A little girl is without a father, after a homicide that took place at her home in Minden. Douglas County Sheriff's Deputies say her father, 36-year-old, Benjamin Oxley was murdered early Thursday morning. He died from a gunshot wound at his home on Wildhorse Lane.

Sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the home around 3:30 Thursday morning. Oxley's wife had called 911. At first, it looked like a textbook domestic homicide case...but sketchy details are keeping officers guessing.

Neighbors say Benjamin Oxley had only recently moved into the home with his wife and six-year-old daughter. When police arrived there, they found Oxley dead from a gunshot wound...a killing they say was clearly not an accident.

With Oxley's body still inside, Washoe County crime scene investigators pulled evidence from the home, hoping to find out what led to the young father's death.

"They've done a canvass of the exterior of the house and of neighbors and what have you, trying to elicit what information we possibly can at this time," said Captain Mike Biaggini from the Douglas County Sheriff's Department.

Investigators say Oxley's wife is not a suspect. They say it appears that someone else entered the home, but they didn't break in. The door was left intentionally unlocked...and detectives believe the killer may not have been a stranger.

"Obviously the first question is, who would want to harm this individual? What could he have possibly done? What circumstances led to something like this?" said Biaggini.

All questions that remain unanswered. Terrified neighbors say the home had a history.

"The day before, there were cops there for somebody stealing property, so it's a little scary in our neighborhood," said Oxley's neighbor, Bob Wilson.

Investigators say the couple's six-year-old daughter was not hurt, but she was at home when her father was murdered. No arrests have yet been made, but detectives continue to interview Oxley's wife and others. They say the investigation could take days, even weeks.