Police sifting through clues in Giddings case, but no arrest so far

Macon police were back inside the apartment of Lauren Giddings on Sunday, looking for clues that would help them solve her disappearance and presumed slaying.

Saturday night and Sunday morning, workers also cleared property adjacent to apartments 13-16 at the Barristers Hall apartment complex, where Giddings lived, cutting back an overgrown area after receiving a tip about a “foul odor.”

Giddings was reported missing early Thursday. When police went to her apartment at 1058 Georgia Ave., they found a dismembered body outside. Police said Friday that they believe the body is hers, although they are waiting for test results before making a conclusive identification.

In addition to Giddings’ apartment, police went back through the apartment below hers as well as the entire complex, police spokeswoman Jami Gaudet said in a news release Sunday afternoon.

“The apartment area will continue to be a focal point of the investigation,” the statement said. “We are retracing our steps and are continuing to collect evidence.”

Police and other workers have been looking for clues in surrounding areas as well. Employees and volunteers with the Macon-Bibb County Emergency Management Agency have helped.

Saturday night, someone reported a “foul odor” in a wooded area adjacent to the apartments. Workers, particularly employees of the city’s Public Works Department and the Macon-Bibb County Fire Department, spent several hours cutting back overgrown brush -- bamboo, privet hedge and the like -- beside the rear apartment building. The odor was coming from a dead animal, Gaudet said.

Neither a search of the city landfill Friday, nor checks along the Ocmulgee River, yielded information critical to the investigation, Gaudet said.

She said police have continued their work full throttle through the holiday weekend.

“On the investigative side, the general search continues. Our patrol division remains on alert for anything that seems amiss or unusual. We ask the public to be vigilant about any unusual, foul, decaying or dead odors or other potential clues,” her statement said.

When reached by phone about 7 p.m. Sunday, Gaudet said she had no new information on the case apart from the Sunday afternoon news release.

A Mercer University officer was patrolling through the apartment complex as well Sunday afternoon. Officer Barney Watts said Mercer police had been told to provide higher visibility in the area for now.

Many students have moved out of the apartment complex. Law school graduation was May 14, and other students moved out by the end of June. That’s when Giddings was scheduled to leave.

One student who lives in the rear apartment complex said police had questioned everyone who lives in the apartments.

“I don’t know what the police are going to do,” said the student, who would not give his name. “They got everything. They’ve been everywhere. Now what?”

Another neighbor, Neil Spencer, lives in an apartment with his mother one floor below that of Giddings and said he’s seen police working during the night on the case.

While he described the situation as “horrible,” Spencer feels safe with the police in the area. In any case, he plans to stay alert.

“I hope whoever did that, the police will find that person and bring closure for Lauren’s family,” Spencer said.

Boni Bush, a co-owner of the apartments, was getting one unit ready for a new tenant Sunday afternoon. She said she’s anxious for a break in the case and would like to hear that the slaying was not a random act of violence.

“I’m very anxious for them to establish that it wasn’t a stranger crime,” she said.

Anyone with information in the case is asked to call (478) 751-7500 or 1-877-68CRIME.

Staff writer Andrea Castillo contributed to this report.

This story was originally published July 4, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Police sifting through clues in Giddings case, but no arrest so far."