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

[Rush4087]

How can we find out if Semmie Lee Williams was in the Atlanta area on July 28, 2021?

I can only think of one other severely mentally ill psychopathic stabber who was in the Atlanta area at that time (and who was also known to stab victims in the face, head, neck, and torso areas): Austin William Lanz

Lanz was the guy who was let out on bond here in the Atl area on July 19. Then on August 3 he got off a bus in Arlington, VA and immediately stabbed a Pentagon police office to death (mostly head and neck wounds) for no reason. Other police then shot Lanz dead to stop the attack. They say he had arrived in the DC area just a day or two before the incident

If the name sounds familiar, it’s because it was Austin’s William Lanz’s younger brother Matthew Scott Lanz who recently shot and killed a nice 31 year old couple (Firefighter and his wife) in their bed in the house next door to the Lanz’s uo in Acworth (didn’t harm the two year old toddler). They were neighbors..

I know it’s a long shot. And I’m sure LE is on top of it. And how many psychopaths can there be out there anyway (wait, don’t answer that..)?

all jmo and/or speculation

 

[Jenorlatl]

I’ll be honest, the seriousness in which Holes spoke about the autopsy findings kinda scares me a bit. Because you can really tell he’s concerned about this case. You can just hear it in his voice.

The transcript also scared me. There are so many theories, and I just cant wrap my head around it all.

The thing is...I don't know these guys, but it seems as though they have a lot of experience. More than APD I would imagine. The fact that they are basically warning ATL that is may happen again, but APD is over here like "Oh...its fine." makes me wonder. I wonder if APD really, truly believes its not a serial killer. I mean, its only a 50/50 chance. It is either a stranger (a serial killer who will strike again) or its someone she knows who is just a freaking demonic psychopath.

 

[PrairieWind]

The transcript also scared me. There are so many theories, and I just cant wrap my head around it all.

The thing is...I don't know these guys, but it seems as though they have a lot of experience. More than APD I would imagine. The fact that they are basically warning ATL that is may happen again, but APD is over here like "Oh...its fine." makes me wonder. I wonder if APD really, truly believes its not a serial killer. I mean, its only a 50/50 chance. It is either a stranger (a serial killer who will strike again) or its someone she knows who is just a freaking demonic psychopath.

Yes those guys have a lot of experience for sure. More than APD? I wouldn't say that. Few police departments deal with more murders than APD. But APD is swamped. They have a backlog of murders and are getting a new one about every other day. Manpower is stretched. The murder squad guys are able to take a few cases and really focus on them and locate other recourses to assist. Police depatments would be well advised to take advantage of those resources and recommendations. But keep in mind, there is already criticism in Atlanta that APD and media have given too MUCH attention to this case in comparison to all the other murders in the city.

 

[Atlmom]

I’ll be honest, the seriousness in which Holes spoke about the autopsy findings kinda scares me a bit. Because you can really tell he’s concerned about this case. You can just hear it in his voice.

@ cujenn81, I agree.

And then we have Atlanta city government playing it down….this is random, walk in pairs and you’ll be ok. Terrifying.

 

[dotr]

It is either a stranger (a serial killer who will strike again) or its someone she knows who is just a freaking demonic psychopath.

Rbsbm.
Have to say i love this, it is the perfect moniker, a FDP! imo.

 

[PrairieWind]

Rbsbm.
Have to say i love this, it is the perfect moniker, an FDP! imo.

I'll have to add that term to my regular vocab as well. But she is right. Its not like this was a mugging that went bad or even a typical sexual assault. The purpose of this attack was to kill KJ, and to do so in a horrific, torturous, humiliating manner. Who would do that? As far as I have heard, Katie and Emma didn't have any enemies. Although, since they both worked in bar/restaurants as servers, you never know who they might have come across. And they didn't seem to have any problems in their relationship. So I tend to think it was a random attack, just a FDP looking for a victim that night OR someone that was perhaps obsessed with Emma that saw Katie as a rival in his/her sick and twisted mind.

 

[Lissie11]

I'll have to add that term to my regular vocab as well. But she is right. Its not like this was a mugging that went bad or even a typical sexual assault. The purpose of this attack was to kill KJ, and to do so in a horrific, torturous, humiliating manner. Who would do that? As far as I have heard, Katie and Emma didn't have any enemies. Although, since they both worked in bar/restaurants as servers, you never know who they might have come across. And they didn't seem to have any problems in their relationship. So I tend to think it was a random attack, just a FDP looking for a victim that night OR someone that was perhaps obsessed with Emma that saw Katie as a rival in his/her sick and twisted mind.

I think you hit the nail on the head. The purpose was to kill KJ. This murder seems to have a femininity to it. I cant explain it but it from the gentle carving on the face, the word FAT to the lack of sexual activity. So strange.

 

[Periwinkl3]

The multiple stabbing of the tattoo at the base of her back just can't be random. So purposefully and intensely focusing on that area strikes me as a punishment for her having done something the killer objected to, or that perhaps they had argued about. It's hard for me to imagine so much rage from a stranger, even a hired hitman. The attention to that particular tattoo is perversely intimate. Does anyone know the subject matter or words on that tattoo?

Also: this seems like a very male killer to me. The expert analysis of the autopsy indicates that KJ was alive during at least some to the stabbing. To me, it's much more sadistic than a woman would do. And typically women use less violent means to commit murder (famously, poisoning). This to me speaks to someone making 100% sure to have the last word.

I wonder if either woman in the couple had had relationships with men that ended very badly?

 

[fred&edna]

It seems many of us can see similarities to this case in other historic (Ripper, Black Dahlia, Lipstick murder, A Fish) murders... at least with regard to some aspects. Anyone have suggestions on how and/or where to search (online) for unsolved lust mutilation murder cases within the US in the last 10-15 years?

Last night, I found myself reading about the unsolved murder of Al Kite (Colorado) in 2004. As well as the solved case of the murder of David Vargas (Idaho) in 2018. While both of these were tortuous, neither fit the description of Katie's murder.

 

[AtlantaBourne]

How can we find out if Semmie Lee Williams was in the Atlanta area on July 28, 2021?

Quote snipped by me.
I watched as many UT videos of Semmie Lee 7 as I could take. He appears to be in Cairo, NY 6-7 months ago, then he states he's in Baltimore, MD & there are leaves on the trees. I did some research after reading that he rides trains. There is an Amtrak train (The Crescent Line) that leaves Baltimore daily around 5:15pm & arrives in Atlanta around 9am the next morning. The train station is off of Peachtree St about 1-1/2--2 miles from Piedmont Park. Other than speculation, I don't know how to find out if he rode that train.

 

[ELepo]

Have you guys read this about Lust Killers? It's apparently from an old FBI handbook. IMO, This guy is text book asocial type. I thought this was super interesting.
https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/68689NCJRS.pdf

 

[dotr]

Have you guys read this about Lust Killers? It's apparently from an old FBI handbook. IMO, This guy is text book asocial type. I thought this was super interesting.
https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/Digitization/68689NCJRS.pdf

Welcome to Ws ELepo, thank you for the interesting link!
This also caught my attention, fwiw..
Female Lust Killers
January 9, 2019
Katherine Ramsland Ph.D.
''Most data about violent crime and criminal types have centered on males, because males have always been more aggressive, violent, and criminally versatile than females. They dominate the area of sexual crimes and thrill-killing. Collectively, criminologists agree that females rarely kill for erotic pleasure, and some experts have even claimed that there has never been a female lust murderer. However, such women do exist. Some were part of a team, like Karla Homolka, Catherine Birnie and Rosemary West (they were not “compliant accomplices”), and some have acted alone.''

 

[fred&edna]

I think you hit the nail on the head. The purpose was to kill KJ. This murder seems to have a femininity to it. I cant explain it but it from the gentle carving on the face, the word FAT to the lack of sexual ac tivity. So strange.

I know what you mean. Yet, it seems this case could (or does) fall into the category of a sexual murder.

I found this article (and the links within) informative

Life on a Knife Edge

 

[Nancy19XX]

Did they ever get a geofence warrant on this case? Wondering if that could help find a suspect.

 

[Jenorlatl]

I'll have to add that term to my regular vocab as well. But she is right. Its not like this was a mugging that went bad or even a typical sexual assault. The purpose of this attack was to kill KJ, and to do so in a horrific, torturous, humiliating manner. Who would do that? As far as I have heard, Katie and Emma didn't have any enemies. Although, since they both worked in bar/restaurants as servers, you never know who they might have come across. And they didn't seem to have any problems in their relationship. So I tend to think it was a random attack, just a FDP looking for a victim that night OR someone that was perhaps obsessed with Emma that saw Katie as a rival in his/her sick and twisted mind.

This is the part that gets me. A complete stranger would not know she has a tattoo on her lower back. Unless he undressed her and analyzed it. In order to do that, she would have to be still, because if he had her on the ground looking her over, she would have been moving around and screaming and hitting him, etc. So, he would have had to nearly kill her first to incapacitate her, then look over her body and decide what to do. But she had defensive wounds and she was bleeding, so she was alive during most of the attack? HOW did he keep her quiet?

I think the order of her wounds makes a huge difference in determining the motive. I also think its odd that they did focus on her face and back tattoo because that's not random. That's just weird. Now, if KJ had a backstory to her tattoo, maybe that will help figure out the motive as well. Where did she get the tattoo? Was it old or recent? Who gave her the tattoo, and is it symbolic?

I also have a feeling that this is linked to jealousy or revenge, or maybe a co-worker/customer. I really do think so...

 

[PrairieWind]

This is the part that gets me. A complete stranger would not know she has a tattoo on her lower back. Unless he undressed her and analyzed it. In order to do that, she would have to be still, because if he had her on the ground looking her over, she would have been moving around and screaming and hitting him, etc. So, he would have had to nearly kill her first to incapacitate her, then look over her body and decide what to do. But she had defensive wounds and she was bleeding, so she was alive during most of the attack? HOW did he keep her quiet?

I think the order of her wounds makes a huge difference in determining the motive. I also think its odd that they did focus on her face and back tattoo because that's not random. That's just weird. Now, if KJ had a backstory to her tattoo, maybe that will help figure out the motive as well. Where did she get the tattoo? Was it old or recent? Who gave her the tattoo, and is it symbolic?

I also have a feeling that this is linked to jealousy or revenge, or maybe a co-worker/customer. I really do think so...

You raise some good points here. How did the killer know about the tattoo. My initial understanding was that her shirt was up and pants down, but I need to go back and verify. So maybe he saw it then and it angered him. But the attack would have been in partial darkness. Who knows.

I also think the order or sequence of the injuries is important. You would think that if she was repeatedly being attacked, and stabbed that she would be screaming. If so, I would think someone would have heard and reported that. So I wonder if the cut to the throat was the first injury. That would have stopped any screaming. There is just so much that we don't know.

 

[Lissie11]

Did they ever get a geofence warrant on this case? Wondering if that could help find a suspect.

SMART!

 

[branmuffin]

Was the tattoo that appeared to be targeted with multiple stab wounds one of those that many young girls get at the base of the spine? They are sometimes referred to as 'tramp stamps'. Many women now regret getting them done when young because the symbols they had tattooed didn't have the spiritual reference they thought they had which could be humorous ( One restaurant owner told the tattooed waitress her symbols said 'Chop Suey'). They have been derided as tacky but funnily enough they are making inroads again, especially among gay women. Here is a very interesting article regarding the resurgence of the tramp stamp and its relationship to misogyny.

Tramp stamps are making a comeback

Without knowing the location of the tattoo this theory is pure speculation. IMO

 

[Lissie11]

You raise some good points here. How did the killer know about the tattoo. My initial understanding was that her shirt was up and pants down, but I need to go back and verify. So maybe he saw it then and it angered him. But the attack would have been in partial darkness. Who knows.

I also think the order or sequence of the injuries is important. You would think that if she was repeatedly being attacked, and stabbed that she would be screaming. If so, I would think someone would have heard and reported that. So I wonder if the cut to the throat was the first injury. That would have stopped any screaming. There is just so much that we don't know.

Scream rape and no one will come, yell fire and everyone will. She could have screamed and no one heard or cared. Dog could have barked no one could have heard or cared. This city is so noisy who knows. Her shirt was "pulled" whatever that means and pants at her knees ( I think to humiliate or from dragging ) That place is dark. I mean DARK. I have been at scene at 9pm and I'm here to tell you that in the nest of trees adjacent to field and possibly where this attack occurred an attack in process could easily go undetected.

 

[PrairieWind]

Was the tattoo that appeared to be targeted with multiple stab wounds one of those that many young girls get at the base of the spine? They are sometimes referred to as 'tramp stamps'. Many women now regret getting them done when young because the symbols they had tattooed didn't have the spiritual reference they thought they had which could be humorous ( One restaurant owner told the tattooed waitress her symbols said 'Chop Suey'). They have been derided as tacky but funnily enough they are making inroads again, especially among gay women. Here is a very interesting article regarding the resurgence of the tramp stamp and its relationship to misogyny.

Tramp stamps are making a comeback

Without knowing the location of the tattoo this theory is pure speculation. IMO

I assume that the "lower back tattoo" is what we commonly refer to as a "tramp stamp." I dislike that term but it is has become pretty ubiquitous. I know lots of women that have them. I'm not a huge fan of tattoos but I have found these to be actually quite attractive. Most I have seen have been just swirls or vines/flowers, etc. But to the person with a twisted mind, that tattoo could mean anything.

I meant to re-listen to Joseph Scott Morgan's analysis of the autopsy last night on that podcase but I fell asleep. LOL. I don't recall him mentioning it, but he may have just mentioned stab wounds to the lower back without drawing attention to the tattoo. Can't remember. Maybe tonight