Katie Janness, a 40-year-old Atlanta bartender, was stabbed to death alongside her dog, Bowie, inside Piedmont Park in the early hours of July 28, 2021. Nearly five years later, the Piedmont Park murder of Katie Janness remains unsolved. No suspect has been publicly identified, no arrest has been made, and the Atlanta Police Department still classifies the investigation as active.
What Happened That Night
Janness left her Midtown Atlanta home late on July 27, 2021, to walk Bowie, a three-year-old pit bull mix, in Piedmont Park. Surveillance footage last captured her at 12:09 a.m. on July 28.1Atlanta Police Department. Katherine Janness Investigation When she didn’t come back, her partner of about six years, Emma Clark, used the Find My feature on Janness’s iPhone to locate her. The phone pinged at the Charles Allen Gate entrance of the park. Clark went there and, at roughly 1:11 a.m., found Janness and Bowie dead.2Atlanta Magazine. In Plain Sight: Inside the Unsolved Piedmont Park Murder That Shook Atlanta She called 911, and APD homicide detectives responded.
The Fulton County medical examiner found that Janness had been stabbed more than 50 times, with at least 15 wounds to her head and face. The official cause of death was sharp force injuries to her face, neck, and torso, which severely damaged blood vessels and internal organs.3FOX 5 Atlanta. Piedmont Park Murder Autopsy Report Reveals New Details in Katie Janness Death Both carotid arteries had been sliced, and there was blunt force trauma to her face, neck, and extremities.4NBC News. Woman Slain in Atlanta Park Had Letters Carved Into Chest, Autopsy Report Says The autopsy also documented three letters, “F,” “A,” and “T,” carved into her torso. The manner of death was ruled a homicide. Bowie had been stabbed multiple times and was killed during the same attack.
Who Katie Janness Was
Janness grew up in Berkley, Michigan, near Detroit, where she had fronted a riot grrrl-style band called Violet Skin. Born September 4, 1980, she moved to Atlanta around 2006.2Atlanta Magazine. In Plain Sight: Inside the Unsolved Piedmont Park Murder That Shook Atlanta She bartended at several places, including Campagnolo Restaurant and Bar and the Whole World Improv Theatre, took photographs, and continued to write and record music. Clark described her as “smart, creative, witty, and a big advocate for equality and social justice,” and friends called her a fixture of Atlanta’s queer community and a regular at the Midtown gay bar Blake’s on the Park.5Atlanta News First. Partner of Woman Killed in Piedmont Park Speaks About Victim’s Final Moments She was planning a trip to see family and friends in Michigan shortly before her death.
Why the Investigation Has Stalled
The single largest obstacle in the case is that the security cameras inside Piedmont Park were not working the night Janness was killed. All nine cameras at the park relied on what officials later called “obsolete technology,” and none recorded any footage.6FOX 5 Atlanta. Piedmont Park Murder Investigation Still Active The cameras were operated by the Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation, not APD, and investigators were left with no visual record of what happened at the Charles Allen Gate.
Detectives asked residents near the park to hand over private security footage from between 10:30 p.m. on July 27 and 1:30 a.m. on July 28 and canvassed local businesses for recordings.1Atlanta Police Department. Katherine Janness Investigation APD also released surveillance images and video of people who had been in the area, trying to identify potential witnesses.7ABC News. Atlanta Police Speak to Potential Witness in Fatal Park Stabbing Friends of Janness who did their own canvassing later reported that some nearby businesses had been asked for footage while others had not.
The FBI was brought in early. Agents swabbed employees and regulars at Campagnolo and the Whole World Improv Theatre for DNA. APD also ordered a necropsy on Bowie in the hope that the dog had bitten the attacker and transferred DNA; those results have never been made public.8FOX 5 Atlanta. Autopsy on Dog Belonging to Piedmont Park Murder Victim As of reporting in 2023, investigators acknowledged that no full DNA sample was available for testing, leaving them to rely on what APD called “old-school detective work” and behavioral profiling.6FOX 5 Atlanta. Piedmont Park Murder Investigation Still Active
No motive has been established. Early in the investigation, authorities said there was no evidence of an intimate connection between Janness and her killer. Then-Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms told the public in August 2021 that there was no evidence the murder was the work of a serial killer or that it constituted a hate crime.7ABC News. Atlanta Police Speak to Potential Witness in Fatal Park Stabbing APD has never publicly reclassified the case in either direction.
What Experts Have Said About the Killer
Independent experts who reviewed the public case details have disagreed about what kind of person committed the attack. Sheryl McCollum, founder of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, said the killer was likely a stranger, reasoning that someone who knew Janness would have targeted her at home rather than in a high-visibility public spot near streetlights and condominiums. She called the perpetrator “seasoned” and said this was likely not a first violent crime, and she theorized that Bowie was attacked before Janness.2Atlanta Magazine. In Plain Sight: Inside the Unsolved Piedmont Park Murder That Shook Atlanta
Forensic pathologist Priya Banerjee read the same facts differently. The extreme disfigurement and the close, personal nature of the wounds, she said, pointed to intense anger and possibly a personal connection to the victim. Banerjee said carving letters into a body is exceptionally rare, something she had encountered only once in more than 3,000 autopsies, and she called the motive “baffling.” McCollum described the carving as carrying “misogynistic overtones.”
What Changed in Piedmont Park After the Murder
The camera failure drove most of the visible changes at the park. In 2022, the city installed more than 30 new cameras in Piedmont Park, integrated into APD’s video monitoring system, and the Atlanta City Council approved legislation to install surveillance in 20 city-owned parks.9Atlanta News First. New Cameras Installed at Piedmont Park Nine Months After Murder The rollout missed its original January 2022 deadline, and Council member Michael Bond criticized the delay. By 2025, the city had added hundreds of cameras along the park’s perimeter and surrounding streets.10The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Four Years After Piedmont Park Killing, Katie Janness Case Remains Unsolved
The Piedmont Park Conservancy launched a Safe Haven Fund in September 2021 to pay for safety improvements recommended by the city and public safety experts, with a donor pledging to match contributions up to $100,000.11WSB-TV. New Fund Created to Help Improve Safety at Piedmont Park Friends of Janness raised money through a GoFundMe to plant a tree and install benches near the park’s off-leash dog area as a living memorial.12GoFundMe. Katie Janness and Bowie Memorial Fund Raiser PETA offered its own reward, initially $10,000 and then $20,000, citing the killing of Bowie.13The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. PETA Increases Reward to $20K in Piedmont Park Killings
Where the Case Stands Now
As of mid-2026, no suspect has been named and no one has been arrested. APD has released little about the evidence in its possession, citing the ongoing investigation. In April 2026, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens publicly acknowledged that the broken cameras were a central obstacle. “If we had more cameras that were working at that time, we would have been able to have more investigative power,” Dickens said.14FOX 5 Atlanta. Atlanta Mayor Addresses Unsolved Murder of Katie Janness
Police Chief Darin Schierbaum said in June 2026 that the case remains a top priority and is “very active,” with initiatives underway including DNA analysis and collaboration with federal partners. “We have not stopped in our efforts to bring that individual to justice that committed that crime,” Schierbaum said. “And we are confident that we will.”15FOX 5 Atlanta. Four Years Later, Katie Janness Murder at Piedmont Park Haunts Atlanta
How to Submit a Tip
The Crime Stoppers reward for information leading to an arrest and indictment has been raised to $25,000.16WSB-TV. Police Raise Reward to $25,000 for Murder of Katie Janness at Piedmont Park Anonymous tips can go to Crime Stoppers Atlanta at 404-577-8477, at crimestoppersatlanta.org, by texting “CSGA” to 738477, or through the P3 mobile app.1Atlanta Police Department. Katherine Janness Investigation