Frederick McKinley, 45, was found dead in his bedroom by police Thursday morning after officers were sent to his home to make a well-being check. He had been shot in the head.
A neighborhood and relatives remain grief stricken while the search continues for his killer.
"Right now it's just very hard...just trying to figure out why something like this would happen...for someone that always helped people," said LaSalle McKinley, vicitm's brother.
Officers forced their way into the victim's home Thursday around 9 a.m. after concerned family members asked them to conduct a well-being check when they had not heard from the 45-year-old single man who talked to his mother every day.
"The family has been helping us tremendously. They provided us all the information. We've talked to most of the family members, getting any information to put his last whereabouts and his timetable together," said Chief of Detectives Jim Lilley, Merrillville Police Department.
Investigators will not say if any personal items were taken from the home or if the man was specifically targeted.
One of his brothers is a crime scene investigator for the Gary Police Department. But relatives of the victim confirm that McKinley's SUV, a Jeep Cherokee, was found Friday morning torched and abandoned near the intersection of 5th and Burr.
"This is the first homicide we have had here in Merrillville this year, and we are have all hands on deck to solve this crime," said Lilley.
Residents in the quiet Barclay Village neighborhood remember McKinley as an all around good guy who enjoyed being social and loved playing dominos. His love of people helped him in his job as a counselor at Methodist Hospital Northlake in Gary.
As friends and family mourn his death, those who knew him best just want justice.
"He would help anybody - anybody. And for something like this to happen, he didn't deserve this. No one deserves this. Not anybody. Not just him. No one deserve this is. And I hope they catch this guy," said LaSalle McKinley.
No arrests have been made.
Anyone with information should call Merrillville police at 219-769-3722.
