GUILTY GA - Lauren Giddings, 27, Macon, 26 June 2011 # 7

[AgentFrankLundy]

Coming Monday: Chat with the reporters covering the Lauren Giddings homicide
http://www.macon.com/2011/08/10/1661096/coming-monday-chat-with-the-reporters.html

Hmm... this could be interesting.

Could be very interesting, I hope they will be very well briefed by McClatchey attorneys on what they can and cannot say , Let's say for example I ask them if they think SM did it , and they said yes, that would show media bias, setting up a mistrial !

 

[Backwoods]

As far as I know SM has never referred to the MM as MM, or SD, this was coming second hand from interviews with the mother. He could have told his Mom "I think SD did it , he had a passkey and was the MM" , and she relayed that back through the media only as MM.

Yes, in all of this, think we need to keep in a mind that we have a double possibly filtering/distorting mechanism at work: through GM, whatever her purposes, then through the media, whatever its intent. Not that I mean I don't find this latest outlandish -- I do!

I do wonder whether GM actually was making a reference to car interior though. She (through the Telegraph filter) says "Glenda McDaniel thinks such fibers may be present in a car driven by a former resident -- the true culprit, she claims -- at the Barristers Hall apartments." Could it be instead that she is implying the remains were at some point wrapped in blue/grey fabric or whatever and transported in the car? It's just sorta vague.

 

[Backwoods]

Thinking the idea to hire the PI was something Mama felt strongly about.

Buford can accomplish several different things in doing so. Humor Mama, make it look like MPD focused only on McD and dig up additional dirt on DD. Heck a good PI may even turn up a few more people who should have been looked at.

I do question the timing though. One would think before going to that expense, they would want to see what other cards Winters has in his hand.

IMO, Winters used only a modicum of evidence when writing the arrest warrant. The rest will be disclosed as the case unfolds.

bolding in quote above is mine
I wonder if an attempt to pacify GM and staunch the flow we've been getting through these interviews was the reason for the very public (I thought unusually so...?) announcement that a PI was going to be hired.

 

[AgentFrankLundy]

Yes, in all of this, think we need to keep in a mind that we have a double possibly filtering/distorting mechanism at work: through GM, whatever her purposes, then through the media, whatever its intent. Not that I mean I don't find this latest outlandish -- I do!

I do wonder whether GM actually was making a reference to car interior though. She (through the Telegraph filter) says "Glenda McDaniel thinks such fibers may be present in a car driven by a former resident -- the true culprit, she claims -- at the Barristers Hall apartments." Could it be instead that she is implying the remains were at some point wrapped in blue/grey fabric or whatever and transported in the car? It's just sorta vague.

I thought the wording was unusual too , not directly implicating MM . I hope McLatchey legal looks at everything before it goes to press

 

[Backwoods]

Is MM mentioned in that June 30 interview? I must be mentally blocking it. Don't tell me I have to watch it again....!

Pretty sure he is NOT.

 

[Knox]

Stephen McDaniel's mother, Glenda McDaniel, would not comment on the currently burglary charges against her son, but did say that the family was praying.

McDaniel also said the family does not wish to make any comments because they don't want things to be distorted.

She said, "We're hoping the truth will come out and reveal the real killer, who is not my son."

Mrs. McDaniel also said Stephen's friends and family have shown great support during these hard times.

In commenting about the persons of interest in the case, she regrets that the spotlight is on her son. She voiced her concerns about no other persons of interest being identified and says she believes its because Macon Police does not want to "show all of their cards."

http://www.newscentralga.com/news/l...-NewsCentrals-Michelle-Quesada-126357768.html

This story was from July 28th. What a difference a couple of weeks make-

 

[Backwoods]

As to the search warrant, I have to consider that GM may truly have thought it was "left behind" accidentally. Just not knowing how those things worked...

(I sure didn't know what the protocol was about searches and search warrants, etc., in any detail -- in fact, have been meaning to ask some of those questions on here, so I am glad this discussion came up and cleared up some things for me.)

If she did think she had found an "accidentally left behind" warrant, you know that had to be a big deal to her!

 

[MaconMom]

http://macon.13wmaz.com/news/news/56458-raw-full-interview-stephen-mcdaniels-lawyer?utm_source=fbp

Full interview with SMD's lawyer. I can't see it on my phone so hope this works.

 

[SmoothOperator]

Still playing catch up from wee early morning and am 2 pages behind working my way through..

So I would expect this has has already brought up, please forgive if already tirelessly discussed I'll attempt to make it really short, sweet, and to the point..

I am ATLEAST beginning to view as a possibility that there was not only a premeditated plan A(of no body, no Lauren, no murder, only missing persons case) but unlike up until now I thought it likely that a plan b was thrown together at this last minute when he realized he'd kept the torso too long to be able to successfully have it remain unfound, therefor quickly attempting to point evidence elsewhere.. Up until now I believed there was no plan b until after midnight of the Wednesday the friends searched as well as notified authorities.. I'd believed that it was in those very few hours after that and before LE returned to start the investigation and search the morning of June 30th..

I am now ATLEAST allowing it to be possible that plan b was not a last minute effort but likely that it was extremely premeditated in nature and DD was not just randomly targeted at the very last minute the chosen "one" to be known by SM and his mother as "the real killer AKA MM"..

The hacksaw placement in the storage room was chalked up to convenience early on by me, but I must say at this point with Glenda bringing to light the latest about her concluding blue and gray fibers were found to have been on the torso and most alarming IMO is her stating that her son has informed her that guess who just happens to have those exact same color fibers as the interior of their own personal vehicle?..... Of course none other than the "real killer MM"..

I'm sorry but the alarming bells are ringing at full throttle for me!!! This IMO cannot be chalked up to yet just another coincidence or last minute plan by SM!! IMO at this point it just can't!!!

Of course now it is just waiting to see what the new and next bombshell that will be dropped by Glenda.. And IMO that will likely confirm the possibility that I am now pondering upon or not..

I'll just say this for now..
I fear that the frame job of DD may not be just a thrown together last minute desperate measure on SM's part.. That it could be very extensive and possibly damning as far as direct fiber evidence found on the mutilated torso of the victim that directly came from DD's vehicle..

Just will have to patiently wait and see.. I am leaning on the fact that SM has had every intention on using his mom's outspoken, vehement defense of her son that he KNEW that she would have.. He is using this to play out in the media a trial of sorts with DD as the murdering defendant..

Jmo, of course!

 

[~SuperSleuth~]

I wonder if at some point we're going to get to...
"MM did it and planted evidence to make it appear that SM did it and is trying to frame MM" :crosseyed:

All sorts of theories can be developed in a case like this, all of which are possible.
But every now and then, you have to step back and remind yourself
that there's difference between possible and probable.

And, as someone pointed out, this is what is important for jurors to understand.
Guilt must be proven beyond any reasonable doubt.

 

[Sandstorm]

Is MM mentioned in that June 30 interview? I must be mentally blocking it. Don't tell me I have to watch it again....!

I have watched the full interview several times. McD never mentions any name in reference to someone who would harm Lauren even when he is asked if he knows anyone who would want to harm her or if she had any enemies. In fact, he goes out of his way to imply that she is 'just gone' and that maybe she was snatched while running.... When asked if he heard anything he replies he heard nothing. This would have been the perfect time to implicate David Dorer (MM) IF framing someone had been McD's original plan. IMO

 

[~SuperSleuth~]

http://macon.13wmaz.com/news/news/56458-raw-full-interview-stephen-mcdaniels-lawyer?utm_source=fbp

Full interview with SMD's lawyer. I can't see it on my phone so hope this works.

That page doesn't appear to have any videos?
Maybe this page is better. Already has videos for Part 1 and Part 2.
http://www.13wmaz.com/news/article/139448/175/RAW-Full-Interview-With-Stephen-McDaniels-Lawyer

I don't know how many "parts" there are... obviously more than these two.

 

[southern_comfort]

I have watched the full interview several times. McD never mentions any name in reference to someone who would harm Lauren even when he is asked if he knows anyone who would want to harm her or if she had any enemies. In fact, he goes out of his way to imply that she is 'just gone' and that maybe she was snatched while running.... When asked if he heard anything he replies he heard nothing. This would have been the perfect time to implicate DD [changed to initials] (MM) IF framing someone had been McD's original plan. IMO

Thanks. I didn't think he had. I had not heard SM speak of or refer to MM in any fashion, so was confused when another poster questioned his manner of reference.

You're right; this is some evidence that there was no plan to frame anybody at that point in time.

 

[Knox]

I have watched the full interview several times. McD never mentions any name in reference to someone who would harm Lauren even when he is asked if he knows anyone who would want to harm her or if she had any enemies. In fact, he goes out of his way to imply that she is 'just gone' and that maybe she was snatched while running.... When asked if he heard anything he replies he heard nothing. This would have been the perfect time to implicate David Dorer (MM) IF framing someone had been McD's original plan. IMO

She says it wasn’t until after her son recovered from the shock of his arrest and was “able to focus and process things” that he recalled hearing a noise and seeing someone standing on Giddings’ balcony one night.

It was the Thursday night before the June 25 Saturday that Giddings went missing, Glenda McDaniel said, the night she says Giddings supposedly noted in an e-mail that someone had tried to break into her apartment.

Glenda McDaniel said Stephen told her that “he had heard a loud noise, got up, got dressed, went out and saw the maintenance person standing on Lauren’s balcony” at midnight. Glenda McDaniel says Stephen claims the maintenance man told him he was thinking about cutting the grass.

“There is no grass on the property anywhere near (Lauren’s) apartment. It’s all near the back of the property,” Glenda McDaniel said. “He had no reason to be on her balcony. But Stephen, having been woken up out of the sleep and … not being a suspicious person, he responded, ‘Well, it won’t bother me because I would sleep through anything.’”

McDaniel’s mother said she’s sure he kicked himself after he realized the maintenance man could have been up to no good.

“It was only later, when he started recovering from the shock that his friend was dead, that he started processing that and realized, ‘No. No one cuts the grass at midnight,’ ” she said.

“And at that point, (Stephen, in jail) contacted his lawyer and said, ‘I need to talk to you,’” Glenda McDaniel

Read more: http://www.macon.com/2011/08/06/1656682/accused-murderes-mom-says-her.html#ixzz1Uey5a3TZ

But Sandstorm, McD was in shock!!

 

[~SuperSleuth~]

I have watched the full interview several times. McD never mentions any name in reference to someone who would harm Lauren even when he is asked if he knows anyone who would want to harm her or if she had any enemies. In fact, he goes out of his way to imply that she is 'just gone' and that maybe she was snatched while running.... When asked if he heard anything he replies he heard nothing. This would have been the perfect time to implicate David Dorer (MM) IF framing someone had been McD's original plan. IMO

IMO, if he'd mentioned it at that point in time, in that interview, it would seem even more suspicious.
Unless he'd already mentioned during the LE questioning that morning and simply made reference to that.
I think that would be unlikely, since they probably would have asked him not to mention it....
therefore in the video he would have stated something along the lines of 'no comment'.
Of course, he shouldn't have been talking to those reporters in the first place.

And we don't know if he mentioned this to LE that morning, or more likely in the later interviews before the burglary charges.
This, IMO, would have been the best time to "remember" seeing MM.

 

[southern_comfort]

In all fairness, if the crazy lawn mowing story were true, I don't know that it would have come to my mind in response to a question about whether I knew of anyone who wanted to hurt LG. Why would it?

 

[Sandstorm]

snipped -I am ATLEAST beginning to view as a possibility that there was not only a premeditated plan A(of no body, no Lauren, no murder, only missing persons case) but unlike up until now I thought it likely that a plan b was thrown together at this last minute when he realized he'd kept the torso too long to be able to successfully have it remain unfound, therefor quickly attempting to point evidence elsewhere.. Up until now I believed there was no plan b until after midnight of the Wednesday the friends searched as well as notified I'll just say this for now..
snipped

Good points above. Here is another possibility:
He put the torso in the garbage can on Mon or Tues. He was planning on the trash pick up any day since the trash truck was on a sporadic schedule due to the recent storms. He was not worried the least about the body being found. Most importantly, he thought he was smarter than everyone else. And that was his big mistake. He was giving that interview with full confidence. It never occurred to him that her body would be found. Same with the hacksaw. He put the saw in the storage room and never gave it another thought. I believe he was extremely confident that everything was going to work out perfectly.
IMO

 

[SmoothOperator]

No matter what I can say this with an absolute 100% certainty.. Regardless what we learn, what Glenda drops as her next little bread crumb attempting to divert the trail that leads to her son and at this present moment those bread crumbs are being attempted to lead to DD.. Will that continue to be the plan, goal, etc?? None of us know and can only wait patiently and see..

But without a doubt no matter what.. What we will never be privy to the public is anything even remotely near the amount and level of importance of evidence necessary to even pretend as tho it is sufficient enough to decide guilt or innocence or anything in between those two.. There will always be reasonable doubt in place when speaking of what we will have as knowledge about the details of this crime until it is laid out in trial before a jury of his peers in a court of law..

So IMO TO suggest repeatedly that there is too much reasonable doubt for any one of us to convict Stephen McDaniels of the murder of Lauren Giddings.. It is a moot point due to the fact THAT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE REASINABLE DOUBT WITH THE EVIDENCE WE ARE PRIVY TO HAVING KNOWLEDGE OF BEFORE THIS CHARGE IS TAKEN TO TRIAL..

As for possible vs probable.. That truly varies by each personal opinion and we are all welcome to voice what those thoughts or opinions are and they are going to vary widely from one end of the spectrum to the other.. With some believing it possible if not probable that this was a premeditated murder while others feel this isn't likely even a possibility.. To each their own..

But nary, not a single one of us will have what is needed to make any true judgment.. There will ALWAYS BE COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF REASONABLE DOUBT GIVEN WHAT TINYMODICUM OF EVIDENCE WE ARE PRIVY TO AS IT CONTINUES AT THIS POINT TO PLAY OUT IN THE COURT OF PUBLIC OPINION.. which is nothing even worthy of comparison to a case being laid out in a court of law..

 

[Hyrax]

In all fairness, if the crazy lawn mowing story were true, I don't know that it would have come to my mind in response to a question about whether I knew of anyone who wanted to hurt LG. Why would it?

Possibly because he knew about the email re: hoodlums trying to break in that Thursday night, and talked a helluva lot about it in the interview. You'd think he might have then said, "I didn't hear anyone trying to break in that night, but DD was there, he was doing some work or something, maybe that's what she heard."

I agree, it's not dispositive. It's completely possible that someone innocent would not initially recall a weird but innocuous encounter that happened on a relevant date. On it's own, it's not much, but combined with everything else, it's one more thing that makes his story completely implausible.

 

[Sandstorm]

But Sandstorm, McD was in shock!!

Ha Ha! Right, Defense Lawyer!
However, as the prosecutor I say: if McD had PLANNED to frame MM, he still would have blurted out, "The Maintenance Man did it!"