Episode 16

Sword and Scale

Incongruity

History, Society & Culture, True Crime, Documentary

4.0 • 63.8K Ratings

🗓️ 12 May 2014

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Lauren Giddings had just graduated law school and was getting ready for a new life when she suddenly disappeared from her apartment in Macon, Georgia. As her friends and family desperately tried to find her, they were surprised to see Lauren's reclusive neighbor on the news overreacting to word that a dismembered body had been nearby. The shaggy, bearded introvert was questioned by police in one of the strangest and most infuriating interrogations ever caught on tape. In this episode of Sword and Scale we discuss Stephen McDaniel's bizarre behavior, and what led up to his eventual admission of guilt. We also talk to Sergeant Mario de los Santos of the City of Miami Police Department, and former personality of A&E's The First 48, about his experience interrogating murder suspects, and the tactics used by police to secure a confession.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Yeah, Lauren was my neighbor.
0:05.0	We're just trying to find out where she is at this point.
0:08.0	I mean, no one has seen her since Saturday.
0:12.0	I mean, the last time anyone heard from her was an email that she sent out,
0:16.0	and no one's heard from her since.
0:19.0	Welcome to Sword and Scale, episode 16, a show that reveals that the worst monsters are real.
0:28.3	This week, a case of Covet Thy Neighbor and possibly the most infuriating police interrogation ever,
0:35.0	will also talk to a former police detective about interrogation
0:38.2	tactics and what never to do if you're suspected of murder. Macon, Georgia, June 30th, 2011. It's going to be another hot day in this metropolitan city,
1:14.8	about an hour south of Atlanta. Temperatures will reach into the 90s, and there's hardly a cloud in sight.
1:20.7	A typical sweltering summer day in the city known as much for its sweet tea as its southern hospitality.
1:27.1	But for Lauren Giddings, this day won't be so bright.
1:30.4	Unfortunately, nothing can ever bring her back, but keeping her memory alive is all that really matters.
1:36.7	Ashley Morehouse was the first person to report that Lauren Giddings was missing. Giddings was a law
1:41.6	student who had recently graduated from Mercer's Walter F. George
1:45.1	School of Law. She was bright, attractive, and friendly. Lauren was working towards a career
1:51.1	in criminal defense. She'd be a voice for those who needed it most, but she never got to argue a case.
1:58.2	At 6.30 p.m. on June 25th, a grainy surveillance camera would capture the last
2:03.8	image of Lauren seen alive at the drive-thru window of Zaxby's restaurant in Macon. Five days later,
2:09.8	Lauren would be reported missing. Her father, Bill Giddings, told police that Lauren had been using
2:14.7	her cell phone to send emails up to 10.30 p.m. on the last night she was
2:19.2	seen alive. As police converged on the humble two-story apartment building searching for clues,
	...

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