McDaniel attorney applies for bond for client

The Macon attorney representing Stephen Mark McDaniel, charged in the June slaying of his Mercer University law school classmate and neighbor, has filed an application for bond.

McDaniel, 26, has been held at the Bibb County jail since his arrest on burglary charges July 1. He also is charged with murder in the death of 27-year-old Lauren Giddings. Giddings’ dismembered torso was discovered June 30 outside the Georgia Avenue apartment building where she and McDaniel were next-door neighbors.

McDaniel also was charged with seven counts of sexual exploitation of children a few weeks later after authorities found images of children involved in sex acts on a computer flash drive in his apartment.

Reached by phone Tuesday night, Giddings’ sister, Kaitlyn Wheeler, said she wasn’t surprised by Tuesday’s development.

“I think I just expected it,” said Wheeler, 24, who lives in Maryland, her family’s native state. “As an attorney for a client, that would be your next step.”

A message seeking comment left on the cell phone of McDaniel’s mother, Glenda, was not returned.

Judges previously have denied bond for McDaniel on two counts of burglary and the murder charge. In September, attorney Floyd Buford rescinded his motion, asking a judge to determine whether there was enough evidence to hold McDaniel on the sexual exploitation charges.

“It’s a better time” for a judge to reconsider bond for McDaniel, Buford said after filing the bond request late Tuesday afternoon.

He said he has learned more about the case through a private investigator.

“We wanted to wait until we had the benefit of the investigation,” Buford said.

In his application for bond, Buford argues that McDaniel doesn’t pose a “significant risk of fleeing” or a “significant threat or danger to any person, or the community or to any property in the community.”

Buford also contends that McDaniel doesn’t pose a “significant risk” of committing a felony or intimidating witnesses as he awaits trial.

To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398. To contact writer Joe Kovac Jr., call 744-4397.

This story was originally published November 9, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "McDaniel attorney applies for bond for client."