National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 890 - 828 Desperate for Fame

Jiang Yuan spoke to the police department’s photographer in Indonesian.

The television station’s cameraman, who had been listlessly filming material, considered this task to be more like political shooting, where avoiding mistakes was all that mattered.

However, when Jiang Yuan uttered the phrase "the suspect’s return to the scene of the crime," the volcano named viewership ratings within the cameraman’s heart instantly erupted.

Snap, snap, snap...

The pieces of equipment on the cameraman jangled as his camera lens steadily focused on Jiang Yuan and the area he was pointing to.

"The suspect’s return to the scene of the crime" was far too provocative for the audience’s imagination. Even the cameraman himself felt a shiver run down his spine. He could imagine the kind of feedback such a topic would generate when broadcasted on television.

Footprints don’t run away. The cameraman adjusted the focus to fill the viewfinder with Jiang Yuan’s face before pulling back to adequately capture the shoe prints on the ground.

Upon closer examination, it was evident that while the shoe sizes of the prints were consistent, the tread patterns were distinctly different.

Unable to contain his curiosity, the cameraman asked, "Excuse me... I have a question. The footprints on the ground, they look like they’re from two different pairs of shoes, right? How can you tell they’re made by the same person?"

He regretted not bringing an on-site host that day, as asking the questions himself made the inquiry seem less professional. But after asking, he felt a tinge of pride—weren’t many celebrities known for such beginnings?

At that moment, Jiang Yuan replied, "Although they are footprints from two types of shoes, a person’s footprints are unique. I’m referring to footprints from around the same period. In fact, even if they change over time with age, it’s still possible to determine if they’re from the same person."

Facing the camera, Jiang Yuan’s response was a bit more complex for the sake of clarity and precision.

After mulling it over, the cameraman Pan Jibu quickly followed up, "I’m the cameraman, Pan Jibu. Could you explain in detail for our audience?"

Realizing the importance, he promptly introduced himself.

"It’s quite complicated to explain," Jiang Yuan looked around.

"No worries, we can edit this part in post-production," Pan Jibu hastily said.

Jiang Yuan nodded, "Just wait a moment, let me complete the inspection first, then I’ll explain."

Judging a person’s height, age, and weight based on footprints isn’t a technique exclusive to China. However, Chinese criminal investigators hold a superior standard in this field globally. Other countries not only lack such skills but also don’t provide adequate legal compensation.

In fact, most technical expertise that relies on subjective judgment is usually disregarded in the judicial systems of Europe and America due to differences in legal principles and aspirations. Chinese justice seeks the truth of facts, whereas the American justice system emphasizes procedural fairness. The principle of the Chinese criminal procedure is "facts as the basis, law as the criterion."

That doesn’t mean procedural fairness is irrelevant in Chinese justice—it just means that procedural fairness must yield to factual accuracy. This perspective makes it easier to understand domestic judicial trials in China. As for discerning the truth, that is a job of another dimension and can be considered one of the origins of the earlier, investigation-centered philosophy.

In European and American film and television, most heroic characters are based on factual evidence; if you killed my daughter, that’s an objective fact. One cannot be exonerated just because evidence is dismissed due to the "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine or any other conceived reasons to uphold the law or social stability.

Pan Jibu found the ability to identify a person through their footprints fascinating and quickly followed Jiang Yuan, only to be pulled back by Wang Chuanxing who controlled his movement range.

After walking around the rooftop, Jiang Yuan beckoned the police photographer to come over for pictures.

"What is this?" asked Pan Jibu, naturally following along.

"The suspect lingered here after leaving a second set of footprints," Jiang Yuan explained. "If you look at the footprints again, you’ll see they start to disappear from this point, probably crossed over that pipe, and moved forward along this thick pipeline"—he referred to a thick ventilation pipe, an old-style structure where a person could easily walk.

Once the photographer finished taking pictures, Jiang Yuan climbed up to look and, as expected, found no further footprints. In Dama, rain was abundant, and although there had been little rain in the past few days, the pipe was clean from being washed by rainwater. Its metallic surface didn’t retain complete footprints.

Jiang Yuan didn’t concern himself with these details. Pointing ahead and then behind, he said, "Let’s look along the pipe, in both directions. The suspect came here twice; there must have been a reason."

As he himself stood on the pipe and looked around, he saw nothing but the common urban landscape, making it difficult to guess why the suspect had been there.

Two detectives climbed over the pipe, exploring in both directions.

The thick pipe on one side penetrated into the building near its edge, while the other side extended to the area where equipment was clustered.

The television cameraman, Pan Jibu, hurried over and looked up to film the actions of the detectives on both sides, feeling that the scene was incredibly striking.

At this moment, Jiang Yuan took the opportunity to address the previous question, saying, "The identification and analysis of footprints have actually become a very mature method of identification, which we call Footprint Identification. First and foremost, the most important part of a footprint isn’t the shoe print, but the size of the footprint, the pressure, and especially the variation in gait. Through preliminary examination, we can use this to determine the person’s age, height, stature, and even their occupation..."

"Can you tell a person’s age from their footprints?" Pan Jibu immediately questioned, looking down and asking, "Can you tell my age?"

"41 years old," Jiang Yuan answered after only a glance.

Pan Jibu was startled, "Do you know me?"

"No, I don’t."

"Then, can you tell me my height?"

"Your actual height is 167 centimeters, with 5 centimeters of height from internal shoe lifts, that makes it 172 centimeters?" Jiang Yuan paused, not waiting for him to continue questioning, and added, "Your weight should be around 65 kilograms, the camera weighs about 1 kilogram, and the weight of the accessories inside your vest must be around three or four kilograms."

"Just... you can see all that from looking? And you can even tell the weight of the camera?" Pan Jibu had thought Jiang Yuan would have to undertake some process to figure it out but was surprised that it really was just a glance.

"It’s not easy to tell with the camera usually, but you’re right in front of me, and you’ve left many traces," Jiang Yuan explained briefly. His Footprint Analysis skills were at Level 5, and it wouldn’t be fair to let people think this was standard.

But for someone outside the loop like Pan Jibu, standards weren’t important. What mattered more was the chilling sense of awe he felt toward the police, or rather, the capabilities that Jiang Yuan possessed.

"Doesn’t this mean that anyone in front of you can’t hide their age?" Pan Jibu couldn’t help but ask.

Jiang Yuan had wanted to say that metal floors or normal shiny floors wouldn’t retain footprints, but upon reconsideration, since Pan Jibu was referring to someone right in front of him, their gait would indeed be visible.

If the gait is visible, then age naturally becomes the most basic conclusion.

Therefore, Jiang Yuan naturally nodded in agreement.

Pan Jibu gasped, "In that case, you’re like a killer of female celebrities!"

It had to be said that the thought process of someone in the arts could really be varied and unpredictable, like a malfunctioning circuit board, where the normal logic processing unit seems to run its course. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Even Jiang Yuan was momentarily unable to follow Pan Jibu’s train of thought.

"I’ve found blood!" A detective who had crawled forward along the pipe for over a hundred meters suddenly shouted, pointing at a piece of metal equipment ahead.

Ni Cha and the others hastened into action. To a detective, a bloodstain was a very important sign, as it’s not something that would casually appear somewhere, let alone at a crime scene.

Several senior officers also climbed into the pipe without regard for the effort involved.

Jiang Yuan and the cameraman and others did the same.

The pipe’s load capacity was limited, and the individuals climbed up in turns, arriving only to see a splatter of blood.

"Look around here," urged Ni Cha, clearly not content with the find.

Jiang Yuan stood up to look, then pointed to the right, saying, "This bloodstain was flung out, search over there."

Two detectives went as told and soon shouted excitedly, "The murder weapon! We’ve found the murder weapon!"

Cameraman Pan Jibu grasped his camera steadily, walking along the pipe as if tightrope walking, both stable and dangerous, his heart pounding with excitement as if it were his first time chasing stars.

This material turned in is going to be hot!