4 years after Piedmont Park killing, Katie Janness’ case remains unsolved

For those who knew Janness best, Atlanta never felt the same after she and her dog Bowie were found fatally stabbed multiple times just inside the park off the 10th Street entrance on July 28, 2021. Janness, 40, lived near the Midtown park, loved to sing and worked at a nearby restaurant.

The killing prompted demands for better park safety and spurred countless online sleuths to dissect the few details police have released. As the years have passed, memories of the incident have faded.

Some who walked through the park in recent weeks did not recall Janness’ name, only remembering a woman had been killed there. Others said they had not heard about the incident at all.

Atlanta police, however, recently said the investigation “remains active and ongoing” and that they are focused on “DNA evidence.” No suspects have been named.

What happened to Katie Janness?

Emma Clark, Janness’ girlfriend of about seven years, discovered her body just after 1 a.m. about 100 yards inside the Piedmont Park entrance at Charles Allen Drive and 10th Street. Clark had tracked Janness’ phone after she never returned home from her evening walk with Bowie.

Janness had been stabbed more than 50 times, and the letters “FAT” had been carved into her chest and torso, police said. The dog’s body was discovered about 100 feet away.

“It is my opinion that Katherine Janness died due to sharp force injuries of her face, neck and torso that caused injuries of major blood vessels and internal organs,” Dr. Karen Sullivan wrote in an autopsy report released soon after the incident. “The manner of Ms. Janness’ death is classified as a homicide.”

The killing was one of 160 homicide cases Atlanta police investigated in 2021, but Janness was the first person killed in the popular park since 2009, authorities said.

Since the killing

Stupka is among those advocating for Janness’ case not to be forgotten. As more time went by, Stupka became frustrated that little information had been released and little progress appeared to be made.

Atlanta police have been reluctant to share details of the case and declined to comment beyond the recent statement. In 2023, police said the FBI was looped in with the hopes of identifying a suspect.

“She hasn’t had justice. There’s frustration, there’s anger, all that kind of stuff you work through for a semblance of peace, but I would like for everybody to have more peace with this,” said Stupka, one of Janness’ longtime friends.

Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Stupka said she never felt safe in Atlanta after her friend’s killing. So she left. Though she visits the city and the U.S. often to see family and friends, she has called Bali home for the past two years.

In a recent statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a spokesperson for Mayor Andre Dickens said, “All victims and their families deserve justice, and the mayor’s thoughts are always with those suffering the loss of a loved one.”

Piedmont Park security

In the weeks leading up to the grim four-year anniversary, a bench memorializing Janness and her dog was occasionally occupied. It was installed in 2022 in the dog park.

Edward Bauer, 44, grew up in Atlanta, frequents the park often and knows the case well. He remembers the uproar after the killing but said he hasn’t noticed many security changes to Piedmont Park.

“I am cognizant of the fact that I don’t have to worry as much,” Bauer said in late June after leaving the dog park. “But, at the same time, it’s the type of random crime that can occur in any large city.”

Police have added two cameras, for a total of five, since 2021 along the park’s perimeter, which includes Piedmont Avenue, 10th Street and Monroe Drive. That is in addition to “hundreds of cameras in surrounding areas” that police can access, spokesperson Aaron Fix said.

The city’s Department of Parks and Recreation — which, according to Atlanta police, is responsible for the cameras in the park — did not return multiple requests for comment and information about cameras.

Credit: Caroline Silva

Credit: Caroline Silva

Piedmont Park Conservancy CEO Doug Widener also declined an interview with the AJC, stating he “wasn’t CEO at the time of the tragic incident.” The conservancy is a nonprofit organization that manages the park alongside the city.

In 2022, then-CEO Mark Banta told the AJC that the organization hires supplemental overnight security services to augment security provided by police. The security budget is set between the organization and the city every five years, Banta said at the time.

In 2021, the conservancy spent a little more than $4 million, with $104,235 going toward security services. In 2024, a little over $5.5 million was spent, and $140,575 went toward security services, public audited reports show.