HAMMOND | Two 16-year-olds arrested in connection with the brutal slaying of a Griffith man on the city's far south side were charged as adults on Saturday.

North Hammond residents Victor Hernandez and Kenneth Zammaron each face felony charges of murder, murder in the perpetration of a robbery, robbery, two counts of attempted carjacking and burglary in Lake Superior Court.

The pair were taken to the Lake County Jail in Crown Point on Saturday night, police said, for arraignment on Monday.

No potential penalties sought by the Lake County prosecutor's office for the two if convicted have been disclosed, but the murder counts raise the possibility of death sentences.

Police said that on Thursday night Gregory Grudzien went to the home of a longtime friend and business partner in the 7500 block of Olcott Avenue to take the woman's dog for a walk, and he interrupted the teenagers who were allegedly burglarizing the house.

The 58-year-old father of three was found by police beaten and stabbed to death near the curb in front of the residence, and the dog was found dead inside.

Hernandez and Zammaron then fled and unsuccessfully attempted to carjack two vehicles within blocks of the crime scene before being apprehended, police said.

A knife believed used in the attack still has not been found, and police are asking residents in the 7100 blocks of Magoun Avenue, Baring Parkway and Northcote Avenue to check their yards and garbage cans and to call police if they see the weapon.

Funeral services for Grudzien are scheduled for Monday morning at St. Mary Catholic Church in Griffith.