MERRILLVILLE | Ghassan Mohammed had only heard bits and pieces Monday about the homicide at KFC in Merrillville.

But he said his heart went out to the victim's family because his father, Naseeb Mohammed, 60, had been killed just as senselessly while opening the Aladdin Pita restaurant in September 2006.

"That's horrible," he said.

Maxine Urbanczyk, 61, of Merrillville, a KFC employee, died of blunt force trauma to her head, the Lake County coroner's office reported Monday. Late Monday, police arrested a 26-year-old co-worker in connection with the homicide.

The KFC restaurant where her body was found is located near the intersection of U.S. 30 and Taft Street, a few miles east of Aladdin Pita.

Mohammed said news of the Monday homicide makes him think about the safety of businesses in the area and what steps need to be taken to make employees safer.

"I don't get it. ... It has to be someone watching the patterns of employees," he said before an arrest was made. "That's what happened with my dad. It had to be someone watching her."

Mohammed, who has continued to run the business since his father's death, said he makes it a practice to always have more than one employee on duty at the restaurant.

His father's slaying remains under investigation despite a $10,000 reward offer.

He said he has not given up hope the crime eventually will be solved.