Man from South Milwaukee bound and burned to death in Atlanta

SOUTH MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Detectives are investigating the gruesome death of a 24-year-old man with ties to South Milwaukee, who was found in Georgia, bound and burned to death.

Friends of Andre Tripps say they are horrified and heartbroken by his death. A group gathered at South Milwaukee High, the school Tipps graduated from, on Sunday, April 20th to remember the man.

"It breaks my heart that a good person is gone," said Heather Vogel. "Wouldn't you feel his pain? Why would you do that to him?"

Firefighters in Georgia discovered Tripps' body last week while responding to a brush fire outside of Atlanta. His hands and feet were tied up and his body burned. Officials aren't sure what circumstances led up to the point where Tripps was found.

"How anyone would want to do that to a person in general is -- it doesn't make any sense," said Vogel.

Before moving to Georgia, Tripps attended South Milwaukee High School. He moved to Wisconsin after Hurricane Katrina. Vogel says she met Tripps shortly after he came to the area.

"Every time we would pass each other in the hallway he would say, 'this is one of the first people I met here,'" said Vogel. "He was real, he was smart, he was lovable, he was everything. He was such a good person."

Vogel and others will be honoring Tripps in a vigil at the school Saturday, April 26th at 8 p.m.

"I'm remembering him just as a special person. Our memories, it's going to be in my heart forever and that's what I have to hold on to," said Vogel. "I hope somebody finds something out, why or what happened, or anything like that. I hope somebody gets to the bottom of the story."

Police are investigating the death as a homicide. No one has been taken into custody, however Tripps was seen on surveillance video with several other men before his death.