She was 27 years old and about to take the bar exam.
She was a Mercer University Law School student and about to make her dream of becoming a attorney a reality.
Laura regularly met up with a study group at the library.
In June of 2011, no one had seen her for several days.
She wasn't attending her study group, she wasn't responding to emails and she wasn't answering her phone.
Her phone eventually went dead.
Laura's sister asked a friend of Lauren's to check her apartment using a spare key. Lauren was not there, but her I.D. and keys were still inside.
A missing person's report was filed and when police arrived they noticed Lauren had also left behind a laptop, a purse and her cell phone.
Several days later, her torso was found in a dumpster outside, at the back of the apartments.
The Dumpster should have been collected that morning, but the truck was running late, leaving Lauren's remains and other DNA evidence to be discovered by police.
Her head, arms and legs were missing.
DNA results confirmed that was Lauren's remains.
Fellow graduate Stephen McDaniel also attended Mercer and lived across from the law school.
He was a friend of Laura's and helped in the search for her.
Then he gave a interesting interview.
He was described by friends as "quirky" but "intelligent." Investigators learn that his friends also considered him a bit creepy, saying he had an obsession with zombies.
He had often asked others how to commit the perfect murder.
They searched his apartment and in his possession both a master key and key to her apartment and he had a flash drive that belonged to her that contained hundreds of her personal photos.
His computer history showed an interest in her Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
Sometimes he would be searching for images of her around the same time that he was looking up violent pornography.
Her underwear was also found in his apartment.
Police say McDaniel had free access to her apartment for some time and had been stalking her every move.His computer history showed an interest in her Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
Sometimes he would be searching for images of her around the same time that he was looking up violent pornography.
Her underwear was also found in his apartment.
Police found deleted video he had used to survey her apartment night it appears that she was murdered.
It was found in a camera in his possession.
He had took a wooden pole and had duct-taped or somehow fixed that camera to the end of the pole and then held the pole up really high to peek inside her window.
On the day Lauren's remains were found, McDaniel was arrested on unrelated burglary charges. It was found in a camera in his possession.
He had took a wooden pole and had duct-taped or somehow fixed that camera to the end of the pole and then held the pole up really high to peek inside her window.
Cops used that opportunity to interrogate him for answers.
McDaniel was charged with Lauren Giddings' murder.
He eventually accepted a deal, pleading guilty to murder, and openly confessing the lurid details in court.
He said he had put Lauren's head and limbs in another dumpster.
Sadly, those were never found.
Stephen McDaniel was sent to prison for life.
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