ATLANTA — It has been four years since Atlanta resident Katie Janess and her dog Bowie were found dead near the entrance of Piedmont Park.
Channel 2’S Karyn Greer worked to learn what is new in the park and in the investigation, and if safety concerns are being addressed.
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Janess was walking her partner’s dog at the park in July 2021 when she was stabbed more than 50 times, and Bowie was also killed.
Atlanta police have not made any arrests or publicly talked about suspects. They sent us a statement, saying they are looking at DNA evidence and committed to solving the ongoing case.
“With a case this unusual, you would think there would be a similar transaction somewhere,” said crime scene investigator Sheryl “Mac” McCollum. “They don’t have another case where there’s been a homicide, where the person has been stabbed 50 times, where letters have been carved in them, and there’s the mutilation on top of an animal being harmed.”
It is not one of McCollum’s cases, but she said she has been keeping up with the developments.
“Bowie had to be the first victim,” she said. “Whatever that first interchange was, that killer grabbed that dog and killed him. I believe with a straight edge weapon, because that’s what he had with him.”
Joe Clark, the father of Katie’s partner Emma, said it has been 18 months since he talked to anyone at Atlanta police, and it appears the case has turned cold.
“They did put more cameras out there,” Clark said. “I’ve been by there. The lighting seems to be better. And I think people are definitely, I know they’re aware. That neighborhood’s very aware of that incident.”
There are more cameras. Channel 2 Action News filed an open records request to see what is new in Piedmont Park. Matt Westmoreland, Post 2 at large Atlanta City Council member, grew up near the park and continues to live in the area.
“As we stand here today, there are 41 cameras all around Piedmont Park that actually are providing over 160 streams of video footage that cover a number of different, almost every aspect of the park,” Westmoreland said.
He said they also doubled the amount of money spent on park security.
“Whether that’s additional cameras or officers who are in our parks day in and day out, during the day, at night, making sure that folks feel safe no matter the activities that they’re engaging in and no matter the time of day,” he said.
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