A look inside the harrowing murder of law student Lauren Giddings, 27, whose dismembered torso was found in a rubbish bin, sparking a desperate hunt for her killer – only for her ‘recluse’ classmate and neighbor to eventually confess to her crime

An upcoming crime documentary will unravel the chilling true story of a law student whose torso was found in a garbage bin after he was strangled and dismembered.

The partial remains of Lauren Giddings were dumped near her apartment in Macon, Georgia in June 2011.

It would later be discovered that the 27-year-old was murdered by former classmate and neighbor Stephen McDaniel, who used a hacksaw to cut off her head and limbs in the bathtub.

Here, FEMAIL has exposed the gruesome details before us Murder in the 21st‘s episode about the case entitled The Girl Next Door.

The gruesome case began to unfold on June 24, 2011 when Lauren, who had graduated from Mercer Law School the month before, texted her friends to warn them that she would temporarily disappear from the radar.

She wrote, “Hey guys, I’m eager to study for the bar. Please don’t be offended if I don’t respond to texts or emails.”

Her close friend Katie and sister Kaitlyn tried to contact her via text in the days that followed, but were continually met with silence.

The pair became concerned after three days passed without anyone being able to catch Lauren – and eventually decided to alert the local police.

In the meantime, another friend agreed to stop by the student’s apartment to check in with the spare key that was always left outside.

She reported that there was nothing unusual about the scene, but that Lauren’s things were “strewn everywhere” as she was packing and getting ready to move.

Worryingly, she found Lauren’s bag, mobile phone and car keys all left inside, indicating she had not left voluntarily.

The searches became increasingly frantic until a gruesome discovery was made.

Lauren’s torso, which was wrapped in a black garbage bag, was found dumped in a garbage bin near her apartment.

Following the harrowing discovery, Macon Police Chief Mike Burns spoke at a news conference, saying, “I would like to ask the public to help us with this investigation.

“The victim was dismembered, so if members of the public smell a foul odor, please contact police.”

The news spread quickly and news crews arrived on the scene.

Lauren’s former classmate and neighbor, Stephen McDaniel, made statements to the media at the time, saying, “She’s as nice as can be.” Very handsome. Very much a people person…

‘We don’t know where she is. The only thing we can think is that maybe she went running and someone took her away.”

Midway through his interview with WGXA, McDaniel was asked about the recently discovered remains, at which point his face went blank, he stuttered, and then sat down.

When McDaniel returned to talk to the camera a short time later, he appeared to be holding back tears and asked in a shaking voice, “Why would anyone do this?”

“If I had seen something, I might have been able to help.”

Lauren’s boyfriend David Vandiver was initially put in the spotlight until other details emerged.

McDaniel had not been to class around the time Lauren went missing and it was widely known that he owned an array of weapons.

Lauren’s mother described him as a “recluse” who had “encouraged Lauren to come out with the class.”

McDaniel was then brought in to talk to police, who obtained search warrants for his apartment and car, uncovering a slew of damning evidence.

They found a collection of knives and guns, as well as bloodstains on the walls and ceiling.

He had two keys on his dresser: one was the master key to the entire complex and the other was for Lauren’s apartment.

Police also found a stash of child pornography and a pair of Lauren’s underwear in his bedroom drawer.

There was a large bloody sheet in the laundry room of the apartment complex and a hacksaw with human flesh found in a storage room – with the original packaging found in McDaniel’s apartment.

Authorities also found a camera that McDaniel had used to record Lauren in her apartment the night she was killed.

Examination of his body revealed a series of scratches on his abdomen.

In addition, officers obtained surveillance footage from a Walmart store three days before Lauren was killed, where he purchased plastic ponchos and hooded rope.

And his story soon began to unravel.

McDaniel said he broke into Lauren’s apartment in the early hours of the morning using the master key while wearing an all-black ensemble, including gloves and a mask covering his face.

He stood watching her as she slept, but she woke up before he jumped over the bed and put his hand around her throat.

The pair struggled and fell to the ground where Lauren was able to remove McDaniel’s mask, “recoiling in horror as she recognized him.”

She apparently begged him to stop, but he continued to strangle her “for 15 minutes” until she stopped moving.

McDaniel then dragged her lifeless body into the bathtub before leaving for his own apartment.

He returned later that evening with a hacksaw and dismembered her body, removing her limbs and head.

The killer wrapped the parts in several garbage bags before throwing them into a dumpster on campus.

He put her torso separately in the bin where it was found days later.

McDaniel said he “cut up” the mask, gloves and shirt and flushed them down the toilet.

“It is difficult for me to explain why I killed Lauren and tried to cover up my act in the way that I did,” McDaniel’s since said.

He claimed to grieve daily, but added that he did not expect forgiveness from her family.

McDaniel pleaded guilty to malice murder and was sentenced to life in prison.