Najeh Masaeid believed in many things, but little was more important to him than doing the right thing for the right reason, especially when it came to money.
The 63-year-old Domino's pizza deliveryman often told his four children this: "Nothing is free. You work. You pay for what you want. You don't get free."
"He really valued an honorable dollar,'' his grieving daughter, Jordan Hosey, told Al.com.
The irony that her father was likely killed during a robbery when he believed so much in that "honorable dollar" isn't lost on Hosey. "He came here for the American Dream and it was shattered by American greed,'' Hosey said. "Where's the justice in that?"
Masaeid was found dead in a hallway at the District at the Summit apartments near the Summit shopping center in Birmingham Sunday evening in what police say appears to be a homicide. Authorities are investigating robbery as the possible motive and believe he might have been set up.
Domino's workers said the victim was called to deliver an order to an apartment there that turned out to be vacant.
A resident called police at 6:45 p.m. after discovering the Domino's driver on the ground in the breezeway of building No. 9. The Jordanian man suffered a fatal head wound. Authorities said he was killed by blunt force trauma, but have not said what object was used to kill him.
Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Sean Edwards said no one heard gunfire, and no shell casings were found at the scene. Masaeid's car was still running when police arrived. A warming bag holding pizzas was near the victim.
Investigators went door-to-door questioning residents as to what they might have heard or seen. The residents of the apartment next to the vacant apartment were asked by police to leave while they searched the vacant apartment in case gunfire erupted. No one was found inside.
The victim's co-workers, managers and the owner of the Cahaba Heights' Domino's gathered at the crime scene, visibly shaken by the loss.
"He probably didn't have $20 on him," the business owner said through tears.
Masaeid's co-workers went to notify Masaeid's wife of his death. Casey Leroy, Masaeid's manager, said the victim had worked at that location for 15 years. "He was the nicest the person,'' Leroy said. "My whole staff is shaken. He was not a person who deserved this."
Masaed's death has touched the community he served. "This is such tragic news and our hearts and prayers go out to his family,'' wrote Melanie Lyerly Riley on the Facebook page What's Happening in Vestavia. "He delivered my son's favorite pizza often and was always so sweet to me and my boys."
"He has delivered to our house many times, played with our dog, so, so sad,'' Tara King Smith wrote. "Peace be with everyone."
Hosey said her father and mother moved to the U.S. almost 20 years ago. He took a job with his close friend at Domino's and worked at least 80 hours a week to make ends meet.
"His income wasn't that great, but he got his citizenship the right way,'' she said. "They got their green cards, paid taxes, did everything right,'' she said. "They did everything that half the Americans don't do."
Masaeid and his wife lived in a modest Shelby County apartment. Just recently, Masaeid found out he had a 43-year-old daughter and an 8-year-old granddaughter, and immediately flew them from the Middle East to Alabama and moved them into his apartment so that he could care for them. "Anybody that needed something, he was going to help them,'' Hosey said.
Money wasn't flowing into the Masaeid household, but that was Ok with him, his daughter said. Though he was eligible for government assistance, he never would have taken it. "He never once went to the government for money, although is legal status entitled him for it,'' Hosey said. "He never believed in this. He was just earning his money. That was it. He said he didn't need anything fancy. He was happy with what God gave him."
Hosey said she's devastated by what happened to her father. Drivers, she said, weren't allowed to carry more than $20 at any given time.
"My father was simply trying to earn an honorable dollar. He didn't feel entitled to it, he worked for it and it makes me sick to my core how someone felt they were entitled to his money,'' she said. "I can't bear it. I just can't believe it."
Masaeid was married for 40 years. He and his wife together had three sons, a daughter and two grandchildren. He adored all of his grandchildren, and often made videos for them because he worked so much.
"He believed in family and family values,'' his daughter said.
Hosey described her father as hilarious, outgoing and animated. "He always said he was a 'new car with high mileage,''' Hosey said. "He was older, but he had the spirit of a teenager. He was just that guy."
The family's culture requires that Masaeid be buried within four days of his death. That means the family is planning for his funeral on Christmas Day. "Instead of celebrating Christmas, I will be burying my father,'' Hosey said.
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