National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 1040 - 973: Quick Wits

Chapter 1040: Chapter 973: Quick Wits

Corpses, like people, become uglier the more they go through.

The body of one who has drowned bloats particularly quickly, just as one is soaked into society.

It will swell up, it will decompose, it will become unbearably smelly, and it will no longer look human.

Just like the body lying on the stainless steel table.

Its small form could scare a peaceful face into insomnia.

But under the dazzling knives, signatures, and electric saws, it finally becomes tranquil.

Jiang Yuan, along with two forensic doctors, two forensic assistants, and two videographers, dissected the entire body thoroughly in just over an hour.

If you ask if all these people are necessary? To be thorough, it is actually better to have more hands.

The workload of an autopsy is indeed substantial, as can be seen in those high-profile cases where, after being handed over to renowned experts, they often take more than a day to yield results.

Because high-profile cases require an extra level of meticulousness, they naturally require extra time.

For the bodies encountered in daily work, forensic doctors usually make preliminary assessments before conducting further investigations. A smart forensic doctor would take several additional samples for backup so that further examinations can continue if needed in the future. For those who are lackadaisical or lacking funds, there is no need for such trouble.

In earlier years, many cases were such that forensic doctors would conduct on-spot inspections and autopsies, and then write their reports directly, without the need to take any samples, as there were no facilities for that.

Even now, the core model remains the same. The autopsies expected by the general public might involve completing all available examinations, yet there are simply too many to perform, such as toxicological tests. There are countless poisons in the world, and it is impossible to test for each one individually. In the case of the poisoning of a game company’s chairman, the murderer even established his own poison lab and tested hundreds of substances. Yet after the billionaire victim was dead for 9 days, the poison could not be identified.

The level of detail in forensic examinations varies, as there is a physical limit to what three forensic doctors can examine; any more would be beyond their full capacity.

With the addition of two forensic assistants, the efficiency is nearly at its peak. As for videographers, that could be considered a legal requirement, offering one main function, similar to a contraceptive; it’s a regrettable necessity.

"Alright, we’re done here. Let’s discuss," Jiang Yuan said as he took off his gloves to wash his hands, while the other two forensic doctors started to clean up.

"The body is female. As far as we know, the deceased appears to have died before entering the water, which is clear from the examination of the heart and lungs. The cause of death was blunt force trauma caused by a stone, and more specifically, a rock from a mountain. Based on this, does it mean after the victim died, she was thrown into the river?" Wen Youchuan, the forensic doctor from Jianjiang City, summarized the main pathological findings first.

Modern forensics research on wounding objects is very thorough. Blunt force injury may sound complicated, with numerous potential instruments like clubs, sticks, bricks, and stones, but it’s like sorting through assorted items in an antique shop; seemingly miscellaneous, but all we do is categorize them one by one.

Striving to distill a final conclusion with just a phrase or two is the most revered form in Chinese culture and simultaneously the pinnacle of scientific research—the so-called "Unified Field Theory," where the constant deconstruction of physical and mathematical edifices is based upon.

However, for a highly practical field like forensics, having a "Unified Field Theory" would be great, but if it’s not there yet, then one makes do with summarizing findings, sticking to descriptive and enumerative methods for the time being.

For example, injuries caused by mountain rocks characteristically have irregular ragged wound edges. When the impact is severe, it can even result in irregular linear fractures or depressed fractures. Additionally, the wounds often contain rock fragments, as mountain rocks are usually weathered on the outside.

In comparison, injuries inflicted by pebbles typically result in arc-shaped linear fractures, and if there are broken stones in the area of the fracture, they would likely be relatively large fragments.

Of course, when it comes to the details, especially in writing out the conclusions, it’s quite a test for the forensic doctor.

A standard forensic report will only disclose that the injury was caused by blunt force trauma. Judgments like "injuries caused by stones" and "injuries caused by mountain rocks" would at most be included in investigative files.

Of course, the next step is to make an effort to locate the "mountain rock," but as to whether it can be found during the investigation, or if it will have to wait until someone is arrested before it is revealed through interrogation, that’s hard to say.

Jiang Yuan, having washed his hands, stepped back a bit, removed his mask, smiled, and said, "Wen’s judgment is spot on, I also agree that the body was thrown into the water post-mortem."

Wen Youchuan’s face turned inexplicably redder, and his lips curled up uncontrollably.

Even though it was just a response to an ordinary question, receiving praise from a big shot makes me feel exceptionally wonderful, what should I do?

"The injuries on the corpse’s legs are mostly post-mortem, but the several wounds on the back of the right leg seem like they were inflicted before death," Wen Youchuan couldn’t help but add another comment.

"Hmm, I agree," Jiang Yuan continued nodding.

"The time of death must be over 10 days ago," said another forensic doctor from Qinghe City, female forensic doctor Wang Lan. She was originally from the mobile unit of the Qinghe City Bureau and she was also waiting by the riverbank. If the body had drifted over, she would have been in charge of the recovery operation.

Jiang Yuan also agreed: "At least 10 days."

He naturally had a more accurate judgment, but it was still important to listen to his colleagues’ opinions. Autopsying a body and performing surgery are not the same; some secondary areas can be directly handled by other forensic doctors, their observations are firsthand information.

Seeing Wang Lan taking on the challenge, Wen Youchuan added: "Considering the condition of the body’s uterus, she seems to have given birth before. In that case, there are likely records at the hospital, right?"

"Possible. However, with a body that’s been dead for 10 days, the range upstream is now larger. Let’s see if DNA can provide a match," Jiang Yuan spoke with uncertain words, but his tone was very confident; this case... at least this body, posed relatively low difficulty for him.

The discovery that the deceased had given birth further reduced the difficulty. Having given birth signifies a family, likely with close relatives, which consequently significantly increases the chance of a missing person report being filed.

Of course, the best evidence would still be DNA, but that would require waiting for the laboratory report.

Wang Lan continued: "Judging from the victim’s clothing, she was likely an office worker. Undergarments are all intact, so it’s probably not a rape case."

"Hmm," Jiang Yuan responded, this inference was somewhat subjective, but he agreed with it as well.

As Wen Youchuan and Wang Lan started to discuss more openly, one point after another was raised—some were affirmed by Jiang Yuan, while some were set aside without affecting the overall investigation.

Wang Chuanxing was quickly taking notes and organizing them at the side, soon gathering two pages full of information.

When Huang Qiangmin and Wu Zhisu finished their discussion and came over, they were presented with comprehensive information.

"Not bad at all," Wu Zhisu nodded repeatedly.

"Satisfied?" Huang Qiangmin asked.

Wu Zhisu smiled: "Just a few hours in, and we already have such results, I’m quite satisfied."

Huang Qiangmin was waiting here for him, having also reviewed the contents, and thus he asked Jiang Yuan, "Any thoughts on your end?"

"A few updates can be made," seeing that Huang Qiangmin had finished the discussion, Jiang Yuan said, "The time of death can be narrowed down a bit, probably 12 to 14 days ago. She was wearing high heels. There were calluses from holding a pen on her fingers—although they were somewhat swollen and less obvious, she likely used a pen frequently in her daily life..."

Wang Lan couldn’t help looking up at Jiang Yuan, smiling with a touch of helplessness. She had watched Jiang Yuan grow up and never expected him to become this robust.

Having less contact with Jiang Yuan, Wen Youchuan couldn’t help but say, "In this case, the scope of the search becomes quite narrow."

"That’s good, that’s good!" Wu Zhisu, despite feeling a pang, felt a sense of thrill after the pain and said, "So, we’re likely looking for a female office worker? If she disappeared during working hours, there surely would be a missing person’s report. Following upstream from the Tai River, there aren’t many jobs that require writing by hand nowadays..."

"Furthermore..." Jiang Yuan paused again before continuing, "This body likely didn’t drift very far. Some of the leg wounds were probably caused by entanglement with aquatic plants. Analyzing the species, it’s most likely within the Jianjiang City range."

Jiang Yuan noticed these details during the external examination of the body, but determining that those marks were from aquatic plants entanglement required a bit of knowledge in Legal Botany.

Wu Zhisu, however, was stunned after hearing this, the prospect of limiting the location of death to a single city would make the case far easier to tackle.