MERRILLVILLE | Police are seeking charges against a 26-year-old Merrillville man initially questioned as a witness in the Monday slaying of Maxine Urbanczyk at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.

Merrillville police Detective Jeff Snemis on Tuesday said charges will be sought against Ronnie Rice in the slaying and robbery.

Police believe Rice, who also is an assistant manager at KFC, beat Urbanczyk to death at the eatery on U.S. 30 near Taft Street and took cash from a safe in the restaurant.

Merrillville police took Rice into custody Monday night.

Snemis said a sweat shirt was a key piece of evidence that led to Rice's arrest.

Video footage obtained from KFC shows Rice walking into the restaurant through the back door prior to the slaying, Snemis said. He was wearing a light-colored sweat shirt with a stripe on the hood.

Rice may have known where the cameras were in the restaurant, as he attempted to conceal his identity by keeping his head down as he walked past them, Snemis said.

Snemis said police later found the sweat shirt seen in the video near the crime scene. He said other KFC employees told police they saw Rice wearing the sweat shirt in the past.

Rice wasn't scheduled to work at the restaurant Monday, Snemis said, and was in the parking lot when the other employees arrived to open the store.

"He had no reason to be there at the crime scene," he said.

Rice told police he was there to cover a shift for someone else.

Snemis said Urbanczyk propped open the door for Rice, and she probably let him in because she was comfortable with the man.

He said he isn't sure what sparked the slaying, and couldn't comment on whether Rice confessed to the crimes.

Snemis said there also was no video of the altercation, and he wasn't sure if the homicide was premeditated.

He said police at the scene found what they believe is the weapon used, but he couldn't comment on it.

"It was a brutal assault, hopefully she didn't suffer much," Snemis said.

Snemis also said video shows Urbanczyk didn't open the safe. He said the suspect needed a key and a specific code corresponding to the key to open the safe.

He said it wasn't certain what the money was needed for, and police said they recovered the stolen money after they followed the direction Rice took after he left the scene. Snemis said they were able to follow the path using video footage from other businesses in the area.

Snemis said police don't have a precise total of how much money was taken, but he estimates it was about $6,000.

He said Rice has a history of theft, and also was accused of stealing money from White Castle late last year. Rice was a shift manager at the White Castle when the theft occurred, Snemis said.

Rice was placed on probation after he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor conversion charge in connection with that incident.