National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 419 - 419 386 Discussion

419: Chapter 386 Discussion 419: Chapter 386 Discussion The time of death differs by two months, so much of the previous investigation can be overturned.

Although it seems a bit far-fetched, the reality is such, when dealing with decomposed bodies, forensic doctors always face various possibilities of failure.

It’s not just a matter of a two-month discrepancy, there are plenty of cases where the difference has been two years.

The decomposition changes of a biological body in different environments are not so easy to judge.

Not to mention the physicochemical indicators, even if you place a child over three years old in front of a doctor, he wouldn’t be a hundred percent sure about the child’s age, let alone the large margin of error in indicators like height and weight.

Even if blood tests are allowed, even if bone growth lines are checked, there’s still the possibility of age overestimation.

This is still with children, whose bodies change significantly.

If it were a 25-year-old leader, even if you’re allowed to look up his records, you still might not be able to accurately determine his date of birth.

Killing one now, you probably can’t even make an accurate judgment.

Liu Jinghui glanced at the dossier and then looked at Jiang Yuan, saying, “If the Luyang City Criminal Police Brigade finds out about this, they’re bound to have a bone to pick with us.”

“We don’t use their funds, and we can do without their manpower.

Whether they like it or not, it’s of no consequence,” Tang Jia, who had followed him to several places, said confidently.

Liu Jinghui uttered an “Mhm” and couldn’t help but say, “Working independently on a case really does feel better.”

He had never worked independently on a case before.

When there were disagreements, he had to convince the actual case-handling unit to trust his judgment before he could proceed smoothly.

Smaller judgments were manageable, but when it came to larger decisions that had more impact, it sometimes became quite troublesome.

The ultimate decision-making power always lay in the hands of the leaders of the case-handling unit, and there was nothing that could be done about that.

However, the pressure of not working independently was significantly less; with no power comes no responsibility.

It was best when they could assist the lower-level cities and counties, and if they couldn’t, it wasn’t their fault.

Liu Jinghui actually still wasn’t responsible, but now it was Jiang Yuan, in his twenties, who had become the person in charge of the Cold Case Squad.

“The victim Li Yuan had records of online bank transfers five months before her body was discovered,” Liu Jinghui reconfirmed the content he’d reviewed before and sighed, “which means the criminal first kidnapped her before it turned into murder, with robbery occurring in between.”

Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but think of the Tan Yong case, one of the most heinous cases he had dealt with early in his career, where the murderer also kidnapped young women and transitioned to murder…

Jiang Yuan quickly suppressed his emotions and converted them into logical resources, saying, “From kidnapping to robbery, then to murder, keeping the murder weapon and discarding the body—the criminal has done every step very well.

Could we consider the possibility that the criminal is not a first-time offender?”

“Very likely,” Liu Jinghui immediately expressed agreement.

If you regard criminal behavior as a project, the longer the project’s chain, the greater the possibility of making mistakes and leaving behind evidence.

In cases like kidnapping, there could be traces of ropes, handcuffs, or plastic ties.

The absence of any such traces could mean either the traces have faded or the criminal has the capability to firmly control the victim without physically restraining them.

Then, in movies and TV shows, you see various escape attempts by kidnap victims, prison breaks, and even retaliatory killings, which suggests that long-term kidnapping of victims is actually quite difficult.

Murder and disposing of the body are not easy tasks, especially the latter.

Most murderers worry about being discovered and exposed, so they have to balance efficiency and thoroughness when it comes to disposing of the body.

In summary, Jiang Yuan did not believe that a beginner could achieve the level of perfection currently observed across so many links in the chain.

“The murderer could have deliberately misled us about the time of death,” Jiang Yuan brought up another point.

Liu Jinghui looked over.

“From the photos, it is evident that the scene where Li Yuan’s body was found was scattered with many of these…” Jiang Yuan took out a photo, projected it, and then pointed with a laser, “These should be fertilizer, the same type as in the flower beds beside the road.

I believe the criminal possibly took fertilizer from the roadside flower beds and mixed it into the soil while burying the body.

This method could accelerate decomposition and also confuse our judgment of the time of death.”

The photo Jiang Yuan displayed was of a corner on the national highway.

This was also the site where Li Yuan’s body was excavated.

The widest-angle photo showed the scene with an excavator, several vehicles, and numerous construction workers.

The burial site was about twenty to thirty meters away from the national highway, separated by a flower bed that had been dug up.

The area where the body was buried was a patch of broken stone land, likely used as a site for construction previously, and now it had been dug up again.

Gravel, old building materials and tools, chunks of earth and bodies, freshly grown saplings and grass, along with upturned soil and accumulated water, would only evoke disgust and confusion in the average person.

Liu Jinghui gazed at the photos on the projector screen, hesitating briefly before saying, “The scene hasn’t been preserved well.

It’s already difficult to verify whether these are specifically flower fertilizers or if they were excavated from the burial site of the bodies.”

The scenes in the photos were all post-excavation by the diggers, which had been operating for a considerable time.

The road’s green belt had also been dug up, and nearby land had been leveled – it looked exactly like a construction site that had just begun excavation.

Proving whether there had been flower fertilizer in the place where the bodies were buried, how much there was, or whether it was intentional, was difficult.

Jiang Yuan was also aware of Liu Jinghui’s concerns and had come to a conclusion after some deep thought.

He then said, “Actually, it’s not necessary to confirm the matter regarding the fertilizer.

Considering the time of death, the extent of decomposition of the bodies, and the generation and type of maggots nearby, there definitely were other factors that accelerated decomposition and affected the insect populations.

Given the state of the scene, it’s reasonable to assume that some fertilizer was mixed in at the time of burying.”

Liu Jinghui nodded, partially understanding, then thought for a moment before suggesting, “We could check if flower fertilizer had been added to this green belt around that time, what type it was, and when exactly it was added.

The road maintenance department should have records of that.”

“Good idea,” Jiang Yuan nodded in agreement.

A police officer immediately volunteered to start researching the information.

Liu Jinghui pondered for a moment, then posed, “Assuming fertilizer was indeed mixed in, is there any way to determine whether it was unintentionally mixed in, or done so consciously?”

“The quantity mixed in unintentionally wouldn’t be significant,” Jiang Yuan replied.

“Is it possible then that the flower fertilizer was brought by the perpetrator himself?”

“It’s also possible,” Jiang Yuan couldn’t rule out that possibility.

However, Liu Jinghui, having raised the query, answered himself, “Actually, the likelihood isn’t high.

Based on the principle of burying close to home only if the body has been moved far away, it would be too much work for the murderer to choose to bury the body here and also bring a substantial amount of flower fertilizer.”

“Yes,” many people present nodded in agreement.

All of them were detectives who had handled homicide cases.

After observing a few crime scenes, they would develop a similar understanding – perpetrators tend to lean towards simplified plans.

Burying a body is not like going camping; a car and a shovel are the most basic tools needed.

Even then, there are people who leave cigarette butts at the scene during the burial, leading to their arrest.

Taking a multitude of items to bury a body increases the likelihood of revealing information.

Besides, a body is heavy enough as it is; why would anyone transport a bag of chemical fertilizer?

Rather than doing so, it would be safer to dismember the body’s head and bury it elsewhere, or perhaps…

If someone has buried several bodies, it’s highly probable that they would have gathered their own set of tips and tricks.

“It indicates we’re dealing with someone somewhat clever – they at least know that chemical fertilizer mixed with a body can interfere with forensic examinations,” Liu Jinghui summed up before adding, “They probably used a car, possibly came via the national road, but they might also be local.

Hm…

if they came from far away, had the patience for burial, and were careful enough to notice the green belt’s fertilizer, the guy’s mental composure is just too good.”

The team began to share their thoughts:

“If it was a vehicle from out of town, it would have had to pass through checkpoints along the way, adding to the risk.”

“Have we found any similar cases?”

“Not at the moment.”

“The second victim’s body hasn’t been found yet, just an arm.

It’s unlikely that stray dogs dug up the arm and consumed the rest of the body.”

“A lot of manpower has been mobilized in Luyang City to search but to no avail.”

Officers from Jiang Yuan’s Cold Case Squad heatedly discussed, when Jiang Yuan’s phone suddenly rang.

He answered to find Huang Qiangmin on the other end saying, “The Luyang Criminal Police Brigade has sent someone over; they would like to meet with you.”