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

Chapter 1220 analyzes the time and cause of death.

Assistant Lin Xiao had arranged the autopsy instruments on a stainless steel tray according to procedure. Scalpels, hemostatic forceps, skull saws, tissue scissors and other tools were placed in order. The label on the edge of the tray clearly stated "Deceased: Unidentified male corpse, autopsy date: August 25".

"Begin the body examination and record basic data simultaneously." Zhang Lin's voice came through the gas mask, carrying a slight muffled sound. Lin Xiao stepped forward and lifted the body sheet, the beam of the powerful investigation light precisely focused on the body: "Male body, preliminary age assessment 28-32 years old, height 178cm, weight approximately 72kg, hair length 5cm, black, hair of medium coarseness; fully clothed, wearing a black cotton-blend jacket, dark gray cotton jeans, and black canvas sneakers (size 42). The clothing is covered with a large amount of mud, with some wear marks, but no obvious tears or sharp object cuts."

Zhang Lin squatted beside the autopsy table, gently pressing his fingers against the corpse's skin: "The skin color is grayish-brown with a dirty green tinge, consistent with the characteristics of lividity during the decomposition process. The lividity is mainly distributed in the lower back, buttocks, and posterior thighs. Based on the extent of the lividity (approximately 15% of the body surface area) and the ambient temperature of the autopsy room (20°C), the preliminary assessment is that the time of death was between 48 and 72 hours." He turned to Lin Xiao, "Xiao, record the rigor mortis and livor mortis, paying attention to the influence of post-mortem position changes on the distribution of livor mortis."

Lin Xiao took out the autopsy ruler and placed it close to the joints of the corpse: "Stiffness level: The mandibular joint has a range of motion of about 15° (the mouth can be opened slightly), the neck muscles are stiff (the lateral flexion of the head is limited), the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints of the upper limbs are stiff at grade 3 (the range of motion is <30°), and the fingers are in a semi-flexed position; the hip and knee joints of the lower limbs are stiff at grade 2 (the range of motion is 30-60°), and the ankle and toe joints are stiff at grade 1 (the range of motion is >60°). The development of stiffness follows the 'descending distribution' pattern. Based on the current stiffness, the estimated time of death is about 56 hours from the time of the autopsy, which is basically consistent with the results of the 'green' assessment."

"Where's the livor mortis?" Zhang Lin pressed, his gaze fixed on the corpse's back. Lin Xiao adjusted the light angle: "The livor mortis is located on the back, buttocks, back of the thighs, and back of the calves. It is dark purplish-red, and the livor mortis fades when pressed (approximately 40% fading rate). The edges are blurred, and it is diffusely distributed. No obvious migration of livor mortis was observed. Based on the color of the livor mortis, the reaction to pressure, and the distribution range, it is determined that the person was in a supine position for 6 hours after death. Afterward, the body position may have changed due to external force (such as being moved), but no new fixed livor mortis formed. This further supports the conclusion that the time of death was between 48 and 72 hours."

Zhang Lin took out a rectal thermometer and inserted it into the corpse's anus: "Measure the rectal temperature and record the value." A moment later, Lin Xiao reported the data: "Rectal temperature 22.3°C, autopsy room ambient temperature 20°C, temperature difference 2.3°C. According to the formula for rectal temperature decrease after death (at 20°C, it decreases by 0.58°C per hour in the first 10 hours after death, and by 0.38°C per hour after 10 hours), the time of death is calculated to be approximately 58 hours. The error between this and the judgment of rigor mortis and greening of the corpse is within 2 hours. The time of death can be precisely pinpointed to between 2 AM and 4 AM on August 23rd."

"Is it possible that the prolonged exposure of the body to the low temperature of the sewer affected the decomposition process and the rate of temperature drop?" Lin Xiao asked, her pen hovering over the recording paper. Zhang Lin nodded, stood up, and walked to the other side of the autopsy table: "Environmental factors certainly need to be considered. We retrieved environmental monitoring data from the sewers. The water temperature in the sewers at the crime scene was 18°C, and the humidity was 95%, which is a low-temperature, high-humidity environment. This would slow down the decomposition process—the degree of greening of the corpse that would take 48 hours at normal room temperature would take about 60 hours under this environment. This is basically consistent with our current judgment, indicating that the impact of environmental factors on the estimation of the time of death is within the margin of error."

During the subsequent examination of the body's surface, Zhang Lin discovered a crucial abnormality on the corpse's neck: "There is a ring-shaped subcutaneous hemorrhage on the front and sides of the neck, approximately 12x3cm in size. The edges of the hemorrhage are blurred, and the central part is dark purplish-black in color, accompanied by local epidermal abrasion (approximately 2x1cm in area), with a small amount of fibrous residue visible at the abrasion site." He gently picked up the fibers with tweezers. "The fibers are made of black nylon, approximately 0.1mm in diameter. A sample needs to be extracted and sent to the laboratory for composition comparison. Xiao, can you determine which type of weapon this injury is consistent with?"

Lin Xiao leaned closer to examine the wound, gesturing with her fingers to describe its shape: "The bleeding band is a closed loop, uniform in width, with no obvious interruption. The epidermal abrasion is concentrated in the center of the bleeding band, consistent with the characteristics of strangulation marks caused by soft cord-like objects (such as nylon ropes or hemp ropes), ruling out sharp edge injuries caused by rigid cord-like objects (such as iron wires or electrical wires). Moreover, the bleeding band encircles the neck without forming any crossing marks at the back of the neck, suggesting that the perpetrator strangled the victim from the front, and applied even force with both hands."

“There’s another detail,” Zhang Lin pointed to the conjunctiva of the corpse’s eyelids, “scattered punctate hemorrhages were visible on the palpebral and bulbar conjunctiva, some of which merged into patches. This is a typical sign of death by mechanical asphyxiation—strangulation caused compression of blood vessels in the neck, obstruction of intracranial venous return, and capillary rupture and bleeding, consistent with the pathophysiological process of death by asphyxiation.” He added, “Further examine the oral cavity, nasal cavity, and external auditory canal to see if there are any other asphyxiation-related injuries.”

Lin Xiao carefully opened the corpse's mouth with a laryngoscope: "The oral mucosa is intact, with no loose teeth or bleeding gums; the nasal mucosa is smooth, with no foreign objects remaining; the external auditory canal is clean, with no bloody secretions. This rules out suffocation caused by suffocation due to covering the mouth and nose or obstructing the airway with foreign objects, further supporting the judgment of strangulation."

After the physical examination, Zhang Lin prepared to perform an autopsy to confirm the extent of internal organ damage. Holding a scalpel, he cut along the midline of the chest from the suprasternal notch to the navel, the blade cutting through the skin, subcutaneous fat, and muscle layer to expose the sternum and ribs: "No fracture of the sternum, no cortical fracture of the ribs, the integrity of the thoracic cavity is good, ruling out chest cavity injury caused by external impact." He used rib shears to cut the ribs, opened the chest cavity, and exposed the internal organs: "Both lungs are under-expanded, the lung tissue is dark red with blunt, rounded edges, and a large amount of foamy fluid can be seen overflowing from the cut surface. Squeezing the lung tissue causes a light red fluid to flow out, consistent with the pathological changes of pulmonary congestion and pulmonary edema in death by asphyxiation."

"Where's the heart?" Lin Xiao handed over the hemostats and assisted Zhang Lin in extracting the heart. Zhang Lin placed the heart on the dissection tray and examined it carefully: "The heart is of normal size (about the size of the deceased's right fist). Diffuse petechial hemorrhages are visible under the epicardium, most prominently in the left ventricular and right atrial walls. The myocardium is soft and dark red in color, with no signs of infarction or rupture. Petechial hemorrhages under the epicardium are an important internal sign of death by mechanical asphyxiation, forming a complete chain of evidence for asphyxiation death together with strangulation marks on the neck and conjunctival hemorrhage."