Judge Dismisses Evidence in McDaniel Murder Case

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — The Stephen McDaniel murder trial has been pushed back and now several key pieces of evidence have been thrown out.

During a pre trial hearing Thursday, Superior Court Judge Howard Simms threw out the statements McDaniel gave to Macon police detectives. McDaniel is Mercer Law grad Lauren Giddings’ alleged killer.
According to Assistant District Attorney Nancy Scott Malcor, the judge disregarded the statements because when Giddings’ torso was found in June 2011, no one read McDaniel his Miranda rights which include the right to remain silent.

The judge also excluded some testimony about the use of Luminol, a substance used to detect blood and threw out the discovery of a key to Giddings’ apartment and a master key for the apartment complex, where both Giddings and McDaniel lived.

A motions hearing is set for January 6th and the trial is scheduled to start on February 3, 2014.