Standing near the site where Katie Janness and her dog, Bowie, were found slain a year ago, a small group gathered at Piedmont Park on Thursday evening to honor their memories.
“I’m sad tonight that there are many of you who will never get to meet Katie Janness for the first time,” said Katie Hahn, who helped plan the vigil.
Hahn, who dated Janness years ago, was among more than two dozen friends and former coworkers who gathered at the park to pay their respects.
Janness’ body was discovered just after 1 a.m. on July 28, 2021, about 100 yards inside the park’s 10th Street entrance. She’d been stabbed more than 50 times and the dog’s body was discovered about 100 feet away, police said. Emma Clark, her girlfriend of about seven years, made the gruesome discovery after tracking Janness’ phone when her partner never returned home from her nightly walk with the couple’s dog.
During a Thursday afternoon news conference, Atlanta police said no suspects had been identified, but said the case has not gone cold.
Homicide commander Lt. Germain Dearlove said police obtained multiple search warrants for areas around the Midtown park to gather surveillance footage and try to identify those near the scene that night who may have seen something that could aid investigators.
Thursday evening’s vigil, which followed a bench installment at the popular dog park, didn’t focus on the grisly details of the case. It was about remembering Janness and what she meant to those who knew her.
Credit: Caroline Silva
Credit: Caroline Silva
Hahn and Janness met at an Atlanta restaurant in 2007. Hahn said the time spent with Janness helped her grow as a person.
“She was complex. She was very organized. She had a total rock star essence. She was a contradiction in many ways, but she was a revelation,” a tearful Hahn told the crowd. “And I am so very heartbroken that I won’t ever get to meet her again.”
Among those in attendance were Maureen Kalmanson and Chip Powell, Janness’ bosses at the two bars where she worked. They consoled one another as they remembered Janness.
“She was amazing,” said Kalmanson, who owns Campagnolo, the Italian restaurant and bar just a couple of blocks from the park. “Everyone loved her. We just can’t believe she’s gone.”
Pete Chapman worked with Janness for about three years at the restaurant, said the two quickly bonded over their love of music.
”She was just a really amazing person, one of the coolest people I’ve ever met,” he said. “Anyone who knew her loved her.”
Powell, artistic director at Whole World Improv Theatre, said Janness’ horrific killing left a huge hole in the lives of everyone she worked with.
“She was invested in all our lives,” said Powell, who has since taken over the bar manager duties at the theater because he can’t imagine hiring someone else to replace her. “There is never going to be closure. It’s just one of those things you’re never going to get over.”
Several nearby residents said the heinous killings of Janness and her dog shattered their sense of safety, especially since no arrests have been made.
“I have more security cameras at my home,” said Chris McKinley, who kept the makeshift memorial near the park entrance stocked with fresh flowers for a year. He was one of several people who helped raise money for the new park bench.
The two Atlanta police detectives leading the investigation into Janness’ killing also attended Thursday’s vigil to pay their respects.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Before ever coming to Atlanta, Emily Harbovsky and Janness were close friends — a friendship they maintained until her death. The two moved from Detroit together in search of something new.
“I can’t imagine anybody wanting to hurt her because I can’t even imagine her being able to make someone mad,” she said.
With a killer still on the loose, several people voiced frustrations.
“It’s been a year. We are all still devastated,” Janness’ friend, Kristy Stupka, wrote in a statement read aloud at the vigil. “We are still angry and frustrated and want answers.”
Others said they wouldn’t feel safe until a suspect is finally behind bars.
“You just can’t make sense of it,” said Hahn. “It’s horrific. How does somebody do all that in Piedmont Park and get away? It’s terrifying to think this person is still out there and it’s terrifying to think they could do this again.”
Credit: Christina Matacotta
Credit: Christina Matacotta
