Just because he didn't have the same friends as LG doesn't mean he had no friends.

I don't think either of these disorders fit him. In order to get a diagnosis, you can't have one or two symptoms. You have to have a certain number of symptoms in different categories. Depending on the number of symptoms and the categories, then you can determine the level or the severity of the disorder. He, from what I can find verified, does not fit into these diagnoses.

Could there be one? Maybe. I would prefer to NOT find a viable diagnosis this early. By having a diagnosis, then you have a little wiggle room where "not competent" can pop up. I see him as totally competent. If he did this, I am not giving him an out on mental illness at this point. If he didn't do this, I don't want to label him with something that could follow him in the future. If I saw something jumping out at me, it would be different. He is not clearly psychotic, or clearly dissociating, or anything clearly yet.

 

[~SuperSleuth~]

Computer, Cell Phone Findings Returned in Giddings Homicide Case
http://www.newscentralga.com/news/l...rned-in-Giddings-Homicide-Case-127800053.html

According to Craig Rotter with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, information obtained from computers and cell phones in the case has been returned.

He wouldn't comment on what was included in that information or if anything significant was found.

Well, now Rotter appears to be saying they've contacted local LE about something they found,
but they apparently still have the computer and are still looking through it.

State investigators examining a computer that belonged to McDaniel have alerted Macon police to an item of interest they found recently, a GBI agent said Tuesday.

“One small thing” is how agent Craig Rotter of the GBI’s Perry field office described the discovery, “one item that had some information on it” that state authorities thought might be useful to Macon detectives and Bibb County prosecutors.

“They are not completely finished with what they are going through,” Rotter said.

McDaniel’s computer was turned over to the GBI on July 25 and taken to Atlanta for analysis.

http://www.macon.com/2011/08/17/1668142/youngest-giddings-sister-is-college.html

 

[Backwoods]

Is a good, social relationship with family of origin considered as a factor when determining whether a person is a "loner" in a dysfunctional/disordered way?

I think "good" is such a subjective term that it is hard to answer this. But I do know that in some types of personality disorders, relationships with close family may be about the only ones the person has. I think how "good" and "social" those relationships are would have to be determined on an individual basis.

 

[Backwoods]

“And Stephen, in almost a hypnotized, very flat voice said, ‘They told me I did something bad. They told me I hurt someone.’ For 20 hours they had been trying to pressure and threaten and coerce him into confessing for a murder,”

I have been going over this in my head from different standpoints. Is he prepping Mamma for the truth? Is he prepping himself for the truth?
What is this?

I see some interesting things though. I see a childlike quality and I see a diminishing of the magnitude of the crime.

The crime is much more than just somthing bad...and hurting someone.

Mamma can't get you out of this one, SMcD!

As I have said before, it could be --not saying this is the case for sure -- that he did not know at this point whether his mom even knew that Lauren was missing, much less that she had been killed, her torso discovered, and Stephen brought in for questioning/arrested for burglary. If that was the case, I can see him approaching the subject with the less specific wording just to ease her into knowledge of the situation.

 

[Sandstorm]

I don't find it strange that the McD's adopted their grandchildren. We don't know exactly what the situation was or how severe the neglect may have been. I can tell you I have read about cases here at WS that would break your heart. Since the Aunt is family she knows all the details involved, I can imagine it would be hard to make strangers understand that situation.

I think the situation these children were living in with their natural parents was severe. The children were adopted by Glenda in order to provide a HOME for these kids. IMO McD's aunt is very defensive on Macon.com and minimizes the situation, when in fact, I would say these children have been rescued from a train wreck.

 

[Backwoods]

This might have been discussed earlier so I apologize if I'm bringing it up again. I have really wondered if SMcD has Schizophrenia. We can all agree much of his behavior points to some type of mental illness and imo he displays symptoms of schizophrenia. Combine that with smoking pot (if he did), alchohol (if he did), and other drugs (if he did any) and add in violent video games and you have a bomb ready to explode.



http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001925/

JeannieC, I see that later in the thread you've gotten some very competent answering. I'll just stick in that, in my own unverified opinion, there are a lot of possibilities as to diagnoses SM might end up requiring, both in the personality disorders and the major mental illnesses...but they are only possibilities. We just don't have anywhere near enough information or professional observation at this point to call any of them for sure.

In the case of personality disorders, there have been some speculations here, but I don't think any of them, even, are being widely accepted as clear-cut.

 

[Backwoods]

If he did commit this murder, I find it incredibly intriguing that he'd wanted to be a prosecutor! Lawyers who are passionate about making sure violent offenders pay for their crime.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he had probably NOT been interviewing, at least with any DA's offices. I think his career service advisors at the law school would have INSISTED he cut his hair if he had been interviewing over the summer. I don't judge anyone on appearance and don't get me wrong, I kind of dig dudes with long hair but in the law profession, I think it's sort of understood that you must look as neat and professional as possible while pursuing your first job. "Long-haired, freaky people need not apply." But once you have the job and the clout, that's a different story.

You've kind of hit on what I am looking for -- whether we know anything about if he was actually interviewing, getting any prospects in line in a way that would have encouraged him. Where was he planning to live after the bar exam? Was he going home to Lilburn for awhile or sticking around Macon...? Just would like to know what was on the horizon for him. Whether he was stuck in a holding pattern, I guess.

As for the hair: Someone did post a few threads back that it is or has been in the past a practice among some last-year male law students to grow the hair, beard, etc. until they finish up and, I think, pass the bar exam -- kind of a last chance to do so before they have to "shape up" to proceed on. I have no idea, though, whether this figured in with SM.

 

[Backwoods]

I think he probably did try to break in Thursday night; perhaps that's even the night he'd planned to do it all along. What are the odds that someone (a Macon hoodlum, if you will) would try to break in three nights before someone else actually does and murder her?

Maybe he tried to unlock the door and discovered he couldn't because of the jam, then he locks the door back but the jam was moved slightly leading her to think someone tried to break in? But I guess I would think that she would have called the police to report it. We know she had called them twice before while living there for other instances.

I had a thought this morning when I heard my neighbor's shower come on through the wall. I've been in one apt. at BH that was on the right side if looking at the doors (like SM's). I remember that the bathroom was on the left of the unit, most likely sharing the wall with the neighbor's bathroom if the layouts are flipped. What if he could hear her shower come on? Maybe she only used the door jam when she started to go to bed. He knew he could try the door and if it unlocked, he could slip in without her hearing him and she'd be backed into a corner so to speak if she were in the shower. Also, if the attack got messy, the bathroom is easier to clean and blood would go down the drain. Just a thought, of course....

about the part I bolded:

That's good thinking! I've wished I had a diagram of the layout of the rooms of the adjacent apartments, for various reasons, but I hadn't thought about the possibility of hearing the shower next door come on.

 

[bessie]

I've had to remove more posts tonight. Let me remind you all once again that the sister and her children are off limits. We are not going to post personal information about her no matter where it comes from. It is totally irrelevant to Lauren's murder. If you have no respect for her, please consider the children. Those kids will have enough to deal with as they grow up. We're not going to add to it by trashing their parents.

Regarding rumors, I've cautioned everyone about posting them. I realize that some rumors are so pervasive it's almost impossible to discuss certain aspects of this case without alluding to them. When rumors are posted for their shock value or to give the impression that the poster has some special, privileged information, that's called baiting, and it is strictly against the rules.

Some food for thought, many people read these threads looking for information. If you're feeding rumors to another member, and that member posts them here or anywhere else on the internet, you should be aware that a person with an interest in the rumors and the right credentials can trace them back to you.

 

[3doglady]

Page 20 answers your question AFL ... http://www.scribd.com/doc/40094487/Psychology-of-Lust-Murder

Well, Okey Dokey then. That explains some things.

I've been out of town and just getting caught up reading. Just wanted to thank everyone for the great insight and posts.

 

[angelanalyzes]

If he did commit this murder, I find it incredibly intriguing that he'd wanted to be a prosecutor! Lawyers who are passionate about making sure violent offenders pay for their crime.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he had probably NOT been interviewing, at least with any DA's offices. I think his career service advisors at the law school would have INSISTED he cut his hair if he had been interviewing over the summer. I don't judge anyone on appearance and don't get me wrong, I kind of dig dudes with long hair but in the law profession, I think it's sort of understood that you must look as neat and professional as possible while pursuing your first job. "Long-haired, freaky people need not apply." But once you have the job and the clout, that's a different story.

I think it fits with SMD's personality that he'd prefer to be a prosecutor.This is not commentary on prosecutors in general, heck even I have always felt I'd want to be a prosecutor, but for different reasons than those I imagine Stephen had in mind.
A career as a prosecutor would have allowed him to posture himself, feel superior, pass judgement on others, in a way I bet he felt it would be a good way to to lash out and inflict punishment on other people via the law. A defense attorney [granted, I don't know for sure if he'd have gone criminal, civil, etc. but the fact that he wanted to be a prosecutor implies criminal] is there to zealously defend the rights of another person. I can't see Stephen relishing that role.
At any rate, I don't think his particular personality would lend itself to standing up in front of a court and commanding the presence needed to win over a jury. He may have been skilled at the detail oriented nature of a job as a lawyer, though, and I am sure the "game" of it appealed to him.

 

[AgentFrankLundy]

http://www.macon.com/2011/08/17/1668142/youngest-giddings-sister-is-college.html “One small thing” is how agent Craig Rotter of the GBI’s Perry field office described the discovery, “one item that had some information on it” that state authorities thought might be useful to Macon detectives and Bibb County prosecutors.

Read more: http://www.macon.com/2011/08/17/1668142/youngest-giddings-sister-is-college.html#ixzz1VHxuJVlv

If it's only "One" and not a gazillion hits to lots of sites just before or around the time of Lauren's death, my reasonable doubt meter just needled back up

 

[angelanalyzes]

http://www.macon.com/2011/08/17/1668142/youngest-giddings-sister-is-college.html “One small thing” is how agent Craig Rotter of the GBI’s Perry field office described the discovery, “one item that had some information on it” that state authorities thought might be useful to Macon detectives and Bibb County prosecutors.

Read more: http://www.macon.com/2011/08/17/1668142/youngest-giddings-sister-is-college.html#ixzz1VHxuJVlv

If it's only "One" and not a gazillion hits to lots of sites just before or around the time of Lauren's death, my reasonable doubt meter just needled back up

Reasonable doubt sure, but if McD knew a fraction as much about computers as my gamer cousin, he'd know forensic counter-measures, easily. Surely he had heard about the searches on Casey Anthony's computer being an issue for her, as well as Scott Peterson's searches, and countless others. The fact that they'd find ANYTHING, even one thing, in that case would be a miracle.

 

[bessie]

Youngest Giddings Sister is College Bound
In early July, in the days after her big sister Lauren was found slain across the street from where she had gone to law school, Sarah Giddings wasn’t sure if she’d be going off to college herself...

State investigators examining a computer that belonged to McDaniel have alerted Macon police to an item of interest they found recently, a GBI agent said Tuesday.

More at the link

​

​

 

[Givsmetheshivers]

JeannieC, I see that later in the thread you've gotten some very competent answering. I'll just stick in that, in my own unverified opinion, there are a lot of possibilities as to diagnoses SM might end up requiring, both in the personality disorders and the major mental illnesses...but they are only possibilities. We just don't have anywhere near enough information or professional observation at this point to call any of them for sure.

In the case of personality disorders, there have been some speculations here, but I don't think any of them, even, are being widely accepted as clear-cut.

I don't think anyone suggests that there is a clear cut answer. Psychomom, correct me if I am wrong...it is my understanding that there is no one test that you can do for these personality disorders and no one thing that happens in a child's history that definitely makes them "this or that."

I have seen profiles written on certain murderers, and then seen papers that re-evaluate that analysis.

We have a tiny portion of what LE has and a tiny snippet into someone's life. Who knows...but it does pass the time to research and speculate.

 

[AgentFrankLundy]

Reasonable doubt sure, but if McD knew a fraction as much about computers as my gamer cousin, he'd know forensic counter-measures, easily. Surely he had heard about the searches on Casey Anthony's computer being an issue for her, as well as Scott Peterson's searches, and countless others. The fact that they'd find ANYTHING, even one thing, in that case would be a miracle.

I guess I am assuming there is still some way LE can find out what a person has been doing on a computer no matter how much they try to erase or cover their tracks, that there are some super secret ways only the most highly trained sworn to secrecy IT forensic folks have knowledge of . Guess I watch too much TV

 

[Hyrax]

I guess I am assuming there is still some way LE can find out what a person has been doing on a computer no matter how much they try to erase or cover their tracks, that there are some super secret ways only the most highly trained sworn to secrecy IT forensic folks have knowledge of . Guess I watch too much TV

Note to self: if I'm ever going to break the law, and need to do research for it, register a new anonymous google account first, use it exclusively on a cheapo webbook bought with cash exclusively for that purpose, and access the internet only through some idiot with an unsecured wireless signal.

Luckily, McD seems to have been under the belief no one would be looking closely at him in the first place, making it more likely his computer had lots of fun evidence just sitting around for the LE to find. Hope so, anyway.

 

[Givsmetheshivers]

I guess I am assuming there is still some way LE can find out what a person has been doing on a computer no matter how much they try to erase or cover their tracks, that there are some super secret ways only the most highly trained sworn to secrecy IT forensic folks have knowledge of . Guess I watch too much TV

My husband is a NERD...a really cute one, but still a NERD! He can erase ANYTHING on a computer. He works for an office that has very sensitive information and they clean the hard drives and physically destroy them when they retire a computer. You can't find ANYTHING on them. There are nerd sites where they discuss all of this too.

Let it be known that Agentfranklundy does not have a criminal mindset....when it comes to computers. :crazy:

 

[Givsmetheshivers]

Note to self: if I'm ever going to break the law, and need to do research for it, register a new anonymous google account first, use it exclusively on a cheapo webbook bought with cash exclusively for that purpose, and access the internet only through some idiot with an unsecured wireless signal.

Luckily, McD seems to have been under the belief no one would be looking closely at him in the first place, making it more likely his computer had lots of fun evidence just sitting around for the LE to find. Hope so, anyway.

You will also have to find a car, remove the license plate and drive to a store that does not have security cameras. you will also have to wear a disguise, but not look out of place. You can't look suspicious at any point either or someone might remember you.

Also, you will have to make up multiple fake email addresses because you have to put established email addresses to verify a dummy account.

...and for what it is worth, my dear mom always says "remember that Hydrocholic Acid will get rid of everything but dental fillings." I am pretty sure she is kidding, but I wouldn't cross her. :floorlaugh:

 

[MaconMom]

If McD is guilty and dumb enough to leave the packaging to the murder weapon in his apartment, I doubt he covered his online tracks (if any) very well. I am a computer nerd myself (programmer, MS in computer science and certified in system security). Just because you do basic things like delete a file or clear your cookies doesn't mean that info can't be retrieved from your computer.

I tend to think SmD didn't use the computer much, given his lack of online presence (FB, blog, etc). He probably didn't search for much if so.

FWIW, just because you clean your computer entirely, you can still get data from other sources. Google can provide a list of everything you've searched from a certain Ip address. I assume that info could be subpoenaed but I don't know for sure.

As a side note, I hope no one ever confiscates my computer. With all these searches for mutilation, comp. mast., etc, it wouldn't look so good.