Featured Image Credit: Macon Police Department/WGXA
Topics: US News, Crime, True Crime, Viral
Daisy Phillipson
Topics: US News, Crime, True Crime, Viral
Shocking footage from a live news report showed the exact moment a murderer finds out authorities have found his victim's body.
The infamous case of Stephen McDaniel has made headlines around the world, not least because of his TV interview that would raise suspicions from police due to his bizarre behaviour.
At the the time, Lauren Giddings had been reported missing and, as her neighbour, McDaniel agreed to talk to reporters about how kind of a person she was.
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Little did he realise what was about to come.
You see, the truth was that McDaniel had been secretly stalking Giddings for months. Although he had asked her out for a date, she declined but asked to stay in touch, telling her real friends that he made her feel 'uneasy'.
He would secretly film outside of her bedroom and even broke into her apartment when she wasn't at home.
On 26 June, 2011, McDaniel snuck into her house once more, this time while she was sleeping.
When she woke up, he murdered her by strangulation, dismembering her body and disposing of her in a bin.
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A few days later, Giddings was reported missing and McDaniel noticed there were people in and around her apartment and offered to help.
As part of his concerned friend act, he did an interview with WGXA in which he described how he attended the same university as Giddings, Mercer College in Georgia.
At one point, he even suggested that she may have been snatched while out running.
But his temperament completely shifted when the reporter asked him about a torso that had just been discovered - this was the exact moment he realised the police would soon be on to him.
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McDaniel initially appeared lost for words before saying: "I think I need to sit down."
When he returned, he broke down crying, telling viewers: "I don't know anyone that would want to hurt her."
At this point, police had already established McDaniel as a person of interest, and this was likely only exacerbated by his strange behaviour on camera.
On 1 July, he was called in for questioning and police searched his home where they found a collection of swords, guns, toilet rolls and a mask made out of women's underwear.
They also discovered packaging for the hacksaw that had been used to dismember Giddings' body along with the master key to the rooms in the building.
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His interrogation was even stranger than his news appearance, as he chose to stay bizarrely fixed in one position throughout the 12-hour interview.
He was fairly silent and offered monosyllabic answers to the questions.
In 2014, McDaniel finally confessed to the brutal murder and he was sentenced to life in prison and won't be eligible for parole until 2041.
Stephen appealed his conviction in 2017 but was rejected and is currently serving his sentence at Hancock State prison.