GUILTY GA - Lauren Giddings, 27, Macon, 26 June 2011 # 1

Co-workers Remember Lauren Giddings

"We're sad. She was part of our family," said Lee Robinson, Circuit Public Defender of the Macon Judicial Circuit.

"We loved her, said Bell. "She never got sworn in as a practicing attorney, but she got sworn in to practice as a third year law student and she made a difference while she was here."

http://www.13wmaz.com/news/article/134681/175/Co-workers-Remember-Lauren-Giddings

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I hope the PDO is speaking to LE about any potential clients Lauren may have come in contact with.

Sonya610 said:

True. However they have always said there are "many persons of interest" and McDaniels has been in the Bibb County Jail for 6 days (not a nice place for a skinny 150 lb whi... boy) with NO mention that he is a suspect. Persons of interest include "every new name that comes up" according to todays police press conference!

They have supposedly removed McDaniels bathtub, and obviously searched his apartment many many times over.

Who filed the burglary charges? I say they charge or RELEASE McDaniel. If they have nothing on McDaniel by now they need to do the right thing and release him WITH an apology and pursue these "burglary" charges with a $500 bond!

McDaniel is obviously not guilty of this murder (and if he is, which he likely isn't, they can't prove it despite their very very best attempts) therefore they need to stop torturing him now. Find another pawn to hold while they placate the populace and "find the real killer" but let McDaniel go home.

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I have to disagree, Sonya. Until the evidence test results are returned from Quantico, McD isn't obviously anything. Meanwhile, nothing and no one can be ruled out. So, I'm not surprised to hear that LE is looking at new names. But it doesn't mean they didn't find anything in McD's apartment. It just means they don't know what they found yet. The test results should determine whether he's cleared or named a suspect.

Though he wouldn't elaborate, Burns did mention plumbing was involved in the search. We've heard from locals that the bathtub was removed from McD's apartment. It's hearsay, and might or might not be true. But a judge wouldn't sign off on a search warrant allowing LE to rip plumbing out of the walls unless they were able to show probable cause. So, IF it's true that they removed a tub or sink from his apartment, they must've had a good reason. I suppose access to keys, machetes, quirky personality, and a petty burglary charge could add up to probable cause. I'm not sure. At any rate, if he's innocent, the evidence should clear him. But at this point, no one can be sure, and if I were a local, I wouldn't want LE to release him until they are.

Jessicaleanne1992 said:

wouldnt there have been teeth/bite marks? did the police mention that? or is that something they would keep under wraps?

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Pretty short window of time for a dog to show up and drag it there, leave, never be seen by anyone...I dunno

Thanks for the link Knox..

Well..well "Hashers".. She was a Hasher..

Did anyone here follow the Chelsea King or Amber Dubois case?? Both raped and murdered by John Gardner..

I did and the Hashers came up in that case as well. "There motto is a drinking club with a running problem"..

Gardner's parents were also Hashers.. It is literally a running club that at the end of each run they get dog faced drunk.. And well.. Uuuuuhhhh.. Errr how do I say this? They kinda all get "very friendly".. Yes couples as well as singles..

See if ya can google around to find more but I am honest in my ^above^ description..

Knox said:

Looks like Lauren posted on this site as well -
http://atlantahash.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=2409&p=7215

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I bet the police are looking into people in that running group. Seriously.

Did McD have a car?

Or a bike?

Been pretty hot & humid down here lately, can't imagine body parts exposed to elements not stinking to holy hades.

I wonder when the search begins on all the empty building downtown (& there sure are bunches.)

SmoothOperator said:

Thanks for the link Knox..

Well..well "Hashers".. She was a Hasher..

Did anyone here follow the Chelsea King or Amber Dubois case?? Both raped and murdered by John Gardner..

I did and the Hashers came up in that case as well. "There motto is a drinking club with a running problem"..

Gardner's parents were also Hashers.. It is literally a running club that at the end of each run they get dog faced drunk.. And well.. Uuuuuhhhh.. Errr how do I say this? They kinda all get "very friendly".. Yes couples as well as singles..

See if ya can google around to find more but I am honest in my ^above^ description..

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Just for clarification, not all hashers are into the above mentioned activities. They do run and drink, give each other crazy nicknames, sing dirty songs, and host private events. But, most do not engage in the dog faced drunk and swinging activities. Hashing has a long history, and there are chapters all over the world. Some chapters may be wilder than others, but some hashers are actually very introverted. Some chapters even raise money for charities.

bessie said:

But a judge wouldn't sign off on a search warrant allowing LE to rip plumbing out of the walls unless they were able to show probable cause. So, IF it's true that they removed a tub or sink from his apartment, they must've had a good reason.

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Why would we assume that a search warrant was required to take out the bathtub? The landlords would agree to it, they are watcing their property value plummet and they want this solved asap. An innocent McDaniel would also agree to it in a heartbeat, he hopes letting them search everything will get him out of jail and off the POI list.

If they really really wanted it to be McDaniel but they couldn't find any blood evidence in the tub they think "well not finding it doesn't mean it isn't there, it means we just haven't found it yet" and they rip out the tub hoping for a scrap of evidence stuck in the pipe or maybe some leakage around the bathtub. In this case I think it really would have to be blood evidence found in someone's apartment, too much dna transference is explainable with these people bebopping around each others apartments and socializing amongst each other and such.

The press conferences are so very telling. The police are very disheartened and the DA is really stressing "how hard they worked, what a great job they did" with no hint of "a break in the case coming soon". If they had evidence and a real suspect they would say it, there is just too much pressure on them to play coy. Sheesh these crazy rumors get worse every day! Body parts from multiple victims, others missing, etc....and the longer this goes on the crazier the rumors will get. The moment the police whisper that McDaniels is officially a suspect the rumors stop and everyone starts saying "see I knew it, I could tell by his eyes, he looks weird with that hair, etc..." instead of making up more crazy stories.

angelanalyzes said:

I don't see hate in the manner of disposal, I see a frantic attempt to rid oneself of evidence one otherwise had hoped to keep. More consistent with hate would be some gruesome display of the torso with the limbs arranged in a spiteful, grotesque manner.

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Two things, first of all did you read all the threads posted last night? The body was in bad shape when they found it, they found it based on the strong odor. The theory that the killer was holding on to it and then HAD TO dump it last minute when the police arrived doesn't quite add up. If the killer were keeping this body close by in an enclosed space the smell would be horrendous and someone would quickly notice when they went sniffing around the apartments knocking on doors later that morning.

BTW a reporter at the press conference asked if the torso was found in a trash can (apparently another rumor) and the police would neither confirm or deny. Kind of rules out a dog, dogs take things out of the trash all the time but I have never known one to put things in the trash.

Regarding a hateful message, don't misunderstand I am not talking about some weird hollywood film type message that likely would only be known to a very few. I mean the torso being found makes sure everyone knows this was murder, not a missing person. The missing body parts and search through the trash is quite humiliating for the victim and ensures the public will become aware of the situation and have a very unsettlilng ugly mental image of the victim. I think that "message" was intentional, without the torso being found this would still be a backpage missing persons story which is exactly what someone afraid of capture would want.

I apologize for my lumping Hashers in one group..

Hashers is a national club from what I understand with separate individual local chapters in different parts of the nation..

I can only speak from what I learned of during Chelsea and Amber's cases.. We learned alot and spoke with members of their local group who shared hundreds of photos as well..
The photos spoke for themselves but it truly was the actual member that shared the pix that told the tales of what went
on..

I fully admit my knowledge is limited to what was learned during that time.. And feel it not to be fair that I automatically assume that this local chapter is EXACTLY the same..

So I just wanted to clarify my statement and be honest about what I learned about a separate Hasher group..

HTH

Have we learned anything more about boyfriend? When he left for Cali? Wouldn't he have been worried about not speaking to her her for many days?..

http://www.macon.com/2011/07/07/1623060/body-is-lauren-giddings-police.html

Snipped from article in link
"Mann said her family was familiar with McDaniel, but he didn’t insinuate that family members suspect that McDaniel had anything to do with Giddings’ disappearance or slaying.

The family had seen McDaniel at a graduation party thrown jointly by the Giddings family and another law student’s family at the Fish N’ Pig restaurant in May.

McDaniel attended the party. Although both students’ family members and friends were at the party, it seemed to family members that McDaniel was there uninvited, Mann said."

Thought this was an interesting tidbit. It seems clear to me that McD is socially awkward and a bit of an outcast. Sort of weird that he would show up at the celebration un-invited...but I know a lot of weird people that would do that and are not murderers. What do you all make of this? Irrelevant?

SaMy said:

Snipped from article in link

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From the same article:

McDaniel is accused of entering two Barristers Hall apartments through unlocked doors between Christmas 2008 and January 2009 and taking items, according to arrest warrants. Giddings didn’t live in either one of those apartments.

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Seems these folks were very casual about security, leaving the doors unlocked while out, leaving keys in a vase next to the front door. I wonder if he stopped by a friends apartment and went in, then borrowed a dvd or ate some cookies and that constituted "burglarly" according to police. These people seem very casual and I could certainly see students partying together, borrowing stuff from each other, etc...

Did the burglarly "victims" press charges? Apparently they are looking for former resident students to ask about "other burglaries" and of course we know it could take weeks to find and ask each one. Anyone remember the movie about the trial at a military school? They convict some kid of "stealing gas" from his friends gas tank even though the "victim" friend said they did that all the time when one ran out of gas? Reminds me a bit of that.

From the Macon PD website:

According to the a statement given to MPD detectives, McDaniel entered the residence of a fellow resident of 1058 Georgia Avenue, but not the residence of the missing woman. The accused removed property without the resident’s knowledge.
http://maconpolice.us/?p=907

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"Seems these folks were very casual about security, leaving the doors unlocked while out, leaving keys in a vase next to the front door. I wonder if he stopped by a friends apartment and went in, then borrowed a dvd or ate some cookies and that constituted "burglarly" according to police. These people seem very casual and I could certainly see students partying together, borrowing stuff from each other, etc..."

I went to Mercer for my undergrad and graduate degree... for more than four years I lived in a house that was subdivided into apartments. NOT ONCE in all that time did I ever walk into one of my close neighbor's apartments nor would I have felt good about walking in on them in mine or finding out later that they just came in. This isn't Seinfeld and he isn't Kramer. He has been portrayed as somewhat of a loner which leads me to believe even further that "casual borrowing" wouldn't have been a part of their lifestyle. It's an apartment complex, not a commune.

Bessie LE mentions they "looked" at plumbing in both Lauren and McDaniel's apartment. I don't think it is a stretch to assume the plumbing was removed and is at the FBI lab for analyses. It's at 8:35 in the video link below- http://www.13wmaz.com/video/1040949...-Conference-on--Lauren-Giddings-Investigation

This video of the friend that Sonya610 linked up stream ... He met Lauren through a "running club" which we now know is Hashers. Not of any major importance to me at this point, just another thing to tuck away and perhaps look at in the future.
http://www.13wmaz.com/video/1034533673001/0/Friend-Speaks-About-Lauren-Giddings
http://www.13wmaz.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=134319

Apologies if this is answered/covered elsewhere in the thread...do we know when the FBI will be done analyzing the evidence? Or are they not telling the public?

No Bond Hearing Yet for Stephen McDaniel, Lauren Giddings' Neighbor

Burglary suspect Stephen McDaniel, the neighbor of homicide victim Lauren Giddings, will remain in jail for at least another week.

Bibb County District Attorney Greg Winters says he expects a bond hearing for McDaniel on those two burglary charges will be held next Thursday, July 14. He expects that hearing will be set by a Superior Court judge Friday.
http://www.13wmaz.com/news/article/...for-Stephen-McDaniel-Lauren-Giddings-Neighbor

Clean up edit

SaMy said:

http://www.macon.com/2011/07/07/1623060/body-is-lauren-giddings-police.html

Snipped from article in link
"Mann said her family was familiar with McDaniel, but he didn’t insinuate that family members suspect that McDaniel had anything to do with Giddings’ disappearance or slaying.

The family had seen McDaniel at a graduation party thrown jointly by the Giddings family and another law student’s family at the Fish N’ Pig restaurant in May.

McDaniel attended the party. Although both students’ family members and friends were at the party, it seemed to family members that McDaniel was there uninvited, Mann said."

Thought this was an interesting tidbit. It seems clear to me that McD is socially awkward and a bit of an outcast. Sort of weird that he would show up at the celebration un-invited...but I know a lot of weird people that would do that and are not murderers. What do you all make of this? Irrelevant?

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More from that same link SaMY ...

He said Giddings was always kind to McDaniel.

“That’s the way she was,” he said.

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I agree with you, it does not make him a murderer, but I do consider it relevant. Especially, if he was not specifically invited to the gathering. Goes to state of mind and what he may have considered his relationship with Lauren to be, MOO.

SaMy said:

Apologies if this is answered/covered elsewhere in the thread...do we know when the FBI will be done analyzing the evidence? Or are they not telling the public?

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Additional tests are being conducted now. It’s unclear exactly when results will be available, Winters said.

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No initial concerns from non-communication

Keith said he had sent a text message to Giddings about 6:30 a.m. the day she was reported missing to see if she would be joining him and some other friends to go camping that weekend.

“It was before I knew” what had happened, he said. “Then I checked Facebook and saw she was missing. My first thought was that she was just out of touch, at some place studying for the bar exam. But I got more worried because she didn’t call back, and that wasn’t like her.”

<snip>

Neither Keith nor Young said they had heard Giddings talk about being scared recently.

&#8220;She didn&#8217;t live in a bubble,&#8221; Young said. &#8220;She wouldn&#8217;t keep quiet about something like that. If she felt scared, she would have told us for sure.&#8221;

Read more: http://www.macon.com/2011/07/07/1623060/body-is-lauren-giddings-police.html#ixzz1RRb7awpi​

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This is what makes me doubt that Lauren sent that email. I hope it's in the hands of a FBI linguistic expert as we speak.