Lauren Teresa Giddings ((1984-04-18)April 18, 1984 – (2011-06-26)June 26, 2011, aged 27 years)[1] was an American woman who was murdered by Stephen Mark McDaniel (born 1985 (1985), aged 39–40 years) on June 26, 2011, in Macon, Georgia, United States.
[2] McDaniel and Giddings lived in neighboring apartments, and were former classmates at Mercer University.
[3] According to McDaniel, at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday June 26, 2011, he used a master key to gain access to Giddings' apartment.
Later that day, McDaniel voluntarily went to a police station to give a statement about Giddings.
His deal required him to describe his account of the murder, and in exchange, he would receive a life sentence and avoid the death penalty.
[10] On May 30, 2022, another habeas corpus petition was filed by McDaniel claiming documents from defense trial preparations were stolen by the district attorney.