freenovelworld Chapter 1319: Discovery of Important Clues Advances the Case Investigation
Chapter 1319: Discovery of Important Clues Advances the Case Investigation
"The skin peeling off the left side of the lips, the bleeding from the nasal mucosa, combined with the punctate hemorrhages in the lung tissue and the conjunctival hemorrhages in the eyelids, are all typical characteristics of mechanical asphyxiation caused by suffocation due to pressure on the mouth and nose!" Zhang Lin's tone was tinged with excitement. "The suspect probably used a soft object, such as clothing or fabric, to cover the victim's mouth and nose, continuously compressing them until they suffocated. This method would not leave obvious marks on the neck, and it also explains why there were no signs of violent resistance on the body surface—the victim may have been attacked without any warning."
Kobayashi suddenly realized and immediately added to the note: "Could the blue cloth retrieved from the scene be the tool the suspect used to suffocate his mouth and nose? The dark red stains on the cloth, although not bloodstains, might be the victim's saliva or secretions?"
“That’s possible. We’ll have the technical department conduct secretion testing on the fabric stains later.” Zhang Lin nodded in agreement and continued the autopsy. They found a small amount of fine blue fibers and sand particles in the victim’s trachea and bronchi. “The blue fibers in the trachea are consistent with the fibers extracted from the wounds on the body surface, and the sand particles are the same as the composition of the soil at the scene. This further proves that the victim was attacked at the crime scene—the suspect suffocated the victim by pressing a blue cloth against the mouth and nose, and then buried the victim with a shovel. During the process, bricks and sand entered the trachea, and the blue fibers also remained there.”
To more accurately determine the time of death, Zhang Lin removed stomach wall and liver tissue from the deceased and fixed them in formalin solution: "The degree of cell autolysis is an important supplementary basis for determining the time of death. Stomach wall cell autolysis usually begins 4-6 hours after death, and liver cell autolysis begins 6-12 hours after death. Combining the previous rigor mortis, livor mortis, and putrefaction characteristics, and considering the effect of the low temperature environment at the demolition site on delaying putrefaction, the time of death was comprehensively revised to about 12 days, which is around last Sunday."
He then examined the deceased's teeth and bones. The teeth showed moderate wear, consistent with a male aged 40-50. The bones showed no signs of osteoporosis or abnormalities, ruling out a history of long-term illness. "The deceased was healthy before death, with no underlying diseases. The cause of death was clearly mechanical asphyxiation due to pressure on the mouth and nose. The time of death was approximately 12 days ago, around last Sunday. The deceased had not eaten for 16 hours prior to death. The external injuries were non-fatal resistance injuries, which are related to the shovel and blue cloth found at the scene," Zhang Lin summarized, recording the autopsy findings point by point in the report.
At 1 a.m. on Wednesday, the autopsy was basically completed. Zhang Lin and Xiao Lin put the dissected organs back into the abdominal cavity one by one and began suturing. While assisting with the suturing, Xiao Lin reviewed the case: "Teacher Zhang, based on the autopsy findings and the forensic results from the technical department, could the suspect's modus operandi be reconstructed as follows: Late at night around last Sunday, the suspect encountered the deceased in an empty building in a shantytown. Due to some reason, a conflict ensued. The suspect used a blue cloth to suffocate the deceased by pressing it against the mouth and nose, causing death by asphyxiation. He then used a shovel to dig a pit inside the building to bury the body. During this process, the deceased resisted and was cut on the palms and head by the shovel or bricks. Blue fibers fell out and remained in the wounds and trachea. Later, possibly due to the upcoming demolition work, the suspect moved the body to the first-floor wall, where it was eventually discovered by a bulldozer during construction?"
"This reconstruction basically matches all the clues." Zhang Lin finished stitching the last stitch, removed his protective mask, and looked tired but determined. "Now we need to further confirm: the specific source of the blue fabric, the user of the shovel, and the identity of the deceased—we didn't find any identification in the deceased's pockets, so we can only identify them through DNA comparison. Previously, the technical department extracted mitochondrial DNA from the hair at the scene. We are now extracting the deceased's DNA sample and sending it to compare with that mitochondrial DNA to confirm whether it comes from the same person. At the same time, we will enter it into the missing persons database and find the deceased's family as soon as possible."
At 1:30 a.m., Zhang Lin handed over the extracted blood, liver, kidney samples, and the deceased's DNA sample to the technical department, and specifically instructed: "Focus on testing the blood sample for sedative drug components to rule out the possibility that the suspect drugged the deceased first; prioritize comparing the deceased's DNA with the mitochondrial DNA of the hair at the scene to confirm the correlation; at the same time, conduct secretion testing on the blue cloth stains to verify whether they are the deceased's saliva."
Stepping out of the autopsy room, Zhang Lin looked at the gradually brightening sky outside the window, picked up his phone, and dialed Li Ming's number: "Team Leader Li, the autopsy results are in. The deceased was male, 40-50 years old, 168 cm tall. The cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation due to pressure on the mouth and nose. The time of death was approximately 12 days ago, around last Sunday. He had not eaten for 16 hours before death. The external resistance injuries are related to the shovel and blue cloth found at the scene. Fiber and mud were found in the trachea, proving that the crime scene was the primary crime scene. DNA samples from the deceased have been extracted and are being compared with DNA from hair found at the scene, and simultaneously entered into the missing persons database."
On the other end of the phone, Li Ming's voice was filled with relief: "That's great, Zhang Lin, this result is crucial! It connects the physical evidence from the technical department, the traces from the scene investigation, and the autopsy findings, pointing the way for subsequent investigations. I'll immediately have Xiao Wang adjust the focus of the interviews, centering on people who were active in the shantytown around last Sunday, had blue synthetic fabric, and used a shovel; and have Xiao Zhou speed up the DNA comparison of missing persons to confirm the identity of the deceased as soon as possible."
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Lin walked to the window of the autopsy room, watching the streetlights gradually illuminate the distance. He knew clearly that although the victim's identity had not yet been confirmed and the suspect was still at large, every detail discovered in the autopsy was building a crucial bridge to solving the case. He believed that as long as all departments worked together and followed the three clues of "method of asphyxiation, method of concealment, and time of death," they would soon find the suspect and bring justice to the unidentified victim buried under the rubble.
On Wednesday morning at 8 a.m., the forensic department reported preliminary results: the deceased's DNA perfectly matched the mitochondrial DNA of the hair found at the scene, confirming that the hair belonged to the deceased; a small amount of saliva was detected in the blue cloth stain, and the DNA matched that of the deceased, proving that the cloth was indeed the tool used to suffocate the mouth and nose; no poison was detected in the blood sample, ruling out the possibility of drug-assisted crime. These results further solidified the autopsy conclusions and clarified the direction of the investigation—focusing on individuals with relevant items in the vicinity of the shantytown and exhibiting unusual behavior during the time of the incident, based on the murder weapon and the time of death, became the core task going forward.
On Tuesday evening at 8 p.m., the lights in the Criminal Investigation Division's information verification room echoed the cold light in the forensic autopsy room. Xiao Zhou and four team members sat around a long table, the computer screen in front of them scrolling through entries from the missing persons database, the dense text and blurry photos standing out starkly in the night.