A SIN AND A SHAME....SENSELESS ACT OF VIOLENCE...

The mother of a Douglas County teenager beaten to death during a Saturday night house party called her only son “my best friend” and “a ray of sunshine through every dark cloud that anyone had.”

Bobby Tillman, 18, was beaten to death after a party early Sunday in Douglas County.

“He was an angel here on Earth, and I was blessed to be his mother,” Monique Rivarde said Monday of 18-year-old Bobby Tillman.

Rivarde spoke to the media just after a Douglas County judge denied bond for the four men charged with the murder of her son.

“I just miss him and I just want justice done for him,” she said. “All I want to say is he was very strong, so I’m going to be strong for him.”

Rivarde said she prays that her son’s death was not in vain. “Something will be done about these children attacking each other for nothing,” she said.

Douglas County District Attorney David McDade, talking about Tillman’s death, said, “senseless is the only word I can describe. Young people that had a life ahead of them, on both sides.

“This is an absolutely unprovoked, senseless killing by young people killing another young man for no reason, no motive,” McDade said.

Douglas County Sheriff Phil Miller echoed McDade’s thoughts, saying, “it doesn’t get any more tragic than that.”

Tillman died of blunt force trauma to the head and chest, Coroner Randy Daniel told the AJC on Monday.

The teen was beaten and stomped to death after he walked by his attackers at the wrong time, Miller said Sunday.

Tillman died before he could be transported to the hospital early Sunday, Miller said.

Four people have been arrested in connection with the teen's death.

The four arrested were identified as Quantez Devonta Mallory, 18, Horace Damon Coleman, 19, Emmanuel Benjamin Boykins, 18, and Tracen Lamar Franklin, 19.

All four appeared Monday morning before Judge Robert James in Douglas Superior Court, where they were ordered held without bond.

They are being held in the Douglas County Jail, charged with murder. Three were taken into custody at the scene of the beating early Sunday, and Franklin turned himself in later in the day, Miller said.

What started out as a small party at a home on Independence Drive ended up with between 60 and 80 people, Miller said. (Read a neighbor's account.)

“Some very responsible parents let their daughters have a party at their house, and there were only 10 people expected to come," Miller said.

The parents asked the party-goers to leave, and a fight began between two girls outside the home, Miller said.

One of the females hit a male, who said he wouldn't hit a girl but would hit the next male that walked by, Miller said. The 5-feet-6-inch, 124-pound Tillman was the next male. Several people then joined in the attack on Tillman, investigators said.

Tillman was still breathing as deputies arrived at the scene, Miller said. Deputies administered CPR to the teen, who did not survive.

"It'll bring tears to your eyes," Miller said. "It's just so sad."

Four people were arrested, and investigators do not believe there will be additional arrests, Miller said. The homeowners are not expected to face charges, he said. No drugs or alcohol were involved, Miller said.

"They [the parents] were doing the very best they could," Miller said. "The situation got out of hand."

Tillman's death came as a shock to friends and former classmates of the 2010 graduate of Chapel Hill High School. Some, such as 18-year-old Adrienne Anderson, learned of his death on Facebook.

Anderson said Tillman didn't attend Chapel Hill very long, but made a lot of friends before he graduated.

“He never bothered anybody," Anderson said. "He was an all-around nice person.”

Anderson said she had planned to attend the party Saturday night but changed her plans. "I was supposed to be going, but I'm glad I wasn't there," she said.

Witnesses were taken by bus to the sheriff's office, Miller said. Channel 2 Action News reported the NAACP was questioning whether investigators followed proper procedures in questioning the witnesses and whether they were allowed to call their parents.

Miller defended the deputies, saying they were just doing their jobs.

"I had six people to interview 57 people," Miller told the AJC on Monday. "I didn't violate anybody's rights. We loaded them onto a bus, there was heat on the bus, they were allowed bathroom breaks and we interviewed 57 people between 2:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Our goal was to find out who murdered this young man."

Miller said his investigators were somewhat hampered by a local attorney, "who came up there and advised witnesses -- not suspects, witnesses -- not to talk to us."

"It's not about the NAACP, it's not about the sheriff's office, it's about the murder of a nice, young man who was murdered and it was not provoked," Miller said.

"I apologize if I offended anyone, but I'm not required by law to notify parents," the sheriff told the AJC. "If the parents were so interested, why were those kids out after midnight?"