GUILTY GA - Lauren Giddings, 27, Macon, 26 June 2011 # 5

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And all I have to say is just wait until everything comes to light.. In the end tho what I stated was a theory and nothing more I don't have to have any of his background for a theory.. I think when certain elements of this crime are brought to light ppl will be shaken to the very core.. I have wrangled back and forth with was it premeditated or was it sudden act of rage.. I still am not positive.. But when many of the details and circumstance come to light I know things will become clearer..
As for Lauren having said something prior to her death about McD I agree with supersleuth and feel that the family is doing there best to protect the investigation until the charges are filed.. The details, circumstances, and the evidence will tell exactly what occurred.. And IMO it is straight up evil..
 
I understand and agree with what you're saying here, but it seems to me that everyone pretty much
knew that the conflict motion would be denied. Surely he knew this, so why file it when it would just
put the bond hearing further out? Just going through the motions? Did he feel he needed a record
of the attempt, regardless of how he knew it would turn out?

The fact he filed the conflict motion was pretty solid evidence that McD's attorney was laying the groundwork for a defense on the murder charge. If this was really just a case about two stolen condoms, the goal would have been to get McD out in time to take the bar, if at all feasible.

But everyone knows it is not. The DA has every reason to stall on bringing an indictment down, particularly as this might very well be a capital case. There are different rules that apply, and things have to move faster. The longer they can stretch it before the indictment, the longer they will have overall.

And McD's attorney doesn't have much reason to try and get him out faster, really. He probably knows if he did try to bond out McD, it would just force the DA's hand -- he wouldn't actually be going anywhere, they'd just fast forward the schedule and bring charges sooner.

The conflict motion might not have been likely to succeed, but it was at least a shot at getting McD a trial somewhere with a less media saturated jury. And hey, all else fails, it'll now be preserved for an eventual appeal. It also effectively gives McD two bites at the apple, because if/when the murder charge is brought, McD can bring the conflict claim again, as it represents a different factual scenario (i.e., the new charge is for a crime that occurred after internship, rather than prior).
 
Keeping in mind that I'm not a lawyer, I just play one on W.S. :)

From my reading earlier, it seems if they charge McD, then he has the right to a Grand Jury indictment and a right to a Trial by Jury. So, he could waive both.
Personally, I'm hoping that if the forensics come back with solid DNA evidence,
McD will do the right thing - confess and let this family know exactly what happened
and where the rest of Lauren is.

I am a little concerned about that article today though... sounds like they've gotten back
some results, and they may not be enough. And given that LE apparently has no other POI,
if McD did not do this... cold case.
Not to mention the fact that a lot of people will believe he did it and simply managed to get away with it.
Of course, I'm sure he'd rather deal with that. But this would still be pretty bad if he's truly innocent.

Sure would make things a lot simpler if they can find some solid DNA evidence.
Who knows, they may have collected enough evidence to convict him even if they don't get this.
But I'm sure that will be a tough process, and hard on everybody.

Ughhh... waiting, waiting....
 
Keeping in mind that I'm not a lawyer, I just play one on W.S. :)

From my reading earlier, it seems if they charge McD, then he has the right to a Grand Jury indictment and a right to a Trial by Jury. So, he could waive both.
Personally, I'm hoping that if the forensics come back with solid DNA evidence,
McD will do the right thing - confess and let this family know exactly what happened
and where the rest of Lauren is.

I am a little concerned about that article today though... sounds like they've gotten back
some results, and they may not be enough. And given that LE apparently has no other POI,
if McD did not do this... cold case.
Not to mention the fact that a lot of people will believe he did it and simply managed to get away with it.
Of course, I'm sure he'd rather deal with that. But this would still be pretty bad if he's truly innocent.

Sure would make things a lot simpler if they can find some solid DNA evidence.
Who knows, they may have collected enough evidence to convict him even if they don't get this.
But I'm sure that will be a tough process, and hard on everybody.

Ughhh... waiting, waiting....

What bothers me so is that he's charged with some ludicrous burglary charge, or so all the public has been told and many are ready to hang the guy on murder, but I've been swayed a little more to the guilty side but would too. LOVE, to get that DNA evidence back SOOON to free an innocent man or convict a truly evil man and pray that if innocent, he's not damned for life.
 
The indictment can't be waived for a capital felony, so there will probably have to be an indictment at some point here. He could definitely forego trial and plead guilty, though.

I guess one thing I hoped would happen is that they would try to force McD to make a plea prior to Lauren's funeral, and try to cut some kind of deal. Now, there is basically no chance that they can try and make McD give the locations for the remaining body parts in time to let her be buried all at once.

Given the amount of time McD would have had to clean up and the proximity of the parties, I think the DNA evidence might be of less importance in this case. If McD just says, "Oh, Lauren came by to borrow some sugar," any stray bits of DNA the clean-up missed will be explainable. Forensics would be nice, but I think good old fashioned detective work, tracking down McD's movements and purchases during the relevant time period, etc., will ultimately be more valuable here.
 
The fact he filed the conflict motion was pretty solid evidence that McD's attorney was laying the groundwork for a defense on the murder charge. If this was really just a case about two stolen condoms, the goal would have been to get McD out in time to take the bar, if at all feasible.

Good point. I take it that at that point, since there would only be an accusation,
he would still be eligible to take the test. And if he passed it, then if convicted
I guess they'd actually have to "dis-BAR" him or suspend his license?
Which is probably harder or seen as more severe than simply forcing him to
wait some time before taking the test. I'm not sure they would for such a charge.
Personally, I think he could beat those charges, if what we know is all there is to it.

But everyone knows it is not. The DA has every reason to stall on bringing an indictment down, particularly as this might very well be a capital case. There are different rules that apply, and things have to move faster. The longer they can stretch it before the indictment, the longer they will have overall.

And McD's attorney doesn't have much reason to try and get him out faster, really. He probably knows if he did try to bond out McD, it would just force the DA's hand -- he wouldn't actually be going anywhere, they'd just fast forward the schedule and bring charges sooner.

And I'm sure they didn't want that, since the DA would have brought out everything he could,
including things that may ultimately not be relevant... and if they can't get the evidence
they need back from the FBI lab (or if something else turned up) which caused them
to decide not to charge him, then no harmful/embarrassing information would see the light of day.

The conflict motion might not have been likely to succeed, but it was at least a shot at getting McD a trial somewhere with a less media saturated jury. And hey, all else fails, it'll now be preserved for an eventual appeal. It also effectively gives McD two bites at the apple, because if/when the murder charge is brought, McD can bring the conflict claim again, as it represents a different factual scenario (i.e., the new charge is for a crime that occurred after internship, rather than prior).

Given your other points, I can understand the move better now.

What an excellent post :rocker:
 
The indictment can't be waived for a capital felony, so there will probably have to be an indictment at some point here. He could definitely forego trial and plead guilty, though.

I guess one thing I hoped would happen is that they would try to force McD to make a plea prior to Lauren's funeral, and try to cut some kind of deal. Now, there is basically no chance that they can try and make McD give the locations for the remaining body parts in time to let her be buried all at once.

Given the amount of time McD would have had to clean up and the proximity of the parties, I think the DNA evidence might be of less importance in this case. If McD just says, "Oh, Lauren came by to borrow some sugar," any stray bits of DNA the clean-up missed will be explainable. Forensics would be nice, but I think good old fashioned detective work, tracking down McD's movements and purchases during the relevant time period, etc., will ultimately be more valuable here.

in reference to the part I bolded: At least one of the links we've had about the funeral mentioned that details about the burial "will be announced" -- so that part could still happen
 
Looks like they met yesterday. Next one on October 17th.
http://www.co.bibb.ga.us/Superior_Court/2011CircuitTrialWeeks.aspx

That is the circuit calendar showing dates for Crawford and Peach Counties. The Macon Judicial Circuit is comprised of Bibb (where this matter will be heard unless a change of venue is dictated, then it will be "out of the circuit") Peach and Crawford Counties. Peach and Crawford are both much smaller counties than what Bibb County is, and they only hold monthly or quarterly sessions of the Grand Jury.

IIRC, the Bibb County Grand Jury meets bi-weekly on Tuesdays. ICBM.......
 
That is the circuit calendar showing dates for Crawford and Peach Counties. The Macon Judicial Circuit is comprised of Bibb (where this matter will be heard unless a change of venue is dictated, then it will be "out of the circuit") Peach and Crawford Counties. Peach and Crawford are both much smaller counties than what Bibb County is, and they only hold monthly or quarterly sessions of the Grand Jury.

IIRC, the Bibb County Grand Jury meets bi-weekly on Tuesdays. ICBM.......
Ok. Yeah, I couldn't find that info anywhere.
They really do have a poor web presence.
 
It just occurred to me... the GBI is gathering info from McD and Lauren's computers.
If McD was an avid gamer and played certain things regularly, message boards, etc...
They would know if there was a major change in habit that week.
Of course, with BAR prep, that might not be much - just a tid-bit.

But, if he wasn't really skilled with computers, they'll be able to easily tell what he may
have been researching, etc... for the past several months. And even if he knew how to
clean up after himself (browsing histories, temp files, etc.), they have data recover methods
which can rebuild that information. Only way to prevent that (supposedly) is with some
"secure" unallocated space cleaner. So, it's possible the info the GBI gets from those
computers could be extremely valuable.
 
The fact he filed the conflict motion was pretty solid evidence that McD's attorney was laying the groundwork for a defense on the murder charge. If this was really just a case about two stolen condoms, the goal would have been to get McD out in time to take the bar, if at all feasible.

Just out of curiosity, is this the type of thing that an atty would do on his own even if his client was saying "I don't know what happened. I am innocent" and the atty suspected that he was not or is it something that the atty would only do if his client admitted guilt from the beginning?
 
I understand and agree with what you're saying here, but it seems to me that everyone pretty much
knew that the conflict motion would be denied. Surely he knew this, so why file it when it would just
put the bond hearing further out? Just going through the motions? Did he feel he needed a record
of the attempt, regardless of how he knew it would turn out?

I suspect Buford made the motion to preserve the matter in the event that McD is later charged with something else, perhaps murder. Buford appears to be a good attorney and it seems that everything he is doing is part of a bigger strategy, in my opinion. He likely wished to preserve the issue in the event an appeal, or something of that nature, is necessary later on. Probably a precautionary measure on his part.
 
No link up on web site yet, but Macon local news 13WMAZ reported at 5 and 6 o'clock that they have requested a comment from Chief Burns regarding LG's father's earlier comments and have as yet not received one.

6 o'clock also had footage of DA Winters, I think, leaving the meeting, not responding to reporter's question.
 
Ok. Yeah, I couldn't find that info anywhere.
They really do have a poor web presence.

Usually the larger counties here in GA convene (or seat ) a panel of Grand Jury members for a period of 6 months at a time. When you look at a court calendar you will not necessarily know that you will be up for Grand Jury selection unless you are called to appear on a Tuesday...that is a pretty good clue around these parts that the jury that is being seated is a Grand Jury rather than a criminal or civil trial.

Depending on the size of the area, crime volume, etc, is what will determine how often the panel meets, but its usually bi-weekly in the more populated areas. I have known them to meet weekly though.
 
It just occurred to me... the GBI is gathering info from McD and Lauren's computers.
If McD was an avid gamer and played certain things regularly, message boards, etc...
They would know if there was a major change in habit that week.
Of course, with BAR prep, that might not be much - just a tid-bit.

But, if he wasn't really skilled with computers, they'll be able to easily tell what he may
have been researching, etc... for the past several months. And even if he knew how to
clean up after himself (browsing histories, temp files, etc.), they have data recover methods
which can rebuild that information. Only way to prevent that (supposedly) is with some
"secure" unallocated space cleaner. So, it's possible the info the GBI gets from those
computers could be extremely valuable.

I certainly hope it doesn't come down to computer forensics with the recent screw ups and contradictions in the Anthony and Cooper(NC) trial problems. Now if they have a video of SM buying rolls of plastic after the 26th, that's circumstantial evidence that would push me over the fence.
 
Just out of curiosity, is this the type of thing that an atty would do on his own even if his client was saying "I don't know what happened. I am innocent" and the atty suspected that he was not or is it something that the atty would only do if his client admitted guilt from the beginning?

There's a third option in which the client says, "I am innocent", and the attorney believes him.

Hopefully, the attorney would provide a vigorous defense and preserve all possible grounds for appeal in that case as well.
 
Just out of curiosity, is this the type of thing that an atty would do on his own even if his client was saying "I don't know what happened. I am innocent" and the atty suspected that he was not or is it something that the atty would only do if his client admitted guilt from the beginning?

An atty cannot do anything without the approval of the client, but I can tell you for sure that if I was the one sitting in that jail knowing they had searched my appt (several times over) and very likely feeling like they were trying to build a case against me...I would have approved my attorney filing the motion regarding the conflict. I would guess with SM's recent graduation from law school, and the knowlege of legal proceedings that 3 years provided him with, that he was in total agreement of the motion. Its not called "advise of counsel" for nothing!

But as always...JMO
 
The indictment can't be waived for a capital felony, so there will probably have to be an indictment at some point here. He could definitely forego trial and plead guilty, though.

I guess one thing I hoped would happen is that they would try to force McD to make a plea prior to Lauren's funeral, and try to cut some kind of deal. Now, there is basically no chance that they can try and make McD give the locations for the remaining body parts in time to let her be buried all at once.

Given the amount of time McD would have had to clean up and the proximity of the parties, I think the DNA evidence might be of less importance in this case. If McD just says, "Oh, Lauren came by to borrow some sugar," any stray bits of DNA the clean-up missed will be explainable. Forensics would be nice, but I think good old fashioned detective work, tracking down McD's movements and purchases during the relevant time period, etc., will ultimately be more valuable here.

BBM ... not sure if it matters either way but she is apparently being cremated, not buried.

http://www.macon.com/2011/08/02/1651895/police-da-set-meeting-on-giddings.html
(second paragraph)
 
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