GA - Katherine Janness, 40, fatally stabbed and dog killed, Piedmont Park, Atlanta, 28 July 2021 #2

[AtlantaBourne]

It seems very odd to me too. I think most people are busy leading their lives and have not paid close attention to this case. Most people did not watch the press conferences and those who did maybe did not listen closely enough to understand that this was a very different kind of crime. Normally I would be one of those people, I don’t usually watch the news and never watch press conferences. I started paying attention closely because this is near where I live and…Bowie. seeing the photos of katie and Bowie together and knowing what they went through breaks my heart.
I asked some neighbors this weekend if they were following the case and they told me that I thought it was a random probably homeless person. I wish the authorities would come out and say things in a way that people would hear them. If there is a danger people need to be warned and not in a nuanced kind of way.
This is just my interpretation but I think when the mayor said walk in groups of thrPark & when my mom found one of the children at her work by her car near N. Druid Hills Rd.r more and don’t go to the park at night that was her saying there is a real danger, having one other person may not help you if you run into this killer at the wrong time.

I feel the same way as I did when Eric Rudolph (sp) came here in '96 and the Atl Child murders way back in '79. When the Mayor called the murderer a monster that's what got my attention. But I have that same heart broken sunk into my gut feeling as I did the night I frantically searched for my friend at Centennial Olympic Park & my mom found one of the children near her car at work off N. Druid Hills Rd.

 

[Snoopster]

I’m getting a very strange feeling about about this…. Virtually no publicity (only 1 Facebook group about this with 70ish members and no activity) and life in Atlanta seems to be moving on as normal. Isn’t there a brutal murderer loose? This feels very odd.

There are many, many cases that receive far less attention than this case.
This case has actually received a lot of attention. Have we solved it? No. But more effort by various LE has been put forward in this case than most.

 

[Quell]

Granted, I’m a very amateur sleuth (in every sense) but I’ve followed a good bit of cases. Never, and I mean never, have I seen such little attention being paid and by LE own words it sounds like one of the more heinous acts I’ve followed. I can’t put my finger exactly on what, but something is bad off and it’s really eerie.

I have zero sleuthing cred. I only found out about this site (presumably) because it was algorithmically indicated due to my google-searching every hour to see if the killer had been id'd yet. I've stayed on the site for exactly what you've named and that's that it's virtual "crickets" on this case in the ATL as far as I can tell and interacting on here about this case has let me know it's not just me thinking things are irregular. I hope that the silence is "strategic" and I'm damn glad the FBI is involved.

 

[Lewiston]

I went to the site early this evening to leave flowers for Katie and Bowie. A large festival was underway at Piedmont Park. Walking through the happy crowds, it seemed as though the murders never occurred. The flowers and notes are decaying at the memorial site.

 

[DobbyRN]

I went to the site early this evening to leave flowers for Katie and Bowie. A large festival was underway at Piedmont Park. Walking through the happy crowds, it seemed as though the murders never occurred. The flowers and notes are decaying at the memorial site.

This is so sad.

 

[DobbyRN]

I have zero sleuthing cred. I only found out about this site (presumably) because it was algorithmically indicated due to my google-searching every hour to see if the killer had been id'd yet. I've stayed on the site for exactly what you've named and that's that it's virtual "crickets" on this case in the ATL as far as I can tell and interacting on here about this case has let me know it's not just me thinking things are irregular. I hope that the silence is "strategic" and I'm damn glad the FBI is involved.

I am glad the FBI is involved too. I keep hoping the silence is "strategic" as well. I imagine the public doesn't realize the extent of the "uniqueness" of this case, MOO.

 

[thebodyfarm]

I am glad the FBI is involved too. I keep hoping the silence is "strategic" as well. I imagine the public doesn't realize the extent of the "uniqueness" of this case, MOO.

Could it be that the body was meant to be on "display" (or left as is)? I mean, their bodies were found in a park after all. There was no attempt to cover up. If it were daylight, I assume potentially everybody walking by the park would've found the bodies. I think the killer would also crave attention, explaining the silence. This could also mean that the killer wanted to express his opinion about her, want the public to know.

 

[DobbyRN]

Could it be that the body was meant to be on "display" (or left as is)? I mean, their bodies were found in a park after all. There was no attempt to cover up. If it were daylight, I assume potentially everybody walking by the park would've found the bodies. I think the killer would also crave attention, explaining the silence. This could also mean that the killer wanted to express his opinion about her, want the public to know.

IMO, I feel like the body was definitely meant to be on "display". In my opinion, there are unique characteristics to this case that merited the immediate involvement of the FBI. Even veteran LE described the crime scene as "horrendous", "gruesome" and "unique". I realize they cannot release details without compromising the case and they do not want to incite public panic, however, I wish we knew more.

 

[gngr~snap]

Sorry I basically snipped your entire post but re: this specific point

I thought about this a couple of weeks ago, went to research, and got sidetracked so my question remains, and if anyone can weigh in - does Georgia collect DNA upon arrest or only upon conviction and is it only on felony charges or misdemeanors too?

From what I have found, I don't think GA collects DNA samples on arrest, certainly not on misdemeanors. Fingerprints, yes but DNA I don't think so.


This is from 2015



All of this of course assumes there is DNA in this case .. But the potential issue being, if this killer has been arrested in the past (in GA) for non-felonies (DUI, publix intoxication, shoplifting, loitering) then no positive ID can be made. DNA in this case would hit for other unsolved crimes. I am just thinking about the possibility that the killer has been arrested for lesser crimes in the past and may have graduated to this level of violence and have avoided their DNA being taken.

Prosecutors want to collect DNA at arrest, not after conviction


Eta - I am having trouble with quoting and other features on WS so excuse the sloppiness in the post

In 2009, it was upon conviction of a felony only.
-Even non violent felonies.
A family member of mine, with an addiction forged a prescription and got caught.
MOO

 

[Shellinaya]

I also have questions about this. I listened to the gf's 911 call. As she is in the park and on the phone with 911 you can hear the awful reaction of a male park go'er as he came across the body or the dog. But before that..............NOBODY saw anything or reported anything? Until AFTER the gf arrived?

It's my understanding from the timelines that the murders occurred between 12:46 am and 1:05 am because if memory serves, Emma made her call to 911 about 1:10 am. That's in between the blue jogger leaving the park and Emma arriving. That's about 15-20 minutes. So not much time for people to come and go from that spot.

I have this feeling with this case, pure speculation, that this murderer will do it again, or has done this before. That is a feeling that probably has a lot of people on edge. It does not seem like just a case of "let's try this out and never do it again." This just has the feel of a "professional" to it, to me.

 

[Shellinaya]

I’m getting a very strange feeling about about this…. Virtually no publicity (only 1 Facebook group about this with 70ish members and no activity) and life in Atlanta seems to be moving on as normal. Isn’t there a brutal murderer loose? This feels very odd.

It would be odd if there wasn't approx. one or two or more murders per day on average in the Atlanta area. There are a lot of them. Just look at the city's newspaper on any given day. Most are shootings. It's hard to keep up with reading about all of them and after a while you probably don't want to. I'd just guess a lot of people who visit Piedmont Park aren't even aware a murder occurred there until they see the memorial by the gate.

 

[Shellinaya]

Granted, I’m a very amateur sleuth (in every sense) but I’ve followed a good bit of cases. Never, and I mean never, have I seen such little attention being paid and by LE own words it sounds like one of the more heinous acts I’ve followed. I can’t put my finger exactly on what, but something is bad off and it’s really eerie.

This is an interesting read and might help explain the attention, or lack of attention, this case is getting. It's just the writer's opinion, not mine.

The Martyrdom of Katie Janness

"The Atlanta Police Department should not be expected to treat this case any differently than any of the other 82 homicides that have yet to be solved, except as the evidence dictates."​

 

[DobbyRN]

It's my understanding from the timelines that the murders occurred between 12:46 am and 1:05 am because if memory serves, Emma made her call to 911 about 1:10 am. That's in between the blue jogger leaving the park and Emma arriving. That's about 15-20 minutes. So not much time for people to come and go from that spot.

I have this feeling with this case, pure speculation, that this murderer will do it again, or has done this before. That is a feeling that probably has a lot of people on edge. It does not seem like just a case of "let's try this out and never do it again." This just has the feel of a "professional" to it, to me.

I absolutely 100% have that same feeling!!!!

 

[thebodyfarm]

It's my understanding from the timelines that the murders occurred between 12:46 am and 1:05 am because if memory serves, Emma made her call to 911 about 1:10 am. That's in between the blue jogger leaving the park and Emma arriving. That's about 15-20 minutes. So not much time for people to come and go from that spot.

I have this feeling with this case, pure speculation, that this murderer will do it again, or has done this before. That is a feeling that probably has a lot of people on edge. It does not seem like just a case of "let's try this out and never do it again." This just has the feel of a "professional" to it, to me.

I don't know about the 'done this before', but I definitely agree about the rest.

IMO with the level of aggression this killer seems to have, there might be some minor offenses that he made before that lead up to this moment. I think if you check his criminal record, you would see the violence slowly escalating.
This is all just speculation.

 

[MissUnderstood]

This attack seems random and unplanned. Like the perp was triggered by something and just went crazy! I don’t think there was staging or trying to conceal the body, I think the attack occurred and he ran when disturbed. The perp had to enter and exit the park at some point, that’s a lot of footage to go through. Moo

 

[Dub64]

Could it be that the body was meant to be on "display" (or left as is)? I mean, their bodies were found in a park after all. There was no attempt to cover up. If it were daylight, I assume potentially everybody walking by the park would've found the bodies. I think the killer would also crave attention, explaining the silence. This could also mean that the killer wanted to express his opinion about her, want the public to know.

I agree, I think the silence is intended.

 

[DobbyRN]

I am curious as to how silence can help the case. I am also an amateur sleuth and I am sincerely curious.

 

[coldlanta]

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jensen-and-holes-the-murder-squad/id1455668750?i=1000532138672

Jensen and Holes: The Murder Squad released an episode today on recent unsolved cases and they discuss the Katie Janess case.

 

[thebodyfarm]

I am curious as to how silence can help the case. I am also an amateur sleuth and I am sincerely curious.

Some killers thrive on the attention they get from the public. Radar and Berkowitz were some of them, they even created their own bynames. IF this killer is one of those types, he would want as much attention and recognition as he could get.
Reducing the number of articles featuring him could potentially get his feathers all ruffled up. As killers like these crave attention, they would do almost anything to get it from the media. That's how Radar got caught, simply because he just wanted to talk and let people know that he was not dead and very much free. Anyway, this would make our killer more prone to be making a mistake (get more stubborn and stupidly brave. We've already seen how he loves to make a statement) whilst trying to get the recognition he's trying to achieve, therefore, making it easier for LE to catch them.

 

[thebodyfarm]

This attack seems random and unplanned. Like the perp was triggered by something and just went crazy! I don’t think there was staging or trying to conceal the body, I think the attack occurred and he ran when disturbed. The perp had to enter and exit the park at some point, that’s a lot of footage to go through. Moo

I don't think it was impulsive. There was no attempt to cover up because he wanted it like that. IMO if he ran so suddenly, as you observed, there would be a lot of blood on him. Anybody would've noticed that. Furthermore, security cameras didn't have anything like that. If it did, I'm pretty sure we would've caught the killer by now.