"There is no full sample of DNA, there is no DNA from what I know to test, so this is really going to be a case, I think, where old school detective work where leather hits the pavement," said retired Atlanta homicide detective Vince Velazquez, who consulted with the lead detective on this case.
Investigators will have to rely on a possible profile and good old-fashion police work in solving the murder of Katie Janness who was found dead in Piedmont Park at the end of July 2021.
Velazquez said right now there doesn't seem to be an intimate connection between Janness and the killer.
"The other element that a lot of people don't understand...people with mental illness. We've had cases like this. In their mind, whatever voices their hearing or whatever demons, they're fighting, it's transferred into that object. It could be that person and there really isn't an intimate connection," Velazquez said.
He said any small lead can be the thing to break this case and anyone who may have witnessed something that night out of place, out of the ordinary, no matter how big or small, should come forward. It might be the difference between letting a potentially violent predator go free and justice for Janness, not to mention the peace of mind for an entire city.
'We are getting close': Atlanta police say Piedmont Park murder investigation still 'very active'