The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1485 Report on the Autopsy Results

The following morning at nine o'clock, Zhang Lin arrived at the Criminal Investigation Detachment office with the complete autopsy report to report the findings to Li Ming. At that moment, Li Ming was gathering Xiao Yang, Xiao Sun, and other team members to review case leads. The atmosphere in the office was heavy; the whiteboard on the wall was covered with crime scene photos, trace evidence annotations, and sketches of the perpetrators. Seeing Zhang Lin enter, Li Ming immediately stood up: "Forensic Doctor Zhang, the autopsy results are in? Please sit down and tell us in detail."

After Zhang Lin sat down, he opened the autopsy report and reported it point by point: "Team Leader Li, after last night's systematic autopsy and comprehensive examination, the cause and time of death of the deceased have been determined. The specific details are as follows: The deceased was male, aged 35-45, 175 cm tall, of medium build, missing left upper incisor, with fair nutritional status and no obvious deformities on the body surface. The fatal injury was a single-edged sharp instrument stab wound to the chest, located between the fourth and fifth ribs on the left side of the sternum, 5.2 cm long, 1.3 cm wide, with the wound sloping upwards and inwards, 8 cm deep, penetrating the chest wall and the upper lobe of the left lung, damaging the left ventricle of the heart, leading to cardiac rupture and hemorrhagic shock, resulting in death. The exact time of death was determined to be between 2 and 3 a.m. on the day of the incident."

He paused, then continued, "The characteristics of the weapon used in the crime are clear: it is a single-edged knife with a blade length of no less than 6 centimeters and a width of about 2 centimeters. It is made of steel and may have slight wear. The metal residue extracted from the bluestone at the scene is consistent with the metal residue extracted from the bluestone at the scene, confirming that the sharp weapon scratches at the scene were left by the weapon used in the crime. The deceased had multiple minor abrasions and contusions on his body, distributed on his wrists, elbows, knees, and back. These were caused by friction with mud and stones during the dragging process. The dragging occurred when the deceased was near death or shortly after death, which is completely consistent with the 8-meter drag mark found at the scene."

Xiao Yang leaned forward and asked, "Forensic Doctor Zhang, did you find anything in the stomach contents examination? Can you narrow down the scope of the investigation by analyzing the food composition?" Zhang Lin replied, "The stomach contents consisted of semi-digested rice, vegetables, and a small amount of meat. The food composition was simple, without any regional characteristics or special markings, so it's impossible to directly narrow down the scope of the investigation. However, the last meal was determined to have been between 10 and 11 pm the night before the incident. Combined with the time of death, we can infer that the deceased may have eaten in a nearby village or town before the incident, which provides a direction for investigating the deceased's activity trajectory."

"Any breakthroughs in the trace materials extracted from the deceased's clothing and body?" Xiao Sun asked. Zhang Lin nodded: "The composition of the silt extracted from the gaps in the clothing is consistent with the silt from the river at the scene, confirming that the deceased's body has not been moved and has remained at the location where it was found; a small amount of skin tissue and fibers were extracted from under the fingernails, and the DNA test of the skin tissue matched the DNA profile of the male perpetrator extracted from the cigarette butt, indicating that the deceased had a physical altercation with the male perpetrator before death, and the skin tissue under the fingernails was left by the male perpetrator; the fibrous material is cotton and synthetic fiber, which matched the black and light-colored fibers extracted from the scene, respectively, confirming the speculation that the perpetrators were a man and a woman, wearing dark and light-colored clothing."

Li Ming frowned and said, "The autopsy results have further refined the crime process, but the core issue remains unresolved—the deceased's identity is unknown, and there's no clear suspect. Forensic Doctor Zhang, did the deceased have any special physiological characteristics or lesions that could help us identify them?" Zhang Lin pondered for a moment and replied, "Apart from the missing upper left incisor, the deceased had no other special physiological characteristics, and there were no obvious lesions in the internal organs, ruling out death due to illness or any special evidence for identification. The deceased's DNA has been extracted and entered into the national DNA database for comparison, and simultaneously compared one by one with the DNA data of recently missing persons; there are currently no matching results."

"Furthermore, the metal buttons and earrings retrieved from the scene are not directly related to the deceased. The metal buttons were originally used on jackets by a niche brand ten years ago and are now discontinued. The earrings are made of silver synthetic fiber, and DNA samples from the surface were extracted from the earrings. They are not related to the male perpetrator, further confirming that the perpetrators are two unrelated adult men and women, consistent with the previous sketches," Zhang Lin added. "The murder weapon was not found at the scene or in the river, suggesting that it was taken away by the perpetrators after the crime. We need to continue to increase our efforts in retrieving the weapon from the river, and at the same time, investigate nearby knife shops and hardware stores based on the characteristics of the sharp weapon."

Li Ming picked up the autopsy report, carefully reviewed it, and said, "Thank you, Forensic Doctor Zhang. The autopsy report is very detailed and provides crucial support for solving the case. Combining the autopsy results with previous investigations and interviews, we have further clarified the direction of our investigation: First, focusing on the identity of the deceased, we will expand the scope of the missing persons investigation, focusing on men aged 35-45 with missing upper left incisors who have recently been active in Zhangjiagou Village and the surrounding area. We will also consider the time of their last meal to investigate those who dined in nearby villages or towns between 10 and 11 pm the night before the incident; Second, focusing on the perpetrator, we will conduct a thorough investigation..." A man and a woman were found carrying an old-fashioned warehouse key, a jacket from a niche brand from ten years ago, and driving a mid-to-low-end black SUV of a certain brand. The man was 178-182 cm tall, slender, and a smoker; the woman was 160-163 cm tall, of medium build, and wore simple silver earrings. The investigation also included: 1) continuing to search the riverbed for the murder weapon, and checking nearby hardware stores and knife retailers to determine the source of the weapon; 2) expanding the scope of surveillance to track the black SUV's movement between 2 and 3 AM on the day of the incident, and combining this with the time of death to pinpoint the perpetrators' whereabouts.

Zhang Lin nodded in agreement: "Captain Li, the autopsy report has been officially issued. All test data and autopsy results are recorded in detail. The laboratory will continue to conduct in-depth tests on the extracted samples, especially the skin tissue under the fingernails and the clothing fibers, and their connection to the perpetrator. We will notify you of any new results as soon as possible. In addition, the torn marks on the deceased's clothing and the stitching residue on the metal buttons can be further analyzed by textile experts, which may lead to more clues about the source of the clothing."

“Okay, we will immediately adjust our investigation strategy and go all out to solve the case,” Li Ming said, then handed the autopsy report to Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun. “Based on the autopsy results, you two should re-examine the traces and physical evidence at the scene, focusing on verifying the characteristics of the murder weapon, the traces of physical conflict between the perpetrator and the autopsy results, to ensure a complete reconstruction of the crime. At the same time, coordinate with the laboratory to follow up on the progress of in-depth testing of the samples, and report any breakthroughs immediately.”

After Zhang Lin left, the investigation in the office proceeded swiftly. Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun compared the autopsy report with the trace evidence collected from the scene.