Lauren Giddings was an American woman who was murdered by Stephen McDaniel on June 26, 2011, in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

, United States. Giddings was a recent graduate of

Mercer Law School Mercer University School of Law (historically Walter F. George School of Law) is the professional law school of Mercer University. Founded in 1873, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States; the first law school accredited by the ...

. McDaniel pleaded guilty in 2014, and was sentenced to 30 years to

life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

Murder

McDaniel and Giddings lived in neighboring apartments and were former classmates at

Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 ...

. According to McDaniel, at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday June 26, 2011, he used a master key to gain access to Giddings' apartment. Wearing a mask and gloves, McDaniel strangled her to death with his hands in her bedroom. The next day, he dismembered her body in the bathroom with a

hacksaw A hacksaw is a fine-toothed saw, originally and mainly made for cutting metal. The equivalent saw for cutting wood is usually called a bow saw. Most hacksaws are hand saws with a C-shaped walking frame that holds a blade under tension. Such h ...

. Most of Giddings' remains were discarded in a dumpster on campus. However, her torso was thrown in a trashcan outside the apartment complex.

Investigation

Giddings was reported missing on June 30, and her torso was subsequently discovered. That day, McDaniel did an interview with

WGXA WGXA (channel 24) is a television station in Macon, Georgia, United States, affiliated with Fox and ABC. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station maintains studios on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard ( GA 11/ GA 22/ GA 49/US 80/US 129) in d ...

, claiming to be a concerned friend of Giddings. During the interview he learned that the torso had been recovered. On July 1, McDaniel voluntarily went to the police office to give a statement about Giddings. His interrogation lasted over 12 hours and his apartment was searched. He was placed in jail on July 2, where he would remain for the next month. In August, McDaniel was charged with murder. Investigators had linked several pieces of evidence to him, including the hacksaw he used to dismember the body. The rest of Giddings' remains have never been found.

Aftermath

In 2014, McDaniel accepted a

plea deal A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or ''nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendant ...

and pleaded guilty to murder. His deal required him to describe his account of the murder, and in exchange, he would avoid the death penalty. The judge also dismissed additional charges discovered during the investigation, including one count of burglary and 30 counts of sexual exploitation of children. He will be eligible for parole in 2041. In 2018, McDaniel's father, Mark McDaniel, started a

GoFundMe GoFundMe is an American for-profit crowdfunding platform that allows people to raise money for events ranging from life events such as celebrations and graduations to challenging circumstances like accidents and illnesses. From 2010 to the b ...

campaign to raise funds for the legal expenses needed for an appeal. The page was promptly taken down. Stephen McDaniel represented himself in court while arguing for a retrial in 2018. He stated that his constitutional rights were violated as he was not medically cleared before giving consent for searches, his legal research was intercepted by the district attorney, and his attorneys did not adequately represent him. He also filed a malpractice complaint against his former attorney. The judge denied the appeal. On May 30, 2022, another ''

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

'' petition was filed by McDaniel claiming documents from defense trial preparations were stolen by the district attorney. In his petition, he requested his conviction be overturned and he be released from prison.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giddings, Lauren 2011 in Georgia (U.S. state) 2011 murders in the United States Female murder victims June 2011 crimes in the United States Murder in Georgia (U.S. state)