MACON, Ga. (AP) A classmate of a recent Mercer University law school graduate has been charged with killing her.

The Telegraph (http://bit.ly/o0F56r ) of Macon reports that Stephen Mark McDaniel, who had been held for a month in the Bibb County jail on unrelated burglary charges, was charged Tuesday with killing Lauren Giddings.

The 27-year-old Giddings, of Laurel, Md., was last heard from on the evening of June 25. Five days later, police discovered her torso wrapped in plastic in a garbage bin beside her apartment building, where the 25-year-old McDaniel was her next door neighbor.

District Attorney Greg Winters says McDaniel, of Lilburn, is charged with murder. Authorities have called a news conference for Wednesday afternoon to discuss the case.

McDaniel's attorney could not immediately be reached by telephone for comment.