ATLANTA – According to the police officials, a 40-year-old woman was found just inside an entrance to Piedmont Park about 1 a.m. on July 28. Her name is Katherine Janness and she had been stabbed multiple times in what the deputy police chief described as a gruesome scene. Her dog was found dead nearby.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said:
“I know there have been several rumors that there is a serial killer on the loose in our city. We don’t have any evidence of that. The rumors and false information being spread on social media are not helpful to the investigation and will not help us get this monster off of the street.”
Police on Tuesday released images from surveillance cameras showing six possible witnesses who were in and around the park around the time of the slaying. They’re hoping for the public’s help to identify them.
Detectives have also gone door-to-door in neighborhoods near the park, asking neighbors and businesses for surveillance footage. A $10,000 reward was initially offered for information regarding the slaying, and a member of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals doubled that by putting up an additional $10,000, the animal rights group announced Tuesday.
Janness, known to her friends as Katie, was a bartender at a nearby restaurant, friends and relatives said. She was also a devoted daughter, sister, wife, and a friend of many.
