National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 723 - 666: The Half-Blood

Chapter 723: Chapter 666: The Half-Blood

Different races have distinct physical characteristics, and before the winds of political correctness blew in, this was absolutely correct knowledge.

One very typical example is the "Carabelli’s tubercle," which refers to an enamel cusp often found near the cervical margin on the lingual surface of the first molars in Caucasians. Carabelli’s tubercle is actually an accessory cusp, and some Caucasians also have it on their second and third molars, but it is extremely rare in people of color.

The shovel-shaped incisors, which appear with a 90% probability among Asian people, are also rare in both Caucasians and people of African descent.

Many people go to hospitals to have bone-shaping surgeries, like cheekbone reduction, precisely because they seek to distinguish their facial features through changes in their bones.

So-called "high class faces" with wide interocular distances, high cheekbones, lateral-pointing chins, and prominent brow ridges also manifest their features through bone structure.

It was only after Jiang Yuan mastered the LV3 Skull Restoration Skill that he began to have insights in this field. After all, the scope of this skill isn’t just limited to domestic use—many countries internationally, especially immigrant nations like the United States, study the racial characteristics of different races and mixed-race individuals, both voluntarily and involuntarily.

By contrast, even if forensic doctors in China have studied the racial characteristics of different races, they seldom touch upon the features of mixed-race individuals, even in Beijing. Veterans like Zeng Lianrong also have a very limited understanding.

"Mixed race, what kind of mixed race?" Zeng Lianrong couldn’t help but ask first, driven by curiosity.

"Eurasian mixed race, I suppose," replied Jiang Yuan, who could only provide a rough idea.

However, even a rough idea was a significant narrowing of the scope, and it could be said to be a major breakthrough. There are many foreigners and mixed-race people in Beijing, but if you only count Eurasian mixed-race individuals, the total number is definitely not that high. More importantly, the police don’t need to find all Eurasian mixed-race people, just those who are missing would suffice.

As for those victims whose families haven’t filed a report, that would be an even bigger issue. If the corresponding individuals can’t be found among the missing persons, this in itself is another clue.

No matter how composed Zeng Lianrong usually was, there was no time to delay now. He first removed his own gloves, then put on a new pair, and asked, "Doctor Jiang, would you please explain?"

He felt responsible for the conclusions of the autopsy and with such a significant lead, it should be reported immediately. Before doing so, however, he needed to confirm that Jiang Yuan’s judgement was correct, or at least reasonably so.

Zeng Lianrong sensed something unusual; typically, he didn’t face such issues. If his subordinates found some detail or decisive evidence, a mere glance from Zeng Lianrong was enough to determine the accuracy of their conclusions and whether the evidence was factual or biased.

But today’s scenario was entirely different. He was familiar with mixed races, he was familiar with forensic anthropology, but when it came to the forensic anthropology of mixed races, was it beyond his expertise?

However, Jiang Yuan was all too familiar with Zeng Lianrong’s concerns, having encountered them countless times.

Jiang Yuan turned around.

With a convincing smile, he said, "There are many ways to make a judgement. I primarily rely on the skull, focusing on the following three points: canine fossa, malar tubercle, and the lateral part of the sphenopalatine foramen."

The three areas Jiang Yuan mentioned were all on the front of the face and are standard academic terms.

Zeng Lianrong, taken aback, quickly assumed his role, picked up the skull on the dissection table, and said while examining it, "If I remember correctly, these three points are all nonmetric traits."

Jiang Yuan nodded and replied, "That’s correct, but there are some indicators that can be used, or rather, that should be used just like that."

Nonmetric traits, as described by anthropological observation, are important tools in anthropological research. Simply put, they are identified by sight, qualitatively rather than quantitatively.

This is actually quite easy to understand. Without any theoretical knowledge or anthropological explanation, by simply placing a Caucasian and an Asian person side by side, one can easily distinguish the differences between the two.

In fact, if the individuals were alive, a mixed-race person standing in front of ordinary people could likely be distinguished without certainty, but there would be a high probability of doing so.

Of course, such a scenario doesn’t hold much significance. It’s like using the pelvis to determine gender; if the person is alive, it really shouldn’t be a subject at all, as there are better ways for the masses to make more detailed classifications.

But at the end of the day, it all comes down to practice makes perfect.

Zeng Lianrong frowned and asked, "How accurate are nonmetric traits? I mean, how can you tell it’s a mixed race through these?"

Jiang Yuan pondered the question for a moment before replying, "If you’ve seen many, it’s relatively easy to tell. Take, for example, the bulging of the lateral part of the greater sciatic notch – it’s higher in Europeans, and the same is true for skull number three. However, its other two characteristics tend to favor an Asian face shape. If we were to make a Frankfurt plane, I estimate it would be even easier to see."

In fact, as soon as the phrase "non-measurable traits" came up, the topic shifted from scientific to authoritative.

Indicators that can’t be quantified are like antique appraisals – the expert calls the shots.

But looking at it from another angle, if no one is fiddling with the evidence, the accuracy of this thing is guaranteed, and there’s room for discussion among peers. On a broader scale, it’s difficult to deceive people.

As for the Frankfurt plane, when this term appears in forensic circles, it’s high-end.

Zeng Lianrong frowned further and asked, "Have you studied skull restoration?"

The young man from the Beijing Bureau quickly interjected, "Captain Jiang had previously cracked a case using a restored skull."

Everyone’s gaze shifted.

Zeng Lianrong couldn’t help but look surprised and quickly recalled his own knowledge, found it didn’t match up, and said, "I hadn’t expected... since you understand skull restoration, then let’s report as you suggested."

Skull Restoration Skill is the amazing technique of using a skull to restore the decedent’s ante-mortem appearance. Zeng Lianrong didn’t know it, but he knew he couldn’t learn it. Therefore, when it came to examining the face of the body, obviously Jiang Yuan’s opinion would prevail.

Moreover, at the more advanced level, using a single skull to determine the precise race is the home ground of anthropological observational methods. This thing wasn’t even invented for solving crimes; from its inception to the present position, its primary application has been in paleoanthropology.

The majority of human fossils unearthed from the ground are incomplete – the complete ones usually end up on television. So, anthropologists have to rely on observational methods of non-measurable traits for research and screening. Their daily routine often involves holding a skull, staring at it indefinitely, and then writing an entire doctoral thesis.

Seeing that Zeng Lianrong understood, Jiang Yuan nodded politely in return and briefly explained again, "You go ahead and report first, we’ll see what Tao’s opinion is."

Zeng Lianrong took off his gloves and stepped outside to make a call.

Jiang Yuan returned to work, and the others bowed their heads, silently working while exchanging frantic looks.

Tao Lu, on the other end of the phone, was speechless.

Discovering three bodies in one go was a major case, which he had tolerated. But having one of the corpses be of mixed race was something he truly struggled to cope with.

This case was already sensitive, and both Tao Lu and Director Fan had worked very hard to manage it. Yet, the racial status of the victim meant the case was likely to attract sky-high attention.

Not having much else to say, Tao Lu continued to report. The specifics of the operation would still be his responsibility, but he needed to inform the higher-ups of the situation.

After reporting up the chain and searching through missing persons based on further information provided by Jiang Yuan and Zeng Lianrong, they quickly identified an individual – Mike, Chinese name Li Mai, a U.S. national with both parents working as executives in foreign-funded enterprises in China.

With this set of information, Director Fan felt the situation had become problematic. There wasn’t any issue with solving the case per se, but attempting to contain the news seemed increasingly difficult.

Tao Lu could only deploy more staff, voluntarily asking for a deadline to solve the case.

At such a time, all the detachment teams scattered outside needed to be called back. Tao called each one by one to inform and persuade them.

When he called Qi Shan, Cui Lu had yet to speak when Qi Shan, sounding exhausted, began, "Tao, you’ve received the news already?"

"Of course, I’ve received it... no, wait, do you have any news on your side?" Tao Lu felt something was amiss.

Qi Shan replied, "We’ve just found another body."