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

[girlhasnoname]

Atlanta Police release new photos of possible witnesses to Piedmont Park murder – KION546<snipped & BBM>

Emma Clark says she found her life partner, Katie, stabbed to death that night. She went looking, pinging Katie’s phone after she didn’t respond to calls or texts.

Emma says she saw others in the park when she made the gruesome discovery.

“I know somebody walked up on it right after I did,” Clark said. “I guess, because he came running out too. If anybody else saw something before I did. Because there are photos of people 20 minutes before I got here and there are people walking right past the entrance.”

They’re adding details on the type of person the public may want to look out for.

“If you saw anyone with any unexplained injuries, an intense attraction to this case in the media. A change in appearance. A change in hair color. A change in any type of facial hair. An absence of school work, come forward give us a call,” said Deputy Chief Hampton. “There is nothing too insignificant,” he added.

APD said Monday that the cameras were working the night of the murder, but clarified Tuesday that the 9 cameras in Piedmont Park are not integrated into the city’s current video integration center that it tracks in real-time.

 

[Bridger]

I do have to wonder if her walking route was longer than is being assumed and the murder actually happened AFTER the runner came in and out of the park, so in the space of 12:46-1:11am.

IMO, it’s impossible the murder happened much after 12:35 and it was probably before then. Remember that the fiancé found her around 1am, and that was after becoming worried about her from home (not from the very-close-by bar she worked at), called and texted a few times, consulted one of those find-me apps and discovered Katie’s phone wasn’t working, made her way to the park, found the dog first, found Katie, ran out of the park and called the police. The key is when she became worried about Katie, that was when Katie should have been home. Surely given the time she found the body, the fiancé wouldn’t have become worried until 12:45 or so. So unless Katie was purposely dawdling, she has to have been dead not just by then, but by 10 minutes before then (assuming a 10 minute or so walk home).

 

[citizen_sleuth]

This is obviously speculation, but I don't think this was a random act of violence. The extremely short timeline and apparent lack of witnesses suggests the attack was premeditated. Even though the murder happened at night, which naturally reduces the chances of anyone seeing the killer, the attack was so brutal that it couldn't have been quiet. How could the killer stab Katie and her dog without either of them attracting attention with screaming/barking (especially because of the runner who entered the park within moments of the murder)? If only one person committed the murder, then either Katie or Bowie had to be attacked first, meaning the killer had to feel confident enough in his skills/exit strategy to kill one and then quickly kill the other without drawing any attention.

I don't think the killer necessarily singled out Katie as their intended victim but instead went out that night with the intention of killing someone––perhaps Katie matched the killer's victim profile or she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I just find it bizarre that (at least according to the info LE has released to the public) not one of the potential witnesses spotted on surveillance cameras in the area came forward about hearing or seeing anything especially when her body was found so close to the entrance gate.

 

[coldlanta]

Did her partner walk to the park to find her after pinging her phone or did she drive?

 

[fred&edna]

Here you go... https://mobile.twitter.com/ZacOnTV/status/1421228472748417027

The tweet shows investigators returning to the park to load into their van a "large tree branch" that was at or near the scene. We haven't really discussed how this could be related to the crime. IMO they found something at autopsy that caused them to realize it was related.

The second picture in the tweet shows the scene and it appears family or friends have left a small memorial.

I too think the runner either didn't want to run by a sick/injured animal OR he thought he saw a sexual encounter occurring just off the path and tried to avoid.

Thanks for re-posting those photos. This is part of the reason I wish we had a walk-thru of the area - not just a top down view - so we could "see" this area (tree & small memorial) in relation to the gates, etc. I keep wondering if some murderous freak was hiding in the shadow of the tree/behind the downed limb just waiting for any victim. Possibly the killer struck Bowie first then went for Katie.

*Maybe silly but I think of the guy who said the neighbor's dog spoke to him - telling him to kill. Maybe this killer hated the dog?? This case is strange.

 

[LotusPawprint]

Yelp review of the bathroom. https://m.yelp.com/biz/piedmont-parks-robot-bathroom-atlanta

I had no idea there were reviews of bathrooms out there (but really, of course there are). Apparently I don't get out much.

If it was a severely mentally ill homeless person I think they would have found them by now. I don’t think that person would be able to disappear very easily. Their clothes would be blood soaked with nowhere really to change or wash up.
I’m not sold on a targeted gay hate crime or targeted toward her specifically. It just seems too gruesome, overkill.
The thing that keeps popping into my mind is Jack the Ripper like crime.

I tend to agree that it would be difficult for them to clean up, disappear, go unnoticed. Though it is possible and if they live among other homeless individuals, those people might not be (as) aware of what happened (no internet, tv) and/or might be more afraid /hesitant to contact law enforcement.

Re: being targeted as a hate crime.. I don't discount the possibility of someone who hates LGBTQ+ going to the area looking to kill (Pulse nightclub as one extreme example), but I'm not sure how they would have settled on Katie or how she would have stood out as an appropriate target.

At the same time, she went into the park when it was dark which I wouldn't have done alone. I know many people do and I'm not judging her for entering the park at night, but seems like entering the park is more of a risk than walking by people on the corner.

I think a lot of pit bull owners (rightly) feel safe being out in public with their dog. Hence so much of the public surprise over that aspect of the crime ("what kind of person would attack someone with a pittie??"). I knew a woman who had a pitbull and it was incredibly sweet. The woman would go out of her way to defend her dog's character (and the overall misrepresentation of the breed), but in situations where it would benefit her to have an "intimidating" dog (ie walking alone at night, someone knocking on the door of her home), she would allow that perception to stand.

 

[CLWP8]

Did her partner walk to the park to find her after pinging her phone or did she drive?

I assume walked, only because their address was made public on a few neighborhood pages around town and apparently they lived very close to the park. Parking on that street can also be very difficult.

*Editing to say another poster said she drove.*

 

[LotusPawprint]

https://twitter.com/fultonsheriff/status/1423309740193591296?s=21

Tune into Facebook Live
@FultonSheriff
today at 2:00 pm! Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine will update the community on efforts to protect citizens and solve the recent murder in Piedmont Park.

To me this doesn't sound like a "Breaking News, We Have An Arrest!" update especially with the "and solve the recent murder" mentioned second... But I sure hope so.

 

[Quest701]

How does that runner entering/exiting the park line up with the time the victim wad killed?

I think she was last spotted (i.e. the surveillance photo police released of her) 10 minutes away at 12:09. So she could have arrived at earliest at 12:19ish, maybe later if she took a detour.

The runner popped in and out at 12:45 ish.

She was discovered around 1ish by her partner (or maybe 1:10 ish).

I think the cops must have more photos they are withholding of course, so they probably know the exact time she entered.

Damn, I probably should not have listened to that, but I did.

The thing that stood out for me, was just the utter horror and shock expressed by Emma and the passerby.

Emma telling the 911 operator, “She’s dead dead!” even though the operator didn’t ask if she was sure.
And then to the passerby, “Did you see that?” Not like, “Did you just see that girl lying in a pool of blood?” Or whatever. Like what they had both seen needed no—and had no—description. And then when she said it’s my girlfriend… The passerby didn’t say the expected “Oh my god, is she dead? Do you need help?” They said “What the f—-!”
I mean, we knew it was bad when the normally downplaying, stiff-upper-lip police were saying things like “gruesome” and “disfigured” and “mutilated.” But after listening to that call, I do not think this was a gang initiation or random mentally ill park denizen or that Bowie bit someone and they lost their temper and grabbed their knife.

I think there was a monster lurking in that park hunting for someone to do whatever atrocity they did to Katie.

I’m not kidding, if you have any doubts about whether you can handle listening to that call—just don’t.

Quoting myself to add that while i think it was someone in the throes of psychosis I also have thoughts like: the weapon was likely not a knife a person would normally carry. As far as we know the killer was not seen by anyone or camera. The killer must have left the scene rather quickly and not left any obvious clues to their identity.
Would someone on the throes of psychosis have the presence of mind to escape unnoticed?[/QUOTE

Good question. Anecdotal, so take it with a grain of salt, but I’m always surprised when I hear news stories of psychotic people very methodically executing a crime.

Interesting information about what constitutes a hate crime in Georgia. I was more specifically referring to hate crime based on sexual preference
in this largely populated LGBTQ neighborhood of Atlanta. WOW, so based on GA definition of “hate crime”….if this exact heinous murder had happened to an innocent male instead of a female… it wouldn’t automatically be considered a “hate crime”?

It’s worth noting again that APD is has taken a firm stand though the media that KJ murder is NOT considered a hate crime (at this point in time, anyway).

IMO, this is not gang related because I would expect guns and not knives as the primary weapon of choice for gang-related crime, at least in Atlanta.

So the law is gender neutral. It addresses hate crimes based on “sex” (among other things) and not women in particular. Hate crimes in general are really hard to prosecute. Nothing is ever “automatically considered a hate crime”. The state might charge someone with a hate crime for killing a woman if for example they found a manifesto the killer left behind proclaiming to exact revenge on women in general for rebuffing his advances. They wouldn’t, however, add the hate crime charges simply because the victim was a woman with no other evidence the attack was motivated by the victim’s gender. The same legal standard would apply if the victim were a man.

 

[swedeheart]

DBM (too messy).

This should be the link. Starting soon.

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[StarryStarryNight]

Thanks for re-posting those photos. This is part of the reason I wish we had a walk-thru of the area - not just a top down view - so we could "see" this area (tree & small memorial) in relation to the gates, etc. I keep wondering if some murderous freak was hiding in the shadow of the tree/behind the downed limb just waiting for any victim. Possibly the killer struck Bowie first then went for Katie.

*Maybe silly but I think of the guy who said the neighbor's dog spoke to him - telling him to kill. Maybe this killer hated the dog?? This case is strange.

I tend to think the killer is probably full on crazy.
Like you said, I also think the dog was killed first very suddenly and she ran.
The dog was a pit bull and may have been the most docile dog alive but the average person sees a pit bull as powerful and aggressive. I think the killer definitely kills Bowie first thinking if I go after Katie first the dog is coming after me. That would at least account for there being some distance between the two.

 

[Quest701]

I tend to think the killer is probably full on crazy.
Like you said, I also think the dog was killed first very suddenly and she ran.
The dog was a pit bull and may have been the most docile dog alive but the average person sees a pit bull as powerful and aggressive. I think the killer definitely kills Bowie first thinking if I go after Katie first the dog is coming after me. That would at least account for there being some distance between the two.

This makes a lot of sense. It would also explain why she was found further away.

 

[Yemelyan]

Jack the Ripper murdered his victims slashing their throats and mutilating their bodies. He did all that usually on the street. The murders were gruesome and overkill. Only one of his victims was murdered inside. Since he was never caught we don't know whether he killed prostitutes because he hated prostitutes or because they were an easy target.

It's so difficult to know why the killer mutilated Katie and killed the dog. So many variables. I did post this study earlier but will post again. It is the study of patterns of injuries in homicides. On pages 105 and 106 there are some interesting findings regarding facial injuries or mutilations and that they can represent both an intimate relationship between victim and perpetrator but also the depersonalization of the victim by a nameless predator.

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3090&context=gc_etds

To be honest, de-personalization (or de-feminization) were some of my first thoughts about this case, which makes me lean toward an attacker who was unknown to her (she was in the wrong place at the wrong time). But of course unless and until we have more specifics on her injuries (which may never be released or not until a trial) it's hard to come to a definite conclusion.

 

[Gardenista]

Thanks for re-posting those photos. This is part of the reason I wish we had a walk-thru of the area - not just a top down view - so we could "see" this area (tree & small memorial) in relation to the gates, etc. I keep wondering if some murderous freak was hiding in the shadow of the tree/behind the downed limb just waiting for any victim. Possibly the killer struck Bowie first then went for Katie.

*Maybe silly but I think of the guy who said the neighbor's dog spoke to him - telling him to kill. Maybe this killer hated the dog?? This case is strange.

There are tons of videos of that type on YouTube. Can't post them here because they aren't MSM, but if you search YouTube, you can find them.

 

[coldlanta]

DBM (too messy).

This should be the link. Starting soon.

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Well that was fast. Not too much new information. They did briefly discuss the gang problem in Fulton County.

 

[Quest701]

*Maybe silly but I think of the guy who said the neighbor's dog spoke to him - telling him to kill. Maybe this killer hated the dog?? This case is strange.

<snip>

Sorry but could you clarify your edit? The neighbor’s dog spoke to who?

 

[citizen_sleuth]

I tend to think the killer is probably full on crazy.
Like you said, I also think the dog was killed first very suddenly and she ran.
The dog was a pit bull and may have been the most docile dog alive but the average person sees a pit bull as powerful and aggressive. I think the killer definitely kills Bowie first thinking if I go after Katie first the dog is coming after me. That would at least account for there being some distance between the two.

From the information that has been made publicly available, it seems that LE thinks the killer initially attacked (but not necessarily killed) Katie before killing Bowie––so IMO it seems more likely she was the primary target, not the dog.

Autopsy on dog belonging to Piedmont Park murder victim –– FOX 5 Atlanta <snipped>

Investigators believe it is almost a certainty the pet named Bowie engaged with the killer in an effort to protect his owner.

As such, APD ordered an autopsy of the animal looking for potential DNA that may have ended up on, or in the mouth of Bowie.

"They will treat the dog forensically the same way they would treat a human being," said Vincent Velazquez, a former homicide detective with the Atlanta force.

Velazquez expects bite impressions have already been taken off the animal as well as a check of the dog's nails for potential skin that may have been left by the person who committed the murder.

 

[MntnHiker]

I'm sorry if this has been answered before. Is there a camera covering every entrance to this park? Meaning, the killer would have to be on camera somewhere both entering and exiting?

Is the entire park fenced? Is it jumpable? Would there be a way someone could enter/exit without being on a camera?

 

[LotusPawprint]

“If you saw anyone with any unexplained injuries, an intense attraction to this case in the media. A change in appearance. A change in hair color. A change in any type of facial hair. An absence of school work, come forward give us a call,” said Deputy Chief Hampton. “There is nothing too insignificant,” he added.

I snipped everything else in your message and bolded this because really, this is/should be the main message being broadcast everywhere and shared widely.


I worry (not only in this case but most crimes) that people get too caught up in giving their opinion, theory, criticism, and forget that what is NEEDED is getting the important, relevant information disseminated to as many people so the right people can give that tip to help. I should add, this isn't referring to WS but social media, where from what I have seen, the posts that are most widely shared or liked are the ones that are complete speculation and NOT helpful to the end goal.

 

[TL4S]

Well that was fast. Not too much new information. They did briefly discuss the gang problem in Fulton County.

I missed part of it. Did they mention whether any of the 6 possible witnesses (on camera) have come forward?