When an Atlanta woman goes for a late-night walk in a popular park,

she's killed in one of the most shockingly violent assaults the city has ever seen.

Investigators work to identify a killer whose actions reveal a truly twisted psyche in this episode of The Last Seen Alive.

I'm your host, Leah, crime analyst by day and true crime storyteller by night.

I'm your co-host, Scott.

A word of warning before we begin today's episode. The victim in this case sustained particularly excessive and violent injuries, and we'll be discussing the findings of her autopsy report.

Seems like a trend from the last one also.

Not intentionally, but yes, this is an episode I've actually been wanting to do for a long time,

almost a year, ever since I first heard about this crime, and I've been waiting, hoping that

more information would come out,

and it hasn't, at least not publicly, and so I decided that I'm going to do the episode anyway.

With that being said, Catherine Janice, who went by Katie, was last seen alive on July 28, 2021.

She was 40 years old, a professional bartender and many other things.

A voracious reader and book collector, an amateur musician and songwriter, a dog owner,

and a loving girlfriend to her partner of seven years, Emma.

Katie and Emma lived in northeastern Atlanta, where they shared an apartment in the Midtown Garden

District, a desirable neighborhood known for its abundance of bars and restaurants, which

was perfect for them because of their work. As I mentioned, Katie was a professional bartender,

and so was Emma.

The Italian restaurant that Katie worked at and the tavern where Emma was employed were both within walking distance of the apartment.

Because of her job, Katie was no stranger to late nights.

She would often pop in a set of earbuds, turn on one of her favorite podcasts, and go for a walk well after dark,

...