National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 152 - 152 147 Footprint Expert_2

152: Chapter 147 Footprint Expert_2 152: Chapter 147 Footprint Expert_2 Immature police often resemble immature scoundrels.

Jiang Yuan was also quite tall, and the moment he entered the door, bathed in the bright light, it almost felt as if he saw himself sitting inside…

Liu Chang had a similar impression, in the blink of an eye, almost seeing another self walk in.

Both seemed slightly stunned as they faced each other.

Liu Chang, in his small town, was also a legitimate second-generation official, living a carefree life.

“This is our footprint expert, Doctor Jiang,” Wu Junhao gestured for Jiang Yuan to sit beside him and then introduced him to Liu Chang.

“How old are you?” Liu Chang’s pupils constricted slightly, but he asked first.

Jiang Yuan, upon seeing such a young suspect, although he had read the case file and heard about it all the way there, including having seen him from the outside, still found the direct, face-to-face encounter very strange.

“24 years old.”

“Younger than me?” Liu Chang suddenly looked at Wu Junhao with agitation!

His feet were trembling:

“Who are you trying to fool?

Bringing in a fake, do you think that’s funny?”

Wu Junhao was startled, then slapped his own thick forehead with a large hand.

“You should have said something earlier, with so many people on hand, it would’ve been more convenient to bring a fake.

Do you think experts must be in their forties or fifties, better yet, grey-haired or balding?”

Wu Junhao ran his greasy fingers through his hair and continued:

“Had I known, I would have brought in a bald police officer, instead of asking Jiang Yuan to come from so far.

Our team lacks many things, but not age or bald heads.”

Liu Chang was left speechless by his words.

And he felt that this burly man did make some good points.

He then scrutinized the young man across from him once more.

“How did you determine my height?

I heard that the previous footprint expert was also a renowned footprint expert in the province.”

His question was slightly professional, indicating he had indeed done some research beforehand.

Jiang Yuan countered, “Why do you care about this?”

“Just curious.

I’m quite a bit taller than the average person.

When the incident happened, and I saw the footprints everywhere, I knew there was a problem,” Liu Chang stated somewhat calmly: “Reporting a lower height was my own decision.”

In that statement alone, Liu Chang revealed a lot of information.

If what he said was true, it first of all suggested that Liu Chang was unaware of the previous fingerprint expert’s judgment of his height.

In other words, his father’s connections had not extended to leaking case information.

Chen Wenming had initially estimated 178 to 185 cm, and Liu Chang was simply too tall; otherwise, reporting 185 cm would have put him directly in the range of suspicion.

At that time, the special case unit’s scrutiny of him would certainly have been much more intense.

Secondly, Liu Chang saying that reporting a lower height was his own decision implies someone made decisions for him in other matters.

Most likely, it was his parents.

In other words, this statement confirmed the parents indeed had provided cover.

Finally, Liu Chang also exposed his psychological state.

It’s nothing new for young people to want to shape their own futures, to confront the world with their beliefs.

However, some end up becoming national fathers—like Sun Yat-sen.

Others end up merely as murderers—like Qin Wuyang.

Jiang Yuan looked at Liu Chang even more intently.

From the feeling of their face-to-face encounter, could this guy be aspiring to achieve something?

Thinking that getting away with accidental murder might allow him to prepare for the next time?

“If you’re not going to talk, neither am I,” Liu Chang felt he had a hold over Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan smiled slightly, “Judging height is actually a systematic task, it’s all in the books.”

“But I want to hear it from you.”

“All right, the simplest thing is to determine height based on foot length.

There are some empirical rules to it.”

Jiang Yuan said slowly, “For example, in ancient China, there was ‘seven times standing, five times sitting, three times in a fetal position’, which means the average person’s height is seven times the length of their head, and the foot length is actually similar to the head length.”

“Isn’t it said that some people have a nine-heads tall figure?”

“That’s an exception.

Let’s stick to the general rule first.”

Liu Chang acknowledged, “Okay, so you multiply by 7?”

“People from Hu City multiply by 6.75, people from the Northeast by 6.876, Shaanxi residents by 6.734, Chongqing by 6.856…” Jiang Yuan gave a comprehensive answer.

“But I was wearing shoes that day!” Liu Chang was particularly troubled by this detail.

“Moreover, the shoes were a bit smaller than the normal size, they were tight and not the same size as I usually wear.”

“You could tell?”

“I could tell,” Jiang Yuan nodded, “Shall I continue?”

“Please do.”

“To further determine height, you need to include the foot width data as well.

Your feet are quite long, but wider than average.

This is another detail.”

Liu Chang, listening to the young forensic doctor speak with such confidence, began to feel some agreement:

“Chinese feet are generally wider than Europeans’, so foreign brands of shoes often feel tight.”

His own wide feet made shoe shopping challenging, a sentiment with which he deeply sympathized.

“Then there’s the foot’s surface area and the width of the metatarsal.

Adding these two pieces of data to the equation gives you a regression formula with a high degree of usefulness,” Jiang Yuan explained carefully, after all, it was all public information.

According to interrogation experts, spending a bit more time chatting with Liu Chang now was beneficial.

Liu Chang frowned slightly hearing about regression equations, “What you’re talking about are still averages.

How did you know my height is 193 centimeters?”

“The true conclusion should be between 191 and 195, I picked 193 because it had the highest probability,” Jiang Yuan replied.

He further explained, “It’s really a matter of experience, in addition, there are impressions, stride length…”

…The leaders outside the interrogation room were confused and impressed, watching the conversation between the young forensic doctor and the young suspect, they felt the urgency that one might see in a TV drama.

The situation was intense yet indescribable.

“Can you explain in more detail?” Liu Chang pressed.

“Now it’s your turn to talk,” the burly Old Wu interjected, “Let’s first finish updating the interrogation record, then you guys can chat in detail afterwards.”

“Update what.” Liu Chang’s body shifted slightly backward, but the iron chair prevented him from moving much, causing a slight frown.

“Let’s start with why you killed someone,” Wu Junhao didn’t follow the usual procedure and went straight to the question.

Liu Chang curled his lips, “Didn’t I already say?

“This is an official interrogation.

If you say it now, it’s considered that you’re showing remorse…”

Liu Chang lifted his head slightly and said slowly, “I was a fool at the time, clashed with his son, exchanged a few insults, the kid was dressed in rags…”

Recalling the scene from seven years ago, Liu Chang felt a hint of regret and shook his head, “Anyway, I wanted to make up for it, happened to be heading that way that day, so I rode a bike to his place, and there I ran into his dad, the old man came at me, I had to strike back, and accidentally…”

“How did you know where his house was?”

“The kid told me himself.

He said to go down the county road, there are two lions with wings, that’s their house,” Liu Chang’s voice grew fainter…