GA - Katherine Janness, 40, walking dog, both fatally stabbed, Piedmont Park, Atlanta, 28 July 2021

[Quest701]

What makes you think the perp didn't target her because of something the dog did, or simply her unfortunately being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or it could have been someone she knew?
No offense to anyone but in

Does that mean premeditated?

It does make sense that a person with a pit bull would not be a sensible choice as a random victim, therefore, it leads to the idea that she was targeted for some reason? Perhaps, the killer had some type of infatuation with her and had been perhaps stalking her to learn her routine?

Good point about Bowie being a deterrent, but you’re assuming whoever did this is rational... Plus why would someone who knew her have better luck killing her with a pit bull by her side as opposed to a stranger? Whatever sense of familiarity with the dog a known attacker could benefit from would be thrown out the window the second the attacker went on the offense.

If the perpetrator had some fantasy obsession with this particular person it would explain why he risked engagement with the dog. It's just a theory, however, it is a possibility.

Hm interesting but I’m not so sure. So in this scenario the attacker followed her throughout Midtown undetected and then decided to take their chance when they reached the park? Or the attacker spent hours (days?) waiting in the same spot in the park on the off chance she might pass through any given moment?

Plus I’m pretty sure the police said they thought she was randomly targeted and didn’t know her killer. You bring up a great point that obsessive people are irrational, but I think someone callous enough to do what they did wouldn’t be deterred by a risk as troublesome as a pit bull either. You never know though!

 

[DobbyRN]

Good point about Bowie being a deterrent, but you’re assuming whoever did this is rational... Plus why would someone who knew her have better luck killing her with a pit bull by her side as opposed to a stranger? Whatever sense of familiarity with the dog a known attacker could benefit from would be thrown out the window the second the attacker went on the offense.


Hm interesting but I’m not so sure. So in this scenario the attacker followed her throughout Midtown undetected and then decided to take their chance when they reached the park? Or the attacker spent hours (days?) waiting in the same spot in the park on the off chance she might pass through any given moment?

Plus I’m pretty sure the police said they thought she was randomly targeted and didn’t know her killer. You bring up a great point that obsessive people are irrational, but I think someone callous enough to do what they did wouldn’t be deterred by a risk as troublesome as a pit bull either. You never know though!

She may not have known him but he may have seen her somewhere and become obsessed. He may have stalked her and figured out her path and pattern of where she walked the dog. I don't think this is someone she knew personally. I think this was/is a sadistic sociopath who had some type of obsession with her in particular for some reason and for whatever unknown irrational reason wanted to kill her in particular. I think other women out there who fit his "victim profile" and show up on his radar are in danger. This is just my theory and opinion based on the information that has been officially and unofficially revealed. I do pray the APD and FBI have some leads and apprehend this dangerous person very soon. My heart goes out to Katie's loved ones.

 

[DobbyRN]

She may not have known him but he may have seen her somewhere and become obsessed. He may have stalked her and figured out her path and pattern of where she walked the dog. I don't think this is someone she knew personally. I think this was/is a sadistic sociopath who had some type of obsession with her in particular for some reason and for whatever unknown irrational reason wanted to kill her in particular. I think other women out there who fit his "victim profile" and show up on his radar are in danger. This is just my theory and opinion based on the information that has been officially and unofficially revealed. I do pray the APD and FBI have some leads and apprehend this dangerous person very soon. My heart goes out to Katie's loved ones.

 

[Shellinaya]

She may not have known him but he may have seen her somewhere and become obsessed. He may have stalked her and figured out her path and pattern of where she walked the dog. I don't think this is someone she knew personally. I think this was/is a sadistic sociopath who had some type of obsession with her in particular for some reason and for whatever unknown irrational reason wanted to kill her in particular.......

Honestly the more I think about this case the more I think it's gang related, especially if it's as brutal as it sounds it may have been. The Atlanta AG brought up gangs in her press conference the other day and mentioned gangs are growing in the area. I did a little searching around and found out that there are gangs in the area, a lot of them, and a gang member stabbed a girl and killed her about a year ago in the general Atlanta area, (a suburb) so it does happen here.

Story: AJC

 

[PrairieWind]

Honestly the more I think about this case the more I think it's gang related, especially if it's as brutal as it sounds it may have been. The Atlanta AG brought up gangs in her press conference the other day and mentioned gangs are growing in the area. I did a little searching around and found out that there are gangs in the area, a lot of them, and a gang member stabbed a girl and killed her about a year ago in the general Atlanta area, (a suburb) so it does happen here.

Story: AJC

I dont see anything to make this gang related. they would kill and move on. this killer took time.

 

[thebodyfarm]

I personally think this was someone whom she didn't know.
He killed her in a very high risk place, with a dog and cameras all over the place. I don't think someone would do that if they knew the victim, they would want to reduce the risk of being caught. The killer took their time. IMO this was someone who had a certain fantasy about her. I can't really say whether this was premeditated or impulsive, though i'm leaning more towards premeditated. And by the way LE said the killer disfigured her, i'm thinking about a crime with a more power oriented motive.
This is all a theory though, i'm always open to new discussions and arguments.

 

[thebodyfarm]

Police: Potential witness in Atlanta park stabbing located

"A possible witness who was seen jogging in the popular metro park where a woman was stabbed to death has been located and is cooperating with investigators, authorities said Friday.

Police said a man came forward just hours after they released surveillance images with his photo as they seek potential witnesses in the killing of Katherine Janness, 40."


Apologies if this has already been posted.

 

[DobbyRN]

Honestly the more I think about this case the more I think it's gang related, especially if it's as brutal as it sounds it may have been. The Atlanta AG brought up gangs in her press conference the other day and mentioned gangs are growing in the area. I did a little searching around and found out that there are gangs in the area, a lot of them, and a gang member stabbed a girl and killed her about a year ago in the general Atlanta area, (a suburb) so it does happen here.

Story: AJC

Of course anything is possible, however,

I personally think this was someone whom she didn't know.
He killed her in a very high risk place, with a dog and cameras all over the place. I don't think someone would do that if they knew the victim, they would want to reduce the risk of being caught. The killer took their time. IMO this was someone who had a certain fantasy about her. I can't really say whether this was premeditated or impulsive, though i'm leaning more towards premeditated. And by the way LE said the killer disfigured her, i'm thinking about a crime with a more power oriented motive.
This is all a theory though, i'm always open to new discussions and arguments.

I agree.

 

[TL4S]

Police continue search for witnesses in fatal Atlanta park stabbing

Atlanta police said late Friday the jogger had not witnessed the crime.

Note: I, personally, do not think this jogger (released yesterday) is the same as the jogger seen entering and exiting the park entrance at 12:46. Jmo

 

[Quell]

Honestly the more I think about this case the more I think it's gang related, especially if it's as brutal as it sounds it may have been. The Atlanta AG brought up gangs in her press conference the other day and mentioned gangs are growing in the area. I did a little searching around and found out that there are gangs in the area, a lot of them, and a gang member stabbed a girl and killed her about a year ago in the general Atlanta area, (a suburb) so it does happen here.

Story: AJC

Agree that it quite possibly could be gang related. It seems to me that more than one person is responsible. Though the area where KJ was found wasn't well lit, it's 150ish feet from a main entrance of the park. Bowie was found 50 feet from the same entrance. Emma stated she could see Bowie from 10th street. It seems like there would need to be a lookout in addition to a knife-wielder.

 

[DobbyRN]

Police continue search for witnesses in fatal Atlanta park stabbing

Atlanta police said late Friday the jogger had not witnessed the crime.

Note: I, personally, don't think this jogger is the same as the jogger seen entering and exiting the park entrance. Jmo

I was wondering if it was the same jogger that was shown in the first released photos.

 

[Sarahlou]

I tend to think this was just a random stranger attack by some nutjob. A bit like the murders of Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry in the UK.

 

[DobbyRN]

There has to be a significant reason the FBI was called in almost immediately. I don't think the public knows important unusual crime scene details so as not to jeopardize the case, however, gang violence is not unusual in Atlanta or in other major cities and would not warrant summoning the FBI almost immediately. Even the GBI was passed over so there is something extremely disturbing and unique about this particular case, in my opinion.

 

[DobbyRN]

 

[TL4S]

There has to be a significant reason the FBI was called in almost immediately. I don't think the public knows important unusual crime scene details so as not to jeopardize the case, however, gang violence is not unusual in Atlanta or in other major cities and would not warrant summoning the FBI almost immediately. Even the GBI was passed over so there is something extremely disturbing and unique about this particular case, in my opinion.

My guess as to why the FBI was brought in so early is maybe for profiling purposes. Even from what little details we know, this killer sounds "unique." The killer chose a random (per LE) target with a big dog (who knows if the killer could actually see it well enough to know it was a pitbull), struck right at the entrance of the park (not to mention near a road intersection - anyone driving toward the park on Charles Allen would have headlights shining directly through that gate), and apparently caused greater harm to the victim than necessary to kill her. The FBI can likely assist with DNA analysis, as well. Just my guess...

 

[SleepyLabRat]

Note, we have two sets of park entrance pictures, one from the Charles Allen entrance the other from 12th and Piedmont. Given that they were taken at differing times we can be fairly certain that those cameras were operational the whole evening. The fact that Katie was not seen in either of these locations gives me more confidence that she took a small unmarked entry further up on 10th Street per my previous post.

I don’t recall LE ever claiming that Katie was not seen on any of these cameras. Photos/videos were never released of her from those cameras, but I don’t remember hearing anyone say they don’t exist.

 

[Kateinfl]

Did the police say how many times bowie was stabbed...if once in the heart the perp may not have many wounds..but if not Im sure the perp would be covered with wounds on his arms and hands. The police should ask public to look for someone with wounds and bites on hands and arms.

 

[fred&edna]

The lamp posts along some of the paths in the park do not appear to provide a great deal of light but they do add some glow to the immediate area around them. Are they turned off when the park "officially" closes or are they timed to operate from dusk to first light of day?

 

[skyedaze]

Reward is up to 30K now per the radio this morning (?), although I'm not seeing that anywhere else. I hope they get a break in the case soon.
To me it is not gang anything...it's a sick-0 predator who likes doing this and is going to do it again.

Also, did I miss something??? what is up with the preoccupation over the runner and beltline cameras? Police already spoke with him yesterday and he did not see anything, unfortunately.

Personally, I don't think the city (or KLB) is doing much with this. I was surprised it took so long for a city official to say, "Hey don't go to the park at night by yourself right now." And I was shocked when they said very casually that they might look into whether it worth it to replace/upgrade the cameras in the park. SMH!

 

[mickey2942]

Not victim blaming, but I don't even walk in a park at night in Montana, forget Atlanta. It is a sad comment that United States still isn't safe. I have participated in "Take Back the Night" rallies for over 40 years. And it still hasn't changed.

Take Back the Night (organization) - Wikipedia