Atlanta police are investigating the murder of a local musician who was found beaten to death this week inside his Grant Park moving company's office.

Singer and songwriter Danny Kahn, 59, was found dead in his office late Monday night, according to Atlanta police and the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office.

Atlanta police think Kahn knew his killer, but no arrests had been made.

Two days after his death, a large group of those who knew Kahn gathered at one of his favorite venues, the Red Light Cafe in Midtown.

"There's a lot of people like, 'How could this be true?' " said Mike Bean, a fellow musician. "I think people were in disbelief."

Kahn is described by his family and friends as an eccentric and free-spirited man who loved his two dogs and attracted folk music lovers with his fast guitar-picking, original songs and unique singing voice.

"He was very sweet underneath," said his sister, Deborah Kahn, who lives in Maryland. "He had a rough exterior, but he wouldn't hurt a fly. He lived his life the way he wanted to — kind of a non-conformist, I would say."

Though his passion was music, Kahn got into the moving business in the 1970s in Little Five Points. He used to do a lot of the jobs himself, but left the heavy lifting to workers as he got older, said Bob McGregor, another moving business owner who talked to him several times a day.

Kahn's body was found near his desk at his business, Danny Delivers at 690 Hamilton Ave. Atlanta police detective Kevin Otts said he could not divulge most details of the investigation but said Kahn's office was locked and his car was still parked outside.

Kahn's last known contact was at 2:15 p.m. Monday, when he talked to a witness whom Otts declined to identify.

One of Kahn's moving crews returned to his office about four hours later, but they left because it was locked. A moving crew supervisor, who was concerned, called police around 10:30 p.m., which prompted firefighters to break into the office and discover the body.

Bean, the musician, said that 50 to 70 people gathered Wednesday night at Red Light Cafe, where Kahn performed as recently as last week, to get answers and share information about his death.

"He was always very encouraging, like a cheerleader to others — the last person you think would meet with this kind of situation," Bean said.

Anyone with information about Kahn's death is asked to call the Atlanta police investigator Kevin Otts at 404-853-4235.