Factual question: were the Charles Allen gate cameras working? I thought there was an issue of non-functioning cameras.
Rest is JMO:
Everyone is entitled to their own theories but I don't think there is any evidence from which we can conclude that Katie was up to anything that would cause her to actively avoid ordinary public security cameras. JMO. I realize that we have to consider the possibility that she went out of her way to buy drugs, since that is a factor in so many homicides, but I believe that there is zero evidence for this. Likewise, the idea of a scheduled meet-up with no digital traces defies credulity IMO.
After following this case for a while, I have also backed away from the idea that this crime was premeditated by a skilled and careful criminal. My original theory is that either Katie or Emma had met a stalker through their food service jobs, because servers are obligated to be polite and an unbalanced person could misinterpret this friendliness, as well as being affected by homophobia. And others have theorized this was premeditated to gratify sexual sadism. I enjoy fictive theories as much as the next person (my personal tinfoil hat in other cases is espionage) but here I don't think we are dealing with an elusive Lecter-style criminal.
I think that this was a random attack by someone experiencing a psychotic event. The Point Defiance attack (committed by an Atlanta native who fled to ATL after the WA assault) is what changed my mind. The difference in WA is that the victim (who survived) and a witness were able to provide a description, resulting in a detailed sketch. The accused was involved with the mental health system and presumably with the sketch LE was able to connect the dots. Even if it wasn't the same perp (I don't know whether the WA guy was in ATL in 2021) I think it is a similar type of crime.
To me it seems much more likely that she was on a unplanned, meandering walk with her dog and was attacked at random by someone who was very disturbed and also very lucky at leaving minimal/no forensic evidence. I hope her family and friends receive peace and justice.