GOOD EVENING AND THANKS FOR JOINING US..
I'M FRANK MALLOY..
AND I'M LEAH JOHNSON..THIS IS EYEWITNESS NEWS AT 11.
ONE YEAR AGO TODAY MARKED THE LAST TIME THE 27-YEAR OLD MERCER LAW SCHOOL GRADUATE WAS SEEN ALIVE.
FIVE DAYS LATER.... OFFICERS FOUND GIDDINGS' DISMEMBERED TORSO IN A TRASH CAN... OUTSIDE HER GEORGIA AVENUE APARTMENT BUILDING.
INVESTIGATORS WORKED FOR WEEKS TO LOCATE THE REST OF HER BODY... BUT FOUND NOTHING..
HER NEIGHBOR AND FELLOW MERCER LAW SCHOOL STUDENT STEPHEN MCDANIEL IS CHARGED WITH HER MURDER.
MCDANIEL REMAINS AT THE BIBB COUNTY JAIL ON AN 850 THOUSAND DOLLAR BOND.
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THOSE WHO KNEW HER BEST SAY LAUREN LOVED LIFE... ALWAYS LAUGHED.. AND WAS DEDICATED TO HER FUTURE AS A LAWYER.
AS THEY HIT THIS SOLEMN ANNIVERSARY.. FAMILY AND FRIENDS LOOK BACK ON A YEAR WITHOUT LAUREN.. EACH WITH THEIR OWN STORY OF HOW THEY FACE THE TRAGEDY.
BRITTINY BARBER HAS MORE.
pic IT'S A MEMORY THE GIDDINGS FAMILY HOLDS DEAR TO THEIR HEART.. A FAMILY PHOTO AS THEIR DAUGHTER LAUREN GRADATED FROM LAW SCHOOL... JUST ONE MONTH BEFORE SHE WAS KILLED.
kaitlyn: " I always say we're taking it day by day or minute by minute sometimes but hopefully you just get through each day the best you can and pray to god that he helps you through it.
cam THAT'S KAITLYN WHEELER... LAUREN'S SISTER.
SHE SAYS THEIR FAMILY FOLLOWS THE MOTTO.. THAT YOU NEVER TRULY GET OVER SOMETHING LIKE THIS.. BUT IT'S JUST SOMETHING THEY'LL HAVE TO WORK THROUGH.. TOGETHER.
AND FOR EACH PERSON WHO KNEW LAUREN.. THAT BRINGS ITS OWN BATTLES.
Kaitlyn: " I lost not only my sister but my parents daughter. I lost a best friend and my maid of honor and the aunt to my children. It's not just one loss that you lose it's not like that. She was part of your life. Not just some girl I pass in the corner so it affects you in a million different ways throughout your day. It's like someone I email or gchat a hundred times a day like I used to or just pick up my cell phone and text or call. Your daily life is different."
Pic KAITLYN CALLS LAST SUMMER...THE WORST TIME OF THEIR FAMILY'S LIVES... BUT THEY KNOW LAUREN WOULD NOT WANT THEM TO DWELL ON THE TRAGEDY..
Kaitlyn:"It's not something you just stop thinking about after a month or a year or two years. It might not cross your mind every minute or every second anymore but it's just something you have to get by with daily and it wasn't like she died in an accidental car accident or like someone deliberately did this to her, so for that to destroy your faith in humanity takes time to trust yourself."
cam ADJUSTING TO LIFE WITHOUT LAUREN... ALSO CONTINUES TO BE A STRUGGLE FOR HER BOYFRIEND.. DAVID VANDIVER.
David: "It's been hell. Nothing's really changed. Time as some people say heals all wounds. If it does it hasn't even begun yet. It's just been a mix of heartache and anger.
pic HE SAYS HE GETS BY... BY REMEMBERING THE GOOD TIMES SPENT TOGETHER.
AND HAS ONE LAST MESSAGE FOR THE WOMAN HE SAYS.... HE WAS ABOUT TO PROPOSE TO...
David: "Just that I love and miss her very much. Brit: Do you think that this will ever get any easier for you? David: "I don't know. It hasn't yet."
DAVID SHARED ONE OF HIS FAVORITE MEMORIES WITH LAUREN... TAILGATING AND THEY BROKE A CHAIR.WHAT'S CHANGED FOR THE FAMILY IN THE LAST YEAR?
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ANOTHER RECENT MERCER LAW GRADUATE... SAYS HER LIFE CHANGED FOREVER WHEN SHE LOST NOT ONLY A CLASSMATE... BUT HER FRIEND.
ASHLEY MOREHOUSE ALWAYS REMEMBERS GIDDINGS AS SHE WALKS THROUGH HER HOUSE AND SEES PICTURES FROM WEDDINGS... BRAVES GAMES... AND LAW SCHOOL GRADUATION.
BUT SHE SAYS THE LOSS REALLY HITS HER... EVERY TIME SHE STEPS INTO THE COURTROOM.
sometimes she's appreciate funny stories in court, because we always have funny stories in court and i think she would have gotten a kick out of all of them, and just to be able to text her what happened, i would love to do that, but i'm not able to
MERCER LAW SCHOOL STAFF AND HER CLASSMATES.. PLAN TO HONOR LAUREN GIDDINGS THIS SUMMER... BY HOSTING AN EVENT THEY SAY SHE WOULD HAVE ENJOYED.
PROFESSOR SARA GERWIG-MOORE...ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS... SAYS LAUREN LOVED MACON SECOND SUNDAYS AT WASHINGTON PARK.
SO THEY'RE HOLDING A CONCERT THERE TO CELEBRATE HER LIFE.
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A NEW INTERIM DIRECTOR FOR MACON ANIMAL CONTROL IS IN TOWN... AND READY TO CLEAN UP THE MESS.
JUDY LE STOPPED BY THE SHELTER TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DEBORAH BIGGS AND THE CHALLENGES SHE FACES IN HER TEMPORARY POSITION..
nat - this is probably the 4th or 5th one that ive done. the first is a 90 day contract and it lasted for 14 years. and ive doen this from coast to coast
THAT'S HOW MANY ANIMAL SHELTERS DEBORAH BIGGS SAYS SHE HAS TAKEN OVER AND TURNED AROUND.
sot - i am a troubleshooter. that means going into places that need help and that doesnt mean all of them are in a bad state of disarray although a lot of them have been.
THE SHELTER...BUILT NEXT TO A LANDFILL...HAS BEEN PLAGUED WITH PROBLEMS....MOST RECENTLY... A COCKROACH AND MICE INFESTATION.
nat - the shelter isn't that bad...but there's room for improvement.
BIBB COUNTY WILL TAKE OVER MACON ANIMAL CONTROL THIS FRIDAY. ASSIGNING AN INTERIM ANIMAL WELFARE DIRECTOR IS THE FIRST OF MANY CHANGES.
standup - biggs will be the interim director for 60 days. the first on her list of things to fix is the ventilation system.
SHE FLEW UP FROM FLORIDA...BRINGING MORE THAN 33 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN RUNNING SHELTERS...AND ANIMAL WELFARE GROUPS. FOR BIGGS.
BIGGS PLANS TO CHALLENGE THE MACON SHELTER'S PROLBLEMS....HEAD-ON.
sot - there's leaking hoses that are gettign the staff wet. if you have a wet floor, then you have an issue with public safety as well as a staff safety. those are osme of the immediate things. obviously some of the equipement doesnt work. they can't sanitzie the dish bowls properly. we want to get the dishwasher fixed.
THE 55-YEAR OLD IS SEMI-RETIRED AND WILL NOT BE A CANDIDATE FOR THE PERMANENT POSITION.
nat
MAKING THE BEST OF THIS SHELTER IS A TEMPORARY FIX ...THAT'S BECAUSE BIBB COUNTY HAS A NEW SHELTER IN THE WORKS.
JUDY LE...13WMAZ...EYEWITNESS NEWS.
BIGGS WILL MEET WITH THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS TO COMPILE A LIST OF SHELTER PROBLEMS BEFORE SHE MAKES ANY CHANGES.
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200 JOBS ARE ON THEIR WAY TO BIBB COUNTY... BY WAY OF A DISTRIBUTION CENTER FOR TRACTOR SUPPLY COMPANY.
THE COMPANY ANNOUNCED TODAY THEY'RE BRINGING THEIR HIGH TECH FACILITY TO I-75'S INDUSTIAL PARK NEXT TO SARA LEE...
THAT'S LOCATED OFF OF HARTLEY BRIDGE ROAD.
THE ONCE CATALOGUE ONLY COMPANY HAS GROWN OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS.
THEY HAVE ELEVEN HUNDRED STORES NATIONWIDE... WITH FORTY OF THOSE STORES IN GEORGIA.
THE CENTER WILL BE FOUR STORIES HIGH... AND TAKE UP 650-THOUSAND SQUARE FEET.
TRACTOR SUPPLY PRESIDENT GREGORY SANDFORT SAYS... ONE OF THE REASONS THE COMPANY PICKED CENTRAL GEORGIA IS BECAUSE OF IT'S LOCATION.
Tractor Supply President, Gregory Sandfort: "We needed a building that we could bring closer to the port from Savannah as well as accessible to a major interstate and within we call in stem miles, that's the difference from this building to our store base so location was ideal."
THERE'S NO WORD YET ON WHEN TRACTOR SUPPLY'S DISTRIBUTION CENTER WILL BEGIN HIRING OR WHICH POSITIONS WILL BE AVAILABLE.
BUT AS SOON AS WE FIND OUT... WE'LL LET YOU KNOW.
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CONCERNS ABOUT "RACIAL PROFILING" FOLLOW TODAY'S SUPREME COURT RULING ON ARIZONA'S IMMIGRATION LAW..
JUSTICES UPHELD THE PART OF THE LAW THAT REQUIRES POLICE TO CHECK THE IMMIGRATION STATUS OF PEOPLE STOPPED FOR OTHER VIOLATIONS....WHILE THROWING OUT OTHER KEY PROVISIONS....
OPPONENTS SAY THE LAW WILL LEAD TO PROLONGED DETENTION FOR PEOPLE SUSPECTED OF BEING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS..
ARIZONA GOVERNOR JAN BREWER SAYS THAT POLICE WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE IF THEY USE THE LAW TO VIOLATE ANYONE'S CIVIL RIGHTS..
THE RULING IS EXPECTED TO HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR OTHER STATES THAT HAVE SIMILAR LAWS INCLUDING GEORGIA..
THE BIBB COUNTY JAIL WEB SITE SAYS WILLIAMS WAS BROUGHT TO THE JAIL JUST BEFORE 5 TODAY....ON A HOLD FOR THE U-S MARSHAL'S SERVICE.
ASSISTANT U-S ATTORNEY PETE PETERMAN SAYS A JUDGE TODAY REVOKED WILLIAMS BOND... BUT HE HAD NO DETAILS ON WHY.
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THE MACON BIBB TRANSIT AUTHORITY PLANS TO KEEP MACON MOVING... IN THE DIRECTION OF CHANGE.
TODAY THE M-T-A KICKED OFF ITS TRY TRANSIT WEEK.
THE WEEK IS DESIGNED TO PROMOTE SERVICES OFFERED BY THE TRANSIT AUTHORITY... INCLUDING TWO NEW UPCOMING ROUTES.
ONE IS ALONG THE 2ND STREET CORRIDOR.
THE OTHER WILL SERVE THE OCMULGEE EAST INDUSTRIAL AREA.
THE OCMULGEE ROUTE WILL BE A BIG HELP TO GEICO EMPLOYEES.
THE NEED FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN THAT AREA WAS EXPRESSED THROUGH A SURVEY OF GEICO EMPLOYEES.