Shocking moment murderer is told live on air that his victim's body has been found
A news crew captured the moment that a murderer's mask slipped after he was informed that his victim's body had been found.
Stephen McDaniel was sentenced to life in prison in 2014 after he pleaded guilty to brutally killing his 27-year-old neighbour Lauren Giddings three years prior.
But he had initially tried to pull the wool over the eyes of police in Macon, Georgia, and posed as a concerned pal - but his facade crumbled live on camera after he found out cops had located part of her dismembered corpse.
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Giddings and McDaniel both lived alongside each other in an apartment complex in the US city of Macon and were classmates at Mercer University before the horror killing took place 15 years ago.
The young woman was horrifically strangled to death on 26 June, 2011, before her body was mutilated by McDaniel with a hacksaw in the bathroom of her own apartment.
He then callously dumped her remains - some of which have still never been found - in various locations, including a bin that was close to the apartment complex they lived in.
This contained Giddings' torso which was wrapped in plastic, and a few days after she was first reported missing by her loved ones, police looking into the law student's disappearance made the grisly discovery.
But when McDaniel appeared on camera during an interview with local news station WGXA, he was completely unaware that cops were closing in on him.
Four days after Giddings vanished, he told a reporter how those who knew her were desperately 'trying to find out where she is'.
"No one has seen her since Saturday," the killer calmly said. "The last time anyone heard from her was an email she sent out, and no one has heard from her since. I haven't seen anything."
Describing his neighbour as 'nice as can be' and 'very personable', McDaniel was then asked whether he was aware of anyone who may have been motivated to harm the missing student.
He then told the journalist: "No...We don't know where she is. The only thing we can think is maybe she went running and somebody snatched her."
The tone of the interview then changed dramatically after the WGXA crew explained that officials had 'recovered' a body part nearby - and McDaniel's front as a worried friend crumbled.
McDaniel was only able to utter the word 'body' as a stunned silence overcame him, before he then said, 'I think I need to sit down,' and swiftly exited the interview.
Although he was unaware at the time, police were considering McDaniel as a person of interest in Giddings' disappearance and his disturbing conduct on camera likely only exacerbated their suspicions.
He was subsequently quizzed by cops and his apartment was searched, with officers finding a concerning collection of swords, guns, toilet rolls and a mask made out of women's underwear.
Investigators also found a 'blood-spattered' hacksaw inside of a laundry unit in the apartment building, which was a match for Giddings' DNA.
It later emerged that McDaniel had entered his neighbour's apartment in the middle of the night on 26 June, 2011, while she was sleeping, before he brutally took her life. He told police that he had used a master key to gain entry.
Detective David Patterson was the officer who tragically found Giddings' torso and previously told a court how he took a look at the contents of the bin after being overwhelmed by its odour and noticing a lot of flies.
As per an earlier report from CBS News, he explained he had later also contacted a former roommate of McDaniel, who told him how the killer would often 'talk about how he would commit the perfect murder and the methods he would use'.
According to Patterson, the roommate said McDaniel also described how he would 'sneak up on someone and then overpower them' - before detailing 'how to cover it up'.
Unfortunately for him, his attempts to disguise his horrific crimes were futile and he was charged with the murder of his neighbour.
'She really did trust him'
In 2014, McDaniel pleaded guilty to murder and was given a life sentence with the possibility of parole. He will be eligible to make a bid for freedom in 2041.
He has already tried to appeal on three occasions, in both 2017, 2022 and 2023 - all of which failed.
Giddings' devastated family later told how she had struck up a friendship with the man who went on to murder her shortly after he moved in next door to her.
She even introduced her mother Karen to him after they ran into each other on the staircase, who described him as being 'so awkward and shy' while speaking to The Washington Post in 2011.
Chillingly, Giddings sister Kaitlyn also said: "If anyone would joke around about him, say something about him being dangerous, then Lauren would nicely tell them, ‘Well, if he’s dangerous, I’ll be the only one who’s safe'.
"Because they did get along, and she was very nice to him. She really did trust him."
Topics: Crime, True Crime, Weird, US News
Olivia Burke
