BUTLER TWP — A man's body was found Sunday in the basement of the one-time American Legion building in Lyndora, and police are investigating the death as an apparent homicide.

But authorities still don't know the identity of the victim — Butler County's first criminal homicide in more than a year.

Investigators also don't know how long the man had been dead when someone discovered his body, dressed apparently only in underwear, at 100 Bessemer Ave.

An autopsy Sunday night on the white man, believed to be in his mid-20s, determined he died of a single gunshot wound to the head, said Butler County Deputy Coroner Larry Barr.

The bullet, which entered above the left cheek, was so badly mangled, however, that investigators were unable to determine its caliber.

Butler Township police were called to the Bessemer Avenue building for the reported discovery of the body — about 5 feet, 10 inches tall — under a tarp. There was no identification on or near the victim, who had tattoos on the back of each hand.

Investigators said the body was "pretty badly decomposed,"which indicated the man could have been dead for two or three days.