Woman And Her Pitbull Stabbed To Death In Piedmont Park

Katherine Janness, better known as Katie, was a 40-year-old woman from Atlanta, Georgia. She lived with her partner of seven years, Emma Clark, and their three pets — Tori, Fig, and Bowie.

Katie loved to read and collect books. She had taught herself to play the guitar and enjoyed writing and singing songs. Her mother, Bobbi, described her as “a being of incredible radiance, humor and intelligence, along with a committed involvement in the environment, politics and respect for her fellow human and fur-covered neighbors and friends in Atlanta.”

Well known in the Midtown Atlanta community, Katie was a bartender at Campagnolo, an Italian restaurant/bar, and worked at a local improv theatre. She would often go for walks in Piedmont Park while listening to podcasts. Although Emma had suggested she carry pepper spray, Katie insisted she felt safe.

On July 27, 2021, Katie took her three-year-old pitbull, Bowie, out for a walk. They stopped by Emma’s work, at Henry’s Midtown Tavern, around 11 PM. Katie told her girlfriend she’d be going home soon.

Emma arrived home after midnight, but Katie and Bowie hadn’t returned yet. After not answering several of her calls, Emma used the Find My Phone app to track Katie’s whereabouts. According to the app, she was in Piedmont Park. The location was not moving, and Emma thought Katie might have dropped her phone. She decided to hop back on her bike and go to the spot.

As she passed the park’s entrance gate, she saw Bowie lying in the middle of the cement path. She got closer and realized he was dead. 100 feet away, Katie was also lying on the ground dead.

“I could see Bowie; I didn’t see Katie right away, it was pretty dark. I was there, I saw her, I went over to see if she was still alive; I ran.”

It was 1:10 AM when Emma contacted 911. The call can be heard here.

Katie’s official cause of death was “sharp force injuries of the face, neck and torso.” Some of her injuries included:

-a slit throat;

-50 stab wounds to the head, neck, chest, abdomen, back, hands, and arms;

- defensive wounds to the face, neck, hands, arms, and legs;

-a deep slash from the bottom of her rib cage to the top of her pelvic mound, around which the word “FAT” was carved. Katie was likely still alive during this;

-at least 25 stab wounds in the back. Notably, 14 of these were in the area of one of Katie’s tattoos.

Furthermore, Katie had been found with her pants and underwear around her knees. A rape kit was performed, but the results were not in the autopsy. Emma’s father, however, says Katie was sexually assaulted and that male DNA was found on her body. Authorities have not confirmed Joe Clark’s statements.

A necropsy has not been released, but Joe Clark says examiners found DNA in Bowie’s hair. He likely tried to protect Katie from the attacker. Since their bodies were found 100 feet from each other, the assailant seems to have stabbed Bowie to death first and then Katie after she attempted to flee.

Surveillance cameras caught Katie and Bowie crossing a rainbow-painted Pride crosswalk near Piedmont Park at 12:09 AM. This was the last time they were seen alive.

Although there were nine cameras in the park, including one facing the entrance, none were working at the time of the crime.

A viral post on Twitter claimed Katie had been the victim of an Atlanta serial killer. According to the post, Tori Lang had been the killer’s second victim. The 18-year-old was shot at Yellow River Park the day after Katie’s murder.

The third killing, which the post claimed had taken place in Norcross, did not happen according to authorities. Investigators have denied any connection between the murders of Katie and Tori.

Also discredited by authorities is the theory that Katie’s murder was a hate crime. They claim there is no proof of such, but many people believe she was targeted for openly being a part of the LGBTQ community.

Not only is “fat” often used to insult/stereotype lesbians, but the tattoo that was seemingly targeted by the attacker is speculated to have been LGBTQ-related. It was referred to as “multicolored” in the autopsy report.

Emma has received death threats from people who believe she killed her girlfriend and dog. She has even bought a gun.

“Somebody called my phone, left a voicemail, that’s not ok. She called me some choice words, said I would be caught; I sent it to police.”

A GoFundMe was set up after Katie’s death. Over $79,000 was donated. Emma says she used 75% of the money to pay off debts and buy a condo. Although she did donate some of it, she admits she did not contribute toward the reward fund.

“I know they were like ‘why didn’t you give money to the reward fund?’ I ended up buying the condo. I moved there with Katie, it was not safe; two shootings in two months, car break-ins.”

She described Katie as “the most intelligent, kind, humble, and beautiful person I have ever known” and Bowie as “the sweetest most loyal companion.”

In January 2022, authorities said they were “getting close” to solving the case. Police Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. stated,

“Our investigations do not stop. That case is still open. We continue to work leads that come in almost weekly.”

Needless to say, the Midtown Atlanta community has felt unsafe since the brutal crime. During a vigil for Katie, Joe Clark declared,

“There is a monster on the loose in the city of Atlanta.”