GA - Katherine Janness, 40, fatally stabbed and dog killed, Piedmont Park, Atlanta, 28 Jul 2021 #3

[Doriansay]

I do, too, at this point. I feel like if there was any helpful camera footage or other evidence, they'd have arrested someone by now. It's so frustrating that the DNA most likely hasn't been tested yet. I can't believe that this is the perpetrator's first crime, so I'm hoping his DNA is in the system.

My thoughts exactly!!

 

[CLGM]

*snipped for focus*

View attachment 325348
View of where KJ found from 10th St

So, there's not a stone wall along 10th St.? You can see straight into the park from the street?

 

[JayLee#99]

I don’t think the two are related per se, even if they are similar. This man hasn’t lived in ATL in over 4 years.

Also, LE does not need to be inundated with “tips” that are public knowledge. They get paid to make these connections. There is no connection that anyone can make here short of knowing the killer or observing something odd that would make a difference.

The whole point of tips is to provide information they might not be privy to. I know you are trying to help, but maybe this is not the best way.

The man didn’t live in the town he committed the murder. In fact, he doesn’t “live” anywhere. He is homeless and a drifter. He also traveled over an hour to a place where he has no known connections. I don’t have faith that LE should be able to make the connections. They have failed to do so many, many times before. Especially if it’s in another state. I also don’t think we should ever discourage someone from calling/sending a tip because you really never know.

 

[Quell]

So, there's not a stone wall along 10th St.? You can see straight into the park from the street?

Charles Allen Gate/Entrance is stone but the rest of the 10th street side of the park is porous (going from memory); So, no walls.

 

[Doriansay]

The man didn’t live in the town he committed the murder. In fact, he doesn’t “live” anywhere. He is homeless and a drifter. He also traveled over an hour to a place where he has no known connections. I don’t have faith that LE should be able to make the connections. They have failed to do so many, many times before. Especially if it’s in another state. I also don’t think we should ever discourage someone from calling/sending a tip because you really never know.

It’s national news and the FBI is on it. Its nothing personal—I have just read about the drawbacks of tipsters calling in publicly available information and trying to connect the dots themselves considering such knowledge isn’t really a “tip” as much as it’s people on their couch playing Clue. It’s a resources issue. The utility of reporting something so publicly known is zero.

Edit:This man is actually already on Fulton county’s radar by the way for attempting to strangle an elderly man to death a few years ago. They definitely have institutional knowledge of his existence and the fact that he was freed in Fulton* after a violent crime and then went on to kill a 14 year old boy has certainly boomeranged backed to them…

*I think he was deemed unfit to stand trial and I don’t mean to make an assessment about whether what Fulton did was right or wrong as much as I’m pointing out that this news certainly got back to them.

 

[TL4S]

For those not familiar with PP & to hopefully help answer some recent questions I'm posting some pics from MSM reports & Google street view:
View attachment 325346
07/28/21 2 detectives at crime scene. Vase w/flowers & card where KJ was found. Notice lamp post on right side. The area known as the meadows in background.View attachment 325347
Another angle of vase. Far in background is 10th St. going towards Monroe Dr.
View attachment 325348
View of where KJ found from 10th St
View attachment 325349
Charles Allen & 10th. Notice camera on left post where pics of jogger & other potential witnesses came from.
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CA entrance to PP. Public RR bldg on right.
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Another view of CA entrance showing gate.

Thank you for these. It has always been curious to me how much light there was where KJ was found. EC said she saw Bowie, but didn't see KJ right away because it was darker there. Yet when she was on the 911 call, the guy that came out yelling was apparently able to see KJ from wherever he was on the road/path. I'm not accusing anyone of anything, I've just always wondered how much light the killer had to do what he/she/they did.

 

[FonescaFan]

Most people know their killers but most people are killed in their own home or in the parking lot of their job etc.

Most of these deaths also involve firearms, so these common preconceptions about the victim knowing the killer don’t apply here.

Also the timing involved is insane. Someone couldn’t plan to run into her like that even if they tried. It just seems coincidental.

Also when it comes to being ambushed in a park (which Katie probably was considering the ear bud found near her ear), the perpetrator is more likely to be random. There is also evidence this person lingered, something someone known to the victim would not do—and a fact that the DA said was unusual.

It would also be easy to whittle down a list of people in her life who had a known grudge against her, and they haven’t even named a person of interest 4 months later. I think this will be solved by a break in DNA—either through genetic genealogy or because the perp’s DNA is matched to another crime.

Someone who ran into her earlier or spotted her on her walk could have followed her. Or suggested they meet up in the park. Since so few facts have been made available, nothing can be ruled out yet. IMO.

 

[MadisonS]

This murder has all the signs of being intensely personal, though. The damage to her face and to her tattoo, especially, but also the sheer number of wounds. It was literally overkill.

But it also has all of the signs of a 'Ripper' style murder. Based on the 'Rippers' who have been caught (Gainesville, Chicago, Yorkshire, etc) none of the killers knew their victims.

 

[Valiant]

Some people may not be familiar with an odd part of the Georgia law. Someone can be banished from a county by a judge.
Georgia court: Judges can banish criminals
Sammie Lee Williams was banished from Fulton county (the county containing Atlanta and Piedmont Park) after a plea deal in 2018 and went to live in Florida with his mother. It's very unlikely he'd have managed to not have a run in with law enforcement had he returned to Atlanta/Fulton County for any length of time.
Man tied to metro Atlanta accused of stabbing, killing 14-year-old in ‘chance encounter’ in Miami
That's why I think speculation about him is a dead end.

 

[Doriansay]

Some people may not be familiar with an odd part of the Georgia law. Someone can be banished from a county by a judge.
Georgia court: Judges can banish criminals
Sammie Lee Williams was banished from Fulton county (the county containing Atlanta and Piedmont Park) after a plea deal in 2018 and went to live in Florida with his mother. It's very unlikely he'd have managed to not have a run in with law enforcement had he returned to Atlanta/Fulton County for any length of time.
Man tied to metro Atlanta accused of stabbing, killing 14-year-old in ‘chance encounter’ in Miami
That's why I think speculation about him is a dead end.

Yeah I read that he was banished too… I don’t think he’s connected to this case either for that reason. He seems to have stuck around in Florida ever since he was banished judging from the news articles I’ve read of course. At the very least, it’s foolish to leave a tip about him because I find it hard to believe they would have no idea about the murder of that 14 year old boy considering his history in ATL, but I could be wrong. It just seems like the type of thing they’d be alerted about, even if for PR reasons alone.

 

[Doriansay]

But it also has all of the signs of a 'Ripper' style murder. Based on the 'Rippers' who have been caught (Gainesville, Chicago, Yorkshire, etc) none of the killers knew their victims.

I agree. It seems grotesque beyond a level of personal.

 

[PrairieWind]

For those not familiar with PP & to hopefully help answer some recent questions I'm posting some pics from MSM reports & Google street view:
View attachment 325346
07/28/21 2 detectives at crime scene. Vase w/flowers & card where KJ was found. Notice lamp post on right side. The area known as the meadows in background.View attachment 325347
Another angle of vase. Far in background is 10th St. going towards Monroe Dr.
View attachment 325348
View of where KJ found from 10th St
View attachment 325349
Charles Allen & 10th. Notice camera on left post where pics of jogger & other potential witnesses came from.
View attachment 325351
CA entrance to PP. Public RR bldg on right.
View attachment 325352
Another view of CA entrance showing gate.

Thanks for posting these. I do question whether the spot where the flowers are seen there is actually where Katie's body was found. I think she must have been a bit further south, a little into the trees. The initial reports said she was found about 150 feet from the gate. Those flowers/vase as seen in that photo I put at about 270 feet from the gate. So either the reports of her location were off or whoever placed the flowers just did so at a point along the path and didn't go up to the actual spot. I don't think it is all that relevant in regards to the flowers, but I have been just trying to get an accurate idea of where both Bowie and Katie were found.

 

[Jenorlatl]

Thanks for posting these. I do question whether the spot where the flowers are seen there is actually where Katie's body was found. I think she must have been a bit further south, a little into the trees. The initial reports said she was found about 150 feet from the gate. Those flowers/vase as seen in that photo I put at about 270 feet from the gate. So either the reports of her location were off or whoever placed the flowers just did so at a point along the path and didn't go up to the actual spot. I don't think it is all that relevant in regards to the flowers, but I have been just trying to get an accurate idea of where both Bowie and Katie were found.

I think it depends who put the flowers there. If it was EC, then it should be accurate to where she was found. If it was a random friend, then they would not know exactly where her body was found unless they were there...

 

[PrairieWind]

I think it depends who put the flowers there. If it was EC, then it should be accurate to where she was found. If it was a random friend, then they would not know exactly where her body was found unless they were there...

Wasn't it posted that the flowers and card were left by the other person that found Katie that night?

 

[Quell]

Wasn't it posted that the flowers and card were left by the other person that found Katie that night?

Yes.

 

[AtlantaBourne]

Posting another pic. An overhead drone view of the area where KJ & Bowie were found. 10th St is to the left, the lake to the right, the meadows in the bottom of the shot taken at sunset showing alot of leaves on the trees. The circle w/path going west (towards the sun) is where the flowers/vase were under that large tree.

Overhead view

Also a 21+ minute video of someone walking from Juniper St & 12th St thru the 12th St entrance to PP(3.30 mark) down the roadway next to the lake(7.30-12.00 minutes), taking right fork in rdwy towards 10th St & CA exit (13.10-15.00). The exit at CA continues or picks back up on the video at 18.40 then down 10th towards Monroe Dr. If you have trouble sleeping, I would suggest watching the whole video.

 

[PrairieWind]

That is a great video AtlantaBourne. Such a beautiful park.

 

[Atlmom]

I saw this on NextDoor yesterday. Recent murder of a couple on Jackson Street…both victims stabbed to death. Appears the victims knew the killer and allowed him in their apartment and robbery was the likely motive. APD seeking help from the public identifying the suspect. Doubt this is related to Katie & Bowie but similarities include stabbing deaths AND suspect stayed at the apartment for about 90 minutes…makes it hard to overlook. Clear video evidence of suspect, hope he’s apprehended soon.

Video shows suspect in stabbing death of man, woman at NE Atlanta apartment complex

 

[AtlantaBourne]

I saw this on NextDoor yesterday. Recent murder of a couple on Jackson Street…both victims stabbed to death. Appears the victims knew the killer and allowed him in their apartment and robbery was the likely motive. APD seeking help from the public identifying the suspect. Doubt this is related to Katie & Bowie but similarities include stabbing deaths AND suspect stayed at the apartment for about 90 minutes…makes it hard to overlook. Clear video evidence of suspect, hope he’s apprehended soon.

Video shows suspect in stabbing death of man, woman at NE Atlanta apartment complex

Interesting. These murders took place 1.7 miles from 10 St & CA Dr. The apts are off of Parkway Pl which changes to Charles Allen Dr when crossing over North Ave. A straight shot from these apts to PP.

 

[Atlmom]

Interesting. These murders took place 1.7 miles from 10 St & CA Dr. The apts are off of Parkway Pl which changes to Charles Allen Dr when crossing over North Ave. A straight shot from these apts to PP.

@ AtlantaBourne. Exactly, Stabbing, 2 victims, not too far from Piedmont Park. Killer hung around awhile (90 minutes total; although we don’t know what time the deaths occurred). Perp had to be in decent shape to run down that hallway with the safe as shown in the video, throw it over the fence and then jump the fence. From comments on NextDoor, apparently some people recognized the perp in the video and have called in tips to the hotline. Can’t get this one off the streets soon enough…too close for comfort.

@ AtlantaBourne…. Are these apartments on Parkway Place? I read Jackson Street but I’m not familiar with the streets right there. But as you mentioned, not unusual for the same street to change names several times at different locations.