Mayor: Still not ready to make arrest in ‘horrific murder’ of Katie Janness
By JOSH MORGAN
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ATLANTA, GA (WGCL) — Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Police Chief Rodney Bryant gave an update Tuesday morning on the gruesome murder at Piedmont Park last week.
While the press conference was meant to be focused on the COVID19 pandemic and what the city was calling a “Covid Crime Wave,” both the mayor and the chief admitted the murder of Katie Janness did not fit the description of violence seen in the city over the last year.
Mayor Lance Bottoms said the murder was “horrific” and unlike anything the city had seen in “quite some time.”
Chief Bryant agreed, saying the murder was “outside the norm of what we would typically see.”
“This was so unique that I felt that we needed to collaborate with as many resources as we can,” Bryant added.
The resources he was referring to was the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“It was my decision to call up on the FBI,” he said. “I called on them because they provide a level of resources we just don’t have.”
Mayor Lance Bottoms, Chief Bryant, and Deputy Chief Charles Hampton all spoke about the number of rumors surrounding the murder, calling them an impediment to their investigation.
“We need to make sure that the information going out to the public is accurate,” Bryant said. “We have to maintain a level of integrity when it comes to this case. We need to resolve this and not be distracted by misinformation.”
“It feeds into a narrative that will not help us get this monster off the street,” Lance Bottoms said. “We still don’t have all of the information we need in [Janness’s] murder to make an arrest.”
Deputy Chief Hampton said the Atlanta Police Department is working around the clock to bring the person responsible to justice.
To help in the investigation, APD released six photos of people who they say were possible witnesses to the incident at Piedmont Park. These people are not considered suspects, and APD hopes they are willing to come forward to share anything they may know about what happened that night.
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