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

[PrairieWind]

When is the last time you tried to sneak up on a Pitbull and taze it? Good luck.

Most of the properly raised pitbulls I have known have been pretty friendly. I have no reason to believe this dog wasn't raised well. If she was walking the dog on the sidewalk and another person was coming the other way, non-threatening, I doubt the dog would have done anything.

 

[swedeheart]

Most of the properly raised pitbulls I have known have been pretty friendly. I have no reason to believe this dog wasn't raised well. If she was walking the dog on the sidewalk and another person was coming the other way, non-threatening, I doubt the dog would have done anything.

Yes, with properly raised pit bulls, most (some?) would not be afraid, and would expect one walking through a local park to be friendly. But that is always an impossible thing to know when approaching any dog, much less a pit bull, with the reputations they have.

*Side story (and I realize it might not be popular with pit bull owners/lovers, so please bear with me.)

I lived with the sweetest, most brilliant, loveable pit bull in the world, when I was in college. And yet one day, when I took her to my farm in Mississippi for the first time, she surprised me, and attacked one of our cows, viciously. It was shocking. There was blood. She was my pet, my love, and I did not see it coming. Since that instance, I stand on the fence of the pit bull controversy of whether nature vs. nurture causes these dogs to have violent reactions. It's far trickier than I'd ever wanted to believe, bc before that instance, I thought they got a bad rap and I stood ferociously in support of pit bulls being kind animals. (I still love them, but would think twice before having one as a pet ever again.)

I just find it incredibly bold that a suspect would be willing to take on a pit bull in the process of a murder, not knowing if it was "polite" or not! It's such a massive risk, regardless of where you stand on pit bulls!

 

[SleepyLabRat]

Most of the properly raised pitbulls I have known have been pretty friendly. I have no reason to believe this dog wasn't raised well. If she was walking the dog on the sidewalk and another person was coming the other way, non-threatening, I doubt the dog would have done anything.

Exactly. As an Atlantan, I can tell you that there’s no way a poorly behaved and/or aggressive dog could be walked down 10th Street, regardless of the time.
It still just blows my mind, though, that no one heard anything. I don’t see how that’s even possible in that location unless he instantly incapacitated her in a way that left her unable to scream.

 

[Atlmom]

The dog Bowie, Knew the killer. IMHO

I’m curious why you think this…do you mind elaborating? Thanks!

 

[jiminy]

Whether aggressive or not (all dogs are animals in the end and even my sweet little baby could tear me to bits if she suddenly decided to), Pits are known to be super protective of their family. I feel like you'd either have to know that particular dog or be genuinely crazy to have done what seems to have happened here. (Assuming there was one assailant.)

 

[K.jill]

My sweet angel pit does not like anyone to get close to me. Even my husband who she loves dearly. If he or a friend hug me she will sometimes try to get in between us.
I think Bowie was probably used to walking in the city snd different kinds of people. I bet he was well behaved. I also net he was on alert. Dogs have such an amazing sense of smell. It may be silly but I figure the killer had to have a smell..of nervous sweat at least. I just can not imagine how the killer was able to do this.
They were able to get some dna on Bowie. How long does it take for results to come in?

 

[PrairieWind]

Whether aggressive or not (all dogs are animals in the end and even my sweet little baby could tear me to bits if she suddenly decided to), Pits are known to be super protective of their family. I feel like you'd either have to know that particular dog or be genuinely crazy to have done what seems to have happened here. (Assuming there was one assailant.)

I don't doubt that this assailant is crazy. But nonetheless, was able to pull this off. And I would agree that it is likely just one assailant, but we don't know for sure of course.

 

[PrairieWind]

My sweet angel pit does not like anyone to get close to me. Even my husband who she loves dearly. If he or a friend hug me she will sometimes try to get in between us.
I think Bowie was probably used to walking in the city snd different kinds of people. I bet he was well behaved. I also net he was on alert. Dogs have such an amazing sense of smell. It may be silly but I figure the killer had to have a smell..of nervous sweat at least. I just can not imagine how the killer was able to do this.
They were able to get some dna on Bowie. How long does it take for results to come in?

Since this is a high profile and very brutal case, and the FBI is involved, I would expect DNA results to be done in just days. But if there is nothing to match them to, it wont be much good at first. Hopefully the police did recover good dna and/or fingerprints and the killer is already on file.

 

[dotr]

Thoughts for now..
Total speculation of course, but one way i can see the attack going down is if KJ had a leash that can release more line, ie.KJ is walking close to the path, extends the leash allowing the dog to enter the park to do business, or not, while KJ stands a bit in the distance, perhaps distracted with a phone, or not.

Perp not immediately seeing dog, suddenly lunges/slashes at KJ and the dog comes running at perp who lifts whatever weapon he has in hand and fatally kills or 'neutralizes' dog.
KJ is pulled into park.

The weapon may be a knife, maybe a long one like a sword, maybe even a machete or who knows what, but thinking if it was long it would be able to reach the dog before the dog reached the perp.
speculation, imo, fwiw.

 

[scriabina]

Whether aggressive or not (all dogs are animals in the end and even my sweet little baby could tear me to bits if she suddenly decided to), Pits are known to be super protective of their family. I feel like you'd either have to know that particular dog or be genuinely crazy to have done what seems to have happened here. (Assuming there was one assailant.)

All humans are animals too...

I think if this person is brazen/crazy enough to kill in a public place near video cameras and park lights, they are brazen/crazy enough to attack a pitbull.

 

[skyedaze]

All humans are animals too...
.

Yes. So true.

 

[dotr]

Aug 2 2021 rbbm.
An LGBTQ Woman and Her Pitbull Were Stabbed to Death in a 'Gruesome' Murder in Atlanta. Now the FBI Is Involved.
''According to local ABC affiliate WSB-TV, it is presently “unclear how the FBI is assisting in the case,” though there is some indication that the nation’s largest law enforcement agency may be offering resources to help local authorities identify DNA evidence.

Bowie reportedly had additional DNA in his hair, which suggests the dog may have tried to protect Janness as she was being attacked.''

''According to WSB-TV reporter Michael Seiden, “a marking” was found on Janness’s body.''

''The rumor in question appears to be that a “homophobic slur” was marked on the victim’s body. WSB-TV does not currently qualify the alleged “marking” reported by Seidel but that basic description does still appear in the outlet’s reporting.''

 

[CrimeAway]

Thoughts for now..
Total speculation of course, but one way i can see the attack going down is if KJ had a leash that can release more line, ie.KJ is walking close to the path, extends the leash allowing the dog to enter the park to do business, or not, while KJ stands a bit in the distance, perhaps distracted with a phone, or not.

Perp not immediately seeing dog, suddenly lunges/slashes at KJ and the dog comes running at perp who lifts whatever weapon he has in hand and fatally kills or 'neutralizes' dog.
KJ is pulled into park.

The weapon may be a knife, maybe a long one like a sword, maybe even a machete or who knows what, but thinking if it was long it would be able to reach the dog before the dog reached the perp.
speculation, imo, fwiw.

Retractable leashes are SO dangerous, IMO. They should almost never be used, (MOO), as someone who has worked in animal rescue, and veterinary medicine for many years.

 

[skyedaze]

Are you able to reference the “mutilation aspect”?
I’m trying to verify if this is factual…. I’m not doubting you; I also read this very early on but don’t remember the source and have not seen it documented in any recent reports. IMO, it may be something investigators are keeping close to the vest.
According to Fox 5 news, “Officials with the Atlanta Police Department department told Fox 5’s Marc Teichner that the stabbing was an especially brutal crime. A veteran officer from the APD told Fox5 the stabbing was unlike anything he had seen before and that the victim had been stabbed multiple times.”

I know she was disfigured in some odd way because KJ's partner's father said so. He said they could not view her. Also, local news radio mentioned that there was some sort of marking on her.

So..the FBI...there are only a few reasons they would be involved here.
-Local Police asked them to be involved (possible killer's DNA from Bowie's mouth?)
-Hate crime (could be but the community as a whole is pro LGBTQ and not at all unusual, lots of easier targets could have been chosen)
-Something very weird or bizarre about the crime..could have similarities to other weird crimes.

To me, could be #1, #2 maybe, what was the "marking", could be #3 or, 1&3.

Honestly, I think we can all feel something is weird.

The whole thing is just terrible. Killer has to be a super messed up person to do all of that and the dog, too.

 

[dotr]

By Morse Diggs
Published 36 mins ago rbbm
Autopsy on dog belonging to Piedmont Park murder victim
''ATLANTA - Authorities are examining the dog that belonged to the woman stabbed to death in Piedmont Park.

The murder has shocked the Atlanta community. Katherine Janness was cut multiple times by an assailant who also killed her dog.

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.''

''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.''

 

[thebodyfarm]

Misinformation about Piedmont Park stabbing on social media | 11alive.com

"Then, Gwinnett County Police responded to a scene where the body of a woman was found.
She was later identified as 18-year-old Tori Lang. Lang was found with a gunshot wound in Yellow River Park.

Since then, the FBI has been called in to assist with the Piedmont Park case and another chase where the body of a person was found in a wooded area in Norcross, Norcross Police confirm.
A viral social media post shared thousands of times across several social media platforms attempts to tie all of the above together to imply a serial killer could be on the run.
A search on social media easily turns up other similar claims and posts.
On Monday, Gwinnett County Police released a statement to 11Alive, saying "detectives have found no correlation to the incident at Piedmont Park."

Norcross Police also released a statement.
"We did find a body in the woods on Friday night which sparked the Facebook rumors," the statement reads. "The body is NOT a female and was NOT mutilated or dismembered in any way."

In the Piedmont Park case, the Atlanta Police Department confirms it called in the FBI to assist, but hasn't provided details of what the involvement includes.
But multiple experts, including a former FBI agent and former police investigators, told 11Alive the FBI is called in to assist with cases of serial killers, but also in assembling a criminal profile of a suspect following a murder, hate crime investigations, analyzing DNA evidence, tracking suspects that have crossed state lines and other investigative tasks.
So, the FBI's involvement alone doesn't mean a serial killer investigation is underway.

 

[Rosegold68]

Well if the family couldn’t view the poor lady that does indicate facial trauma. Or nutilation. What a sicko to do whatever’s been done. But really, any viewing of a loved one can be made easier on the family using clothing to cover, but not facially

 

[everybodhi]

snipped
It then goes on to say that the killing of 18-year-old Tori Lang is somehow connected. She was found shot to death last week at Yellow River Park in Gwinnett County.

The post also claims there was a third killing in Norcross, but police say that’s not true.''

To clarify, from your link:
"Gwinnett County police say there is absolutely no connection between the murders of Janness and Lang."

 

[dotr]

Aug 3 2021
HAPPENING TODAY: Atlanta mayor, APD holding news conference on ‘Covid Crime Wave’
''ATLANTA — Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Atlanta Police Chief Rodney Bryant and Emory infectious diseases Dr. Carlos Del Rio will be holding a news conference Tuesday to talk about the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on crime in the city.''

''The city is reeling from the recent gruesome killing of 40-year-old Katherine Janness and her dog at Piedmont Park. Janness and her dog were found stabbed to death near the entrance of the park last week. Police have yet to find their killer.''

''Bottoms has vowed to to fight the rise in crime by launching a pilot program focused on public safety.''

 

[swedeheart]

Neighbors eager for answers on Piedmont Park homicide ahead of National Night Out event

"On Tuesday evening, Atlanta officers will be throughout the city where events are being hosted, giving residents the opportunity to interact with law enforcement. Earlier Tuesday, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Atlanta police Chief Rodney Bryant plan to hold a news conference to discuss what Bottoms has repeatedly called a “COVID crime wave.'"

"In addition to Atlanta police, numerous other metro-area law enforcement agencies plan to participate in the National Night Out event."