National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 936 - 872 Conclusion

"The body was discovered three days ago. At the time it was found in a suburban grassland, the body was already in an advanced state of decomposition..."

Deputy Director Ruan Tianyang was briefing Jiang Yuan on the case details.

Before he could finish, Hou Lejia yelled from behind: "What do you mean by a body from three days ago? It’s decayed already!"

"But the body was indeed discovered yesterday." Ruan Tianyang widened his eyes, which after 50 years seemed dense like cataracts.

"Huang wanted a current case, a freshly killed case from yesterday. How can you compare it with your case which was only discovered yesterday?" Hou Lejia was extremely indignant. The body was highly decomposed, and given the current cool weather, it might have been a month, which seemed like a significant advantage for Ruan Tianyang.

Ruan Tianyang did not retort but just smiled and continued, "When it was discovered yesterday, there were signs of burning around the body. Additionally, the body was near water, but not all the water plants were burned. Near the body, we found a sharp dagger..."

"The upper clothing of the deceased had burn marks, with edges charred. Moreover, there is a significant amount of bloodstain on the right side of the clothing. The belt buckles on the pants are intact. The forehead hair exhibited signs of being singed, with the scalp undamaged and no fractures visible on the skull. The right side of the face suffered extensive burns..."

"The lethal wound was a horizontal sharp object trauma on the anterior neck, reaching the esophagus..."

Deputy Director Ruan Tianyang’s description was rather succinct and then he proceeded to describe the forensic report.

Jiang Yuan listened and reviewed the report at the same time.

The forensic report was obviously more detailed, specifying directions such as the incision on the neck from the front left towards the right lower side. Additionally, inflammation burns on the mucous membranes of the trachea and bronchi, and black-grey deposits inside the trachea...

Apart from this, the organ histology presented no doubts, and no toxins were detected in the toxicology examination.

"If you came to seek Captain Jiang, you should have preserved the body for him to autopsy; rushing through it was such a waste," Hou Lejia riled things up.

Ruan Tianyang chuckled, barely bothered to explain. He hadn’t expected to catch Jiang Yuan today; it was just a shot in the dark.

"No rush, let me look through the files first." Jiang Yuan interrupted Hou Lejia, flipping through the freshly printed documents page by page.

Ideally, all these files and dossiers should be paperless, but the subordinate staff, worried about the leaders’ preference for paper documents, printed them, and indeed the leaders... found paper more convenient to handle.

Jiang Yuan finished reviewing the files and casually placed them on the table.

The captains and commanders watching eagerly didn’t hesitate to snatch them and start reading.

Huang Qiangmin’s eyebrows twitched, but he didn’t say anything.

Earlier, it was Huang controlling the situation since everyone was effectively "borrowing" Jiang Yuan, just like villagers borrowing a combine harvester, even if they had to fake a smile just for the schedule’s sake.

Now that the work had begun, fellow villagers came to the field to see the combine harvester at work, and there wasn’t much to say.

"This man had his throat slit, yet it appears he was burned to death?"

The first person to review the forensic report had spotted the crux.

The next person took over, reading aloud, "The weapon was left at the scene, suggesting a novice killer."

The third person, holding freshly printed documents, consulted with a nearby person head to head: "Has the victim’s identity been confirmed yet? With multiple injuries, did someone chase them or what?"

As the body was burned and now severely decayed, the condition of the skin was particularly complex, and wounds, normally the easiest evidence, had become difficult to discern.

A few police captains actively participated in the case discussion, some were quiet and pondered by themselves, and of course, there were those too lazy to think, idly scrolling through their phones.

At this time, Deputy Director Ruan Tianyang found himself compelled to take up the task of explaining, and promptly phoned his forensic doctor, starting to address questions from the police captains online.

Everyone’s questions were diverse, but there was still a long way to go before solving the case, making the forensic doctor feel like it was more of a playful endeavor.

In fact, it was just like play, similar to how ordinary villagers casually pluck a few wheat ears and strip them while watching a combine harvester at work; a normal investigative process requires a significant amount of time just to understand the situation. Those who can read forensic reports and understand photographic evidence can get into the state of mind quicker, while others who cannot directly obtain information need it relayed by someone else, taking even longer.

Deputy Director Ruan Tianyang’s forensic doctor had no choice but to answer the phone call from the deputy director, accepting it even with reluctance.

Fortunately, it was a case from three days ago, and he had just performed the autopsy on the deceased, so he was fully familiar with the details and responding wasn’t difficult.

"There’s no case here."

Jiang Yuan was used to his own method of reviewing files; setting down the printed document, he presented a somewhat surprising conclusion.

Deputy Director Ruan Tianyang had planned to engage in a give-and-take conversation with Jiang Yuan, but hearing Jiang Yuan’s conclusion, suddenly felt a bit insecure and asked, "What do you mean by there’s no case?"

"The deceased committed suicide. It’s not a criminal case." Jiang Yuan pointed at the file with his hand, "The method of suicide may be relatively complex, but without a murderer, there is no case."

Suicide is one type of abnormal death. For a forensic doctor, it is actually very frequently encountered. Combined with different regions, car accidents, suicides, drowning, etc., are the most commonly encountered unnatural deaths.

Deputy Director Ruan Tianyang was clearly stunned for a moment, "Suicide? Slit his neck and then set himself on fire?"

Jiang Yuan: "It could be the other way around. Self-immolation is too painful, so he might have tried to end it quickly with a knife. Look at the wound edges, I suspect there might be more than one cut, and corruption is quite severe now, so it’s not easy to confirm. But from the angle and level of blood splatter, it’s likely that the deceased had multiple wounds, probably tentative cuts."

Tentative cuts are an important indicator of suicide. Normally, people committing suicide are often not decisive, unlike doctors or forensic doctors who know exactly how much force is necessary to inflict a sufficiently deep wound, and their will to commit suicide might not be firm, resulting in tentative cuts.

"This..." Ruan Tianyang was at a loss for words for the moment. If it were a murder case, the procedure would be routine. Now, with it being ruled a suicide, wouldn’t the case be closed directly?

He felt somewhat uneasy about making that decision.

At this time, a forensic doctor from Litang County on the other end of the phone said, "The wound on the deceased’s neck is 15 centimeters long."

"But the direction of the wound is consistent with the way ordinary people hold objects, and besides, the deceased has no defensive wounds," Jiang Yuan replied promptly. Such questions, he had already addressed in his mind.

The other forensic doctor pressed on, "What about the depth? The wound on the neck reaches the esophagus — it’s nearly impossible to do that to oneself."

"Nor would a murderer typically cut that deep. From the photos, I believe it’s a result of decay, with the proliferation of maggots deepening the wound. Also, the blood distribution is on the right side, looking at the clothing, the deceased was standing when the wound was made..." Jiang Yuan began to elaborate more as he spoke.

Discussing issues is like this: if you want answers, they can be summarized in a sentence or two, maybe a few sentences forming a conclusion, at most adding a bit of evidence. But if you really enter the discussion phase, there are schools of thought, directions, objectives, bases, judgment standards, confidence intervals, comparisons...

Initially, Jiang Yuan was more reserved speaking to Deputy Director Ruan Tianyang, but as the forensic doctor began to ask questions, he gradually opened up, throwing out more information:

"Actually, regarding maggot larvae, if we discuss forensic entomology, there’s still a lot of content worth researching. Why I say the depth of the wound was increased by maggot larvae has to do with the species and habits of the maggots found on the corpse. The depth of the wound maggots can create can actually be studied further..."

"The identity of the deceased definitely needs to be confirmed, but looking at the scene, it already reads strongly of suicide attributes. For example, even though the footprints were affected by the burning and passing of time, you can still see the deceased’s footprints at the scene, but no second person’s footprints. In future similar cases, using panel bridges could still be a good practice."

"Bloodstain Analysis also supports the conclusion of suicide. Regarding this, the bloodstains at the scene have been mostly destroyed, but the bloodstains on the deceased’s clothing can still be analyzed..."

Jiang Yuan’s responses were rapid and forceful, continually impacting the other forensic doctor’s comprehension.

The forensic doctor on the other end of the phone at first managed some cooperative responses, gradually leaving only pained muffled sounds.

It felt like being intellectually challenged by an expert, feeling as though one has grown, yet this growth somehow seemed futile.

The captains present at the scene felt like they were watching a play. If it weren’t for knowing it was not their place, everyone might think Jiang Yuan had self-directed and performed it all.

"So, shall we move to our case for this week?" Bai, the captain from Shitin County who had interactions with Jiang Yuan and Huang Qiangmin before, hesitated, "Our jurisdiction in Shitin County doesn’t involve Tai River, can we still participate in the Taihe Working Group?"