Crime, Deaths, Law Schools, Murder, Violence

Grisly Scene Developing At Mercer Law School

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The stories coming out of Mercer Law School yesterday evening and this morning are surreal. Yesterday in Non-Sequiturs we mentioned that a recent Mercer Law graduate, Lauren Giddings, was found dead. Decapitated.

UPDATE: We understand that the Macon police department is not confirming that the body is that of Lauren Giddings. As of now, she’s still listed as missing.

FURTHER UPDATE (7/12/11): It appears that the body found was that of Lauren Giddings. Read more here.

Understandably, this has put the Mercer Law campus on edge. Giddings had returned to school to study for the bar, and there are a lot of people there who are now worrying about their safety.

Even more disturbingly, Giddings’s neighbor, who is also a Mercer Law graduate, has been arrested on burglary charges.

And there are police dogs roving around campus looking for missing body parts…

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First of all, here is the arrest report from WGXA-TV:

Stephen Mark McDaniel of 1058 Georgia Avenue, is being held in the Bibb County Law Enforcement Center on a burglary charge.

McDaniel is the neighbor of the missing Mercer University Law School student, Lauren Giddings. McDaniel was arrested just before 5:00 a.m. on Friday and is being held on $8,450 bond.

And here’s a strange report from Macon.com:

Lauren Giddings was worried about her safety. Late Saturday night, she sent an e-mail to a friend, saying she was afraid to stay in her apartment on Georgia Avenue.

“She thought someone had tried to break into her apartment,” said Stephen McDaniel, a neighbor and classmate of Giddings’ at Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law.

And here’s just a weird note about Stephen McDaniel that we received from a fellow classmate:

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McDaniels would send out creepy school-wide emails as a 1L and wore f****** chain mail to class on occasion.

And the police still can’t find all of the missing body parts.

UPDATE: Obviously, no arrests have been made in connection with the Giddings situation. The burglary charges are, as far as we know, unrelated to the missing person.

It’s a very sad and scary scene down at Mercer. Hopefully the school is doing what it can to make campus safe for students and recent graduates.

UPDATE: Stephen McDaniel had his bail revoked. Police are now saying McDaniel is a “person of interest.”

FURTHER UPDATE (7/12/11): For the latest updates on this tragic situation, please see our continuing coverage.

Update: Neighbor In Missing Person Case Arrested On Burglary Charges [WGXA-TV]
Police Find Dismembered Body Outside Apartment of Missing Law Grad [ABA Journal]

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