MUNSTER | Investigators suspect homicide in the death of a 26-year-old man found Tuesday in his Munster duplex home with wounds so severe, police could not say how he died. Munster Sgt. Steven Kovacik called the scene "messy."

The man suffered "a lot of trauma to the midsection," Kovacik said. If police had tried Tuesday to name a weapon, they would have been "guessing," said Chief Nick Panich.

"It's that bad," Kovacik said.

Lake County coroner's officials were trying Tuesday night to contact the man's family. Neither the coroner's office nor police released the man's name Tuesday.

A concerned friend found the man dead about 4:30 p.m. in a duplex at 7618 Manor Avenue.

The death in a quiet, tucked-away neighborhood south of the Borman Expressway could be Munster's first homicide since Margaret Church beheaded her mother in February 2004, blocks north of Tuesday's scene. The concerned friend found the duplex's front door unlocked, Kovacik said.

Officers found no signs of a break-in, Panich said. Neighbor Patrick Sullivan said the man's door had been "wide open" for a day and a half. Police believed Tuesday night the man died Monday, Panich said.

Police were not seeking any specific suspects, Kovacik said. Officers had dealt with the man in the past, but they hadn't arrested him for any major crimes, Kovacik said.

Neighbors recalled seeing the man arrested after a domestic incident.

"He was in cuffs," said neighbor Jennifer Kurgan.

Sullivan thinks the man worked for a railroad. Neighbor MaryAnn Cummins estimated the man moved into the block of one-story brick duplexes a few months ago. She saw him infrequently, she said, usually getting out of a forest green Cadillac sedan.

"You don't know your neighbors anymore, you know?" she said.

Police impounded the Cadillac and a blue sports motorcycle Tuesday.

"You never know where you're going to find evidence," Kovacik said.

Crime is rare in the neighborhood, Sullivan said. "It's quiet back here," he said.