Atlanta police say Piedmont Park stabbing investigation continues

Police today pleaded for the public to help identify suspects in two unsolved Atlanta killings, including the 2021 stabbing death of Katie Janness and her dog in Piedmont Park.

Driving the news: Today marks the two-year anniversary of the gruesome Midtown case, which detectives say remains very much under investigation.

• And nearly one year has passed without charges filed in the shooting death of Prince Oluzor, a 38-year-old Nigerian man killed at a gas station in Home Park while someone attempted to steal his car.

Catch up quick: The bodies of Janness, 40, and her dog Bowie were found on July 28, 2021 near the park's Charles Allen Drive entrance, the AJC previously reported. An autopsy found she had been stabbed at least 50 times.

• Janness was captured on a surveillance camera going into the park, but friends told the AJC that cameras inside the park were not working at the time of the attack.

Details: Senior investigator Jeffrey Churchill declined to give specific evidence details or speak to motivation in the Janness case but said police have cast a "wide net" and continue to receive tips and leads.

• "It's frustrating but we're working," the detective said. "We want to get it right."
• The biggest clue police pointed out about Oluzor's killing is that the suspects were seen driving off in a silver sedan — possibly a 2013 Honda Accord — with a noticeable dent on the driver's side door.

The big picture: Churchill said the department is still solving cases as many as five years ago.

• "We don't consider this a cold case."

The bottom line: To submit tips, contact Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS.

• "Nothing is too small," said APD homicide unit commander Lieutenant Germain Dearlove.
• "A lot of times we think we'll hear something and try to disregard it. But it's our gut feeling we have to go off when [you're] providing tips to us."