A June 30, 2011 photo, shows Stephen McDaniel, a neighbor of Lauren Giddings, in Macon, Ga. McDaniel was charged with murder in the death of Lauren Giddings, late Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011. McDaniel, has been in jail for a month on unrelated charges. Gidding
A June 30, 2011 photo, shows Stephen McDaniel, a neighbor of Lauren Giddings, in Macon, Ga. McDaniel was charged with murder in the death of Lauren Giddings, late Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011. McDaniel, has been in jail for a month on unrelated charges. Giddings, a 27-year-old from Laurel, Md., was last seen on the evening of June 25. Five days later, police discovered her torso wrapped in plastic in a garbage bin beside her apartment building. Macon Telegraph, Woody Marshall, Associated Press
By Associated Press

MACON, Ga. — An attorney for a 25-year-old Georgia law school graduate charged with killing a fellow classmate who was discovered dismembered outside the apartment building where they lived said his client intends to fight the charges.

Stephen Mark McDaniel was charged by Bibb County prosecutors late Tuesday with murder in the death of Lauren Giddings, a 27-year-old from Laurel, Md. Police discovered her torso wrapped in plastic in a garbage bin beside her apartment building.

McDaniel's attorney Floyd Buford said Wednesday his client "insists he is innocent of these charges" and will demand a jury trial.

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Macon Police Chief Mike Burns would not discuss a possible motive in the crime. But he said more than 200 pieces of evidence and dozens of interviews led police to charge McDaniel.

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