ATLANTA — A neighbor said the man found dead with burns inside a southwest Atlanta apartment was the kind of person who would step in to help others.
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Channel 2’s Michael Seiden says police still have not said exactly what happened inside that apartment.
And that’s one of the big questions he’s been trying to get answered throughout the day.
So far, police have only confirmed the victim was found dead with apparent burns and that homicide investigators are now handling the case.
One woman who knew him is sharing a very different picture of the man at the center of this investigation.
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“He’s usually the mediator. He’s always having an upbeat attitude, always smiling, always happy,” said Alicia Thompson.
She said he’s a neighbor she remembers for his smile and his willingness to help.
“I’ve talked to him multiple times. He’s helped me with groceries, helped me with my dogs,” Thompson said.
But Wednesday night, Thompson said she walked outside to a very different scene.
“It was a very, very emotional, emotional scene last night, definitely,” she said.
Atlanta police say officers responded to the apartment complex along Stanton Road just before 10 p.m. after reports of a fire.
Firefighters went inside and police say they found a man dead with apparent burns.
“Just walked into the back, seen like four or five fire trucks pull up, tried to figure out what happened ... somebody’s dead. Went over there, everybody was crying. It was just wild,” neighbor Camron Mariani
Mariani says the large police response was especially jarring because he hadn’t noticed anything unusual in the days leading up to it.
“Actually, everything was quiet. Everything been quiet. Nothing’s been out of the ordinary for the past couple of days,” Mariani said.
Homicide investigators are trying to determine what happened inside that apartment and how the man died.
For Thompson, the loss is personal.
“It’s very unfortunate, and it’s heartbreaking. Honestly, he wasn’t one of those people that you would think that would happen to.” Thompson said.
Investigators have not said what they believe led to his death.
Channel 2 Action News has also reached out to the medical examiner’s office for his identity and official cause of death.
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