ATLANTA — Loved ones and police are making new pleas as a grim anniversary rolled around Friday.
It has been two years since someone stabbed a woman and her dog to death at Piedmont Park.
Police found Katie Janness’ body but did not find her killer.
“There’s still someone out there right now who can do this to somebody else,” said Joe Clark, who is the father of Janness’ partner, Emma.
Two years ago feels like just yesterday to those who knew and loved Janness.
“It’s still one of those things you live with every day of your life when you get up, when you go to bed,” Clark told Channel 2′s Audrey Washington.
On July 28, 2021, someone walked up to Janness and her dog Bowie and stabbed the two to death as they walked in the park late at night.
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It happened at the entrance of the park along 10th Street at Charles Allen Drive.
“You always think about it, you know? It’s going to be a part of our lives,” Clark said.
Surveillance cameras at 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue captured the moments before Janness and Bowie were stabbed.
In the video, you can see Janness and her dog at the intersection, but there is no sign of the killer.
On Friday morning, Atlanta police detectives discussed the case during a news conference in which they pleaded for anyone with any more information to come forward.
“The suspect at this time is unknown,” Atlanta Homicide Commander Lt. Germain Dearlove said.
Channel 2 Action News obtained the autopsy report for Janness shortly after the murder. It showed that her killer stabbed her at least 50 times and carved the word “fat” on her torso.
Washington asked police if they are searching for someone with a specific criminal profile.
“It seems senseless to me, a senseless incident. We’ve conducted, we’ve cast a wide net, looking into our victim’s background and looking at other profiles of persons who are capable or not capable of committing these crimes,” Dearlove said.
Police are now asking for anyone who was in the area on July 28, 202, and saw anything to please come forward.
In a candid moment, the lead detective in the case expressed his determination to find the killer.
“It is frustrating, but we’re working it. We want to get it right,” said Detective J. Churchill
Despite being a two-year-old case, police are not classifying this as a cold case.
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