Police try to solve puzzle of dead body found in home

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 | 9:44 a.m.

Metro Police detectives were baffled by the discovery of a homicide victim in a home on the Desert Rose Golf Course near Sahara Avenue and Nellis Boulevard about 11 a.m. Monday, Metro Homicide Lt. Tom Monahan said.

Officers said man who lives at the home, whose name was not released by police, had been trying to fix a garage door that was broken and left open for a couple of hours while the resident of the home was running errands. When he returned home, he found a 31-year-old man, whom he said he did not know, dead in his bathroom.

The man had been shot in the head and three bullet casings were found in the home. Detectives had not pinpointed who may have shot him or why, Monahan said. The resident, who told police he lived alone, was not considered a suspect this morning.

Monahan said the resident kept firearms in the house but that detectives were still analyzing this morning whether the bullets used in the shooting came from one of his guns.

Detectives speculate that the man who was shot might have been burglarizing the house with a partner, police said. His clothing -- a heavy leather coat, gloves and small backpack -- indicated he could have been a burglar, police said.

"It's a head scratcher," Monahan said this morning. " ... We don't understand it any better today than we did yesterday."