New documentary revisits unsolved Piedmont Park murder

So let's talk about this next story. This is something that a lot of people have been following for now more than five years. Katie Janess and her dog Bowie were killed in Piedmont Park and their loved ones are still waiting for answers. Now a new documentary is visiting the unsolved case or revisiting, I should say, the unsolved case and sharing the story of Katie's life through the people who knew her best. It's called Katie and Bowie. I'm at the entrance of Piedmont Park. We're searching for my girlfriend's brother because I can't find her, she said. This was extremely violent. When you have veteran homicide officers tell you this is the worst scene they've ever seen, you have to hear that. And that was part of the trailer there. Joining us now are the filmmakers behind the documentary, Sam Jones, Melissa Rainey, and Allison Vaccaro. I appreciate you guys for joining us this afternoon to talk about this. Obviously, this is a case a lot of people have been very interested in. Yes, thank you for having us. And so what was the reasoning behind that you wanted to be able to produce something like this? Well, so Allie and I, we started a podcast back in 2019. It's called The Lesbian Chronicles. And over the years, you know, being new to the community, it centers around coming out later in life. But, you know, being new to the community, we started to get more involved. And then Katie's murder happened. And, you know, it hit us very hard. I'm an Atlanta native. Allie has lived in Atlanta for more than 20 years. And we always just kind of wondered, you know, and thought it would be solved really quickly. And as the years have gone by, we were wondering what's going on. So earlier this year, Allie and I produced a podcast centered around Katie and Bowie's unsolved murder. And then we connected with Sam and Sam was very much interested in joining us and producing an actual documentary to bring more attention to this case. And also, like you said, Tyler, to bring Katie to life, you know, and to tell her story of who she was, not just the victim of this really brutal crime. Obviously, this is a story that we have been covering a lot over the last five years. We covered the anniversary just a couple of months ago. And a lot of people obviously want answers because you end up in Piedmont Park. A lot of people do that on pretty much any any time of day year round. And so the fact that something like this could happen in the case can remain unsolved for so long uh what would you want people to know about what you guys have learned about katie uh throughout this process of putting this together yeah so much about katie i mean she was a musician she was a friend people kind adored her her family adores her everybody wants the same thing which is justice for katie and this precious dog that we're sure was defending her in the end. So obviously this is still painful for so many people. I mean, we have been talking to families, the family over the course of the time since this happened. And obviously the fact that you don't have closure and being able to know what exactly happened, where police are able to point to the person and say, this is what happened and this is who did it. I mean, being able to talk to people about this, what have they told you and what has been the response been like that to find out when people find out that this is something you guys are putting together? The response has been overwhelming of people just coming out and wanting to talk. We had a vigil for her where lots of people came out. I think also it's important to say the park is our hub. I mean, it's Atlanta. It's safe. It's it's a place we all go and feel great. So I think that's also what made it so shocking is it's our backyard and it's unheard us. And so what does this documentary explore that people may not have seen in news coverage that we did here at Fox 5 or one of the outlets like the AJC over the course of the last five years? What have you guys been able to put into this that maybe people haven't seen before or haven't heard much about? I mean, I think ultimately, like we said, you know, giving Katie's life, life, you know, and when you're when someone's when someone passes, you know, so often like a cancer victim, them, they're remembered really for who they are, not how they died. And because Katie's case is so sensational, that's what people focus on. And so we really want to focus on hearing from the people who knew Katie best and so that we can learn more about her, but also get answers in this case. Why has it not been solved? How is it a crime that happened in 2021 can go unsolved, especially one where there's DNA everywhere you know and um you know we're living in society where cameras are everywhere too why why were they you know not such great cameras in Piedmont Park at the time and on top of that this is a an active part of the city and how safe are we um you know we're walking around Pride last weekend in the same exact spot where Katie was killed and it's unsettling to know that maybe police are just like, well, it's gonna happen again, and that'll solve the case. And that's just very unsettling. Yeah, sorry. Go ahead. I was gonna say that, yeah, there's been very little movement, we feel like. And even though we're told they're working on it, they're working on it. We're at this point, five years out, show us what has come out over the last five years. And if you have nothing to show, maybe it's time to let the public see what you have and and help and maybe that will bring more people out to say actually i remember this about that time all the time yeah i don't think sam's body is working yeah i'm having trouble hearing you sam on our end i wonder if it's the uh air pod sometimes they do that uh if with people in separate ears but and or go ahead i just wanted to follow up to that, one of the reasons that's motivated us to do this documentary and what motivated us to start the podcast is that we've seen people, the common people solve crimes over and over again. You know, think about the Tara Grinstead case, and that was solved through that podcast Up and Vanished. So I think at a certain point, you know, the police need to put some stuff in the hands of the public. You know, it's happened before, and I really feel like someone out there has some answers and we're really hoping to to help you know push the needle on that and the point i was going to make is i definitely over the course of the last several years i personally reached out to the Atlanta Police Department as a journalist as we do stories uh around the anniversary and around other uh significant cases that pop up maybe near Piedmont Park we'll always ask can we get an update on the Katie Genest case uh and this past july during the um the anniversary we asked for an update and we just get a simple response that they are still working on it and they are uh don't have any updates to share and so i mean but it is a point that there's not a whole lot of information out there all this time later about what the latest information is on the case and so it would be nice to be able to hear from the Atlanta Police Department because maybe there's something that they're working on that could be beneficial someone may hear something and it may remember what exactly happened and even like Cheryl McCollum who we had on she's brilliant. She works on lots of cases. We are curious about the DNA they found on Bowie, the dog, the collar. Where is all that information? His necropsy. His necropsy from the dog. There's so much there that other people could start to add to the information if they would just open it up. Another quick point that we've thought about a lot is they were so quick to say it wasn't a hate crime. Maybe it wasn't, maybe it was, but we felt like that didn't get enough attention in the gay community. And so part of the trailer addresses, I guess, some of the speculation surrounding Katie's partner. We're going to be incredibly careful here because obviously there's been no crime committed, according to the Atlanta Police Department. They have not made any arrests in this case. They haven't said that she's a suspect. What did you guys kind of look at in that aspect? And what are we going to be able to see when the documentary comes out. You know, that's one aspect that we're really working on right now is that we do want to talk to her partner and help her to tell her story because, you know, we all see the comments on social media and everybody looks towards the partner and it's really unfair, you know, just because she found her. And what really happened is that her partner experienced something very, very traumatic and difficult, something I can't even imagine, not only losing your partner, but also your pet. And so that is something that we want to bring attention to is, is how harmful these comments online and these, you know, internet sleuths can be when you're just kind of making a snap judgment about someone. Well, and so back to the investigation, have you guys been able to speak to the Atlanta police department? Have they been willing to sit down with you for this? Nope, not at all. Does that shock you? It shocks me only because we've all asked so many times well none of that it's you know as i'm a journalist and i've really never experienced something like this with such you know just silence from a police department and unwillingness to even go on camera and answer a few questions right yes and so obviously you guys have been spending some time putting this together is there something that for what you guys have gathered so far that have stuck with you maybe someone you talked to something they said said on our end we're having trouble here i'm sorry yeah that's okay what sam was saying is that it could be so violent and yet still unsolved when there are so many retail restaurants bars there's a high school there's so much action and even at that time of night in piedmont park it's it's there's people always so we just feel like it's shocking that it hasn't been solved and to us and the killers out there and it's kind of like cheryl mccollum said is he's out there pumping gas somewhere right next to you he or she i should say but most often it is the he yeah yeah and so where are you guys in the process where are people to able to see the trailer and learn more about what you guys are doing and when's the expectation that this full documentary is going to be released and people are going to be able to see it for the first time We showed the trailer at the Out on Film Film Festival in Atlanta before each movie. We were so fortunate that they let us do that. We hope the movie will be out middle to end of next year. And is this expected to be a feature length? What kind of length are you hoping to put together? It's going to be a feature length film. OK. And I think we're probably I mean, we have a lot of footage that we're gathering. We have more interviews we want to do, but I think it will be done by then. And so where can people find more information? I know you guys have a website. Where can people learn more and keep up to date with the progress and things like that? Melissa, I'll let you take this one. Best way to find us is on Instagram right now, katijannisdoc, and you can find all of our links there. And we also want to encourage anyone who knows of anything, if anyone was friends with Katie, if they want to share photos with us, video, anything like that where we can bring Katie to life would be very appreciated. And, again, if anyone knows anything, I mean, please say something. And it could be the smallest little detail that could really help solve this case. Absolutely. What a message on Instagram to your guys' handle. And what is it one more time? Katie Janis Doc. Okay. And if people have something they want to say, should they just message you guys on that channel? Yes. Okay. And let me also say, we just got a website. It's katieandbowie.com. Okay. I really appreciate y'all joining us this afternoon to talk about this. I mean, obviously, a lot of people have been talking about the document, not the documentary, but talking about the case. And I'm sure that is going to just translate into people wanting to see the documentary where they can get everything in one place and be able to hear from so many different perspectives and different people. I mean, obviously, it's a tragic story and it's one that people want answers to every single year. My gosh, we look through our Facebook page and people are always asking on the anniversary, like, how is it not solved and things like that. And the fact that we're at year five and we're still at this point is kind of shocking. But hopefully we do know, according to what police tell us, they are working on the case. Thank you, Tyler. I appreciate your time. I appreciate your being here.