Katherine ‘Katie’ Janness was 40 years outdated when she and her canine Bowie have been stabbed to loss of life in Piedmont Park in Atlanta in July 2021. Their murders stay unsolved now 4 years later.
There’s a nice write up on this case on reddit by catgirl69. You’ll be able to learn it right here.
Katherine Linnet Janness was born on September 4, 1980.
Katie labored as a bartender at Campagnolo, an Italian restaurant and bar on Piedmont Avenue, and in addition at Entire World Improv Theatre on Spring Avenue in Atlanta.
Katie’s household and associates have mentioned that she liked studying books. She liked music and taught herself to play the guitar. She sang and performed guitar in a band referred to as Violet Pores and skin.
Katie Hahn, a former girlfriend, mentioned to the Washington Publish:
“Her phrases to me have been, ‘Detroit was a ghost city, and I’ve to get out and make music.’ She was a beautiful singer and songwriter of gorgeous lyrics.”
She was recognized for her artistic spirit and for having a mild nature. In 2021, Katie had been together with her accomplice Emma Clark for seven years. The couple shared two canine – Tori (14) and Bowie (3).
Emma’s father mentioned to the media after the murders “They might’ve been collectively ceaselessly. They have been that couple. “Their love and relationship was based mostly on mutual understanding to let one another stay a full life. They have been a contented couple constructing their life-long future.”
As we talked about, Katie was a bartender, so she usually labored late into the night time. On Tuesday July 27, 2021, at round 11pm, Katie took Bowie for a neighbourhood stroll. This was a routine of theirs
Clayton Skinner, a daily buyer on the bar, recounted to CBS 46:
“She was a really candy individual, a little bit geeky… She routinely walked her canine late at night time as a result of she usually labored night time shift. I feel possibly she had a way the park was safer than it’s…”
Katie had not been working that night time, however Emma was working at a close-by tavern. Katie and Bowie stopped to speak to Emma at round 11.30pm. The 2 ladies agreed that Katie would return later and stroll Emma dwelling after her shift.
Emma mentioned that she would ship Katie a textual content as soon as she was completed and that she would possible be completed in round an hour.
Katie and Bowie continued on their stroll and went into Piedmont Park.
That is some information concerning the park, together with some crime stats:
Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia, covers 189 acres. It’s situated within the coronary heart of Midtown, a energetic neighborhood in northeast Atlanta. The park is understood for its inexperienced house and leisure services.
Piedmont Park had the very best quantity of crime, with 1,595 offenses from 2009-2016. Much like citywide statistics, larceny dominated the checklist of crimes, with larceny from-vehicle costs accounting for almost 60 % of all crimes within the park. Different notable statistics embrace:
Highest in each from-vehicle larceny and non-vehicle larceny.
third highest in auto thefts, with 107 situations of stolen automobiles.
2nd highest in pedestrian robberies – makes an attempt to make use of worry or pressure to steal property from pedestrians.
At 12.20am on July 28, 2021, Emma texted Katie and mentioned that she was completed with work. She additionally tried calling Katie. Katie didn’t reply to Emma. Emma assumed Katie’s cellphone had died and determined to only stroll the few blocks to their residence.
When Emma bought dwelling and there was no signal of Katie or Bowie, she used the ‘Discover my iPhone’ app to see the place Katie was. The app confirmed that Katie’s cellphone was in Piedmont Park. The cellphone was stationery and Emma puzzled if Katie had possibly dropped and misplaced her cellphone in the dead of night.
Emma bought her bicycle and rode to the park. She arrived at round 1am, nonetheless monitoring Katie’s cellphone. As she cycled into the park, she may see a darkish determine laying on the street round 50 ft away. She realized that it was Bowie. Although it was darkish, Emma noticed that he was severely injured or killed.
Emma started to panic and began in search of Katie. Underneath a tree, she noticed Katie’s lifeless physique. Emma referred to as 911 at 1.10am.
Emma would later communicate to 11 Alive Information:
“The very first thing I seen is I noticed Bowie. He was seen from the gate of the park. He was possibly 50 ft from the gate on the within and he or she was additional on the correct. I simply ran in and grabbed him as a result of I didn’t know, possibly he was nonetheless alive. Clearly I knew one thing was unsuitable as a result of he was simply laying there. I didn’t put two and two collectively as a result of I didn’t discover her immediately.”
“I ran as much as her, I attempted to really feel for a pulse nevertheless it was clear that she was gone. I rotated and I simply ran out of the park. It was darkish, and I didn’t know what was happening. I used to be terrified and shocked. That’s once I referred to as the cops instantly.”
An post-mortem was performed on Katie and it was discovered that she had suffered greater than 50 stab wounds to her face, neck and torso. She died from “sharp pressure accidents of her face, neck, and torso” that triggered accidents to main blood vessels and inside organs. Not less than 15 of these wounds have been to her head. Katie suffered stab wounds to each of her eyes.
Katie’s physique had been mutilated – the letters “F”, “A”, and “T” had been carved into her torso, and there had been important mutilation to her higher torso. It’s believed that Katie had a tattoo and that was significantly mutilated.
Emma would inform the Washington Publish “There was a slice on her face, like in an X sample on her face. And there was a deep lower to her throat; it was lower all the best way to the bone.”
Her loss of life was categorized as a murder.
Bowie additionally died from a number of stab wounds.
After the post-mortem was launched, Emma’s father Terrell Clark, launched an announcement on behalf of the household to ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB.
“With right now’s launch of Katie’s post-mortem report it’s extra vital than ever that the seek for her killer be a high precedence for APD and the FBI,” the assertion mentioned. “The report is extraordinarily heartbreaking to learn and know the precise nature of what Katie endured in her ultimate moments on this Earth. Whoever is accountable could be very disturbed and stays a hazard to everybody’s security. Please be vigilant and conscious of your environment for we might hate for any household to be put by means of this nightmare.”
A press convention was held just a few days after the murders.
The APD Chief was quoted “This crime was so distinctive that I felt that we wanted to collaborate with as many assets as we presumably can.”
Police tried to verify CCTV from the park and located that it was outdated and never functioning on the time of the murders.
Emma additionally acknowledged to the media that she didn’t suppose theft was the motive.
“They didn’t take her cellphone. She had $200 headphones, and so they didn’t take these. They didn’t take her keys.”
As Emma’s father talked about, the FBI turned concerned in a short time. They labored with the Atlanta Police Division and so they provided a $10,000 reward for data that would assist result in an arrest.
Based on the Unresolved podcast, in August of 2021, Atlanta P.D. launched a sequence of pictures of potential witnesses seen in and round Piedmont Park on the night time of. These pictures have been from surveillance cameras throughout the road from park entrances and have been primarily individuals seen strolling by means of the park at night time, a few of whom had merely been jogging or passing by means of. These potential witnesses embrace:
– A gaggle of girls seen leaving the park at roughly 11:55 PM.
– A person seen strolling from the alternative finish of the park, on Piedmont Avenue, at roughly 12:25 AM.
– An individual in a hoodie seen strolling out of the identical finish of the park, alongside Piedmont Avenue, at 12:43 AM.
– A person in a blue working swimsuit seen jogging out and in of the park at roughly 12:46 AM. He had entered the park’s entrance the place Katie and Bowie’s our bodies have been discovered simply 15 or 20 minutes later, so it’s very potential he might have seen or heard one thing. Unusually sufficient, this man was solely contained in the park for about 40 seconds, seeming to run out and in inside a minute, however his jogging sample doesn’t appear to alter in any noticeable manner.
Police wouldn’t say whether or not any of the individuals seen within the pictures was a suspect, however that they could know one thing that would create extra leads for legislation enforcement. Chatting with the press, Atlanta Police Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. would state:
“Not saying that they’re accountable – I wish to be clear about that. However we’re hoping they noticed one thing that would additional our investigation.”
Not less than considered one of these witnesses ultimately got here ahead however it’s unknown if police made contact with all of them or if any had details about Katie’s homicide.
In November 2021, police made an announcement. They mentioned the case “stays open and really lively,” Officer Steve Avery, a spokesperson for the Atlanta Police Division, informed ABC Information on Saturday.
“Our investigators proceed working tirelessly to seek out the individual(s) accountable,” Avery mentioned in an announcement. “We perceive it’s irritating for there to be so little data launched publicly. Nevertheless, to make sure the investigation isn’t compromised, we merely can’t launch a lot data on our lively investigation. We all know how vital this case is to these in our communities and we are going to proceed our work to deliver this investigation to a decision.”
In 2024, the Atlanta Metropolis Council accepted $1.5 million in new funding for extra patrols and upgraded safety digital camera programs across the park.
“We’re going to have a presence there,” Councilmember Michael J. Bond mentioned on the time. “And we’re going to ensure everybody has a protected setting.”
In June 2025, simply earlier than the 4 yr anniversary of the murders, Atlanta PD launched this assertion:
“The investigation into the 2021 homicide of Katherine Janness and her canine, Bowie, stays lively and ongoing. The Atlanta Police Division stays dedicated to fixing this case of a life taken in an act of mindless violence and bringing justice to these accountable. Because the investigation is close to the beginning of its fourth yr, the investigation is targeted on DNA proof.”
At the moment, Channel 2 Motion Information additionally requested information concerning the necropsy that was performed on Bowie. They have been denied from the College of Georgia Faculty of Veterinary Medication, saying that the “disclosure of which might be an invasion of non-public privateness.”
“They’re going to know precisely how Bowie was killed, and that’s going to be crucial as a result of he, I consider, once more, was killed first. So, with the post-mortem, one factor they might take a look at, is there any canine hair in her wounds? She had 50 stab wounds from her head, neck and chest, so there could be an ideal risk if that very same weapon was used on him,” crime scene investigator Sheryl “Mac” McCollum informed Channel 2’s Karyn Greer.
Crime Stoppers introduced simply earlier than the 4 yr anniversary that the reward within the case had been elevated to $25,000.
SOURCE LIST
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/230067455/katherine-linnet-janness
https://unresolved.me/katie-janness
https://dixonfirm.com/weblog/atlanta-park-crime
https://www.yahoo.com/information/4-anniversary-nears-questions-remain-005226323.html
