National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 938 - 874: Ordinary Investigation Method

"Captain Jiang, how many cars of people shall we go with?" Wang Chuanxing came over to ask Jiang Yuan, to facilitate the arrangements.

Jiang Yuan naturally looked at Huang Qiangmin.

Huang Qiangmin glanced at Bai Jian before saying, "Shitin County isn’t exactly wealthy. Our trip there is basically akin to poverty alleviation. How many cars we take is up to you."

The silence of Director Bai echoed sky-high.

What he had just said sounded good, but as everyone knows, a woodpecker cannot peck out money, and Director Bai had already used a tongue long enough to wrap around the skull to flatter Jiang Yuan.

"Let’s start with three cars then. The rest of the people will carry on as usual and we’ll provide reinforcements if necessary." Jiang Yuan has grown accustomed to going out with a large contingent of personnel.

It was only now that Bai Jian chuckled and said, "Actually, when it comes to ordinary criminal investigators, we do have an adequate number. It’s just that we are somewhat lacking in the criminal science department."

"Samples can be sent to Ningtai County for testing and, if necessary, further sent to Changyang City." Jiang Yuan no longer needed to ponder over issues of funding. For him, it was all about what was convenient or more precisely, what was efficient and accurate. And for the rest, Huang Qiangmin would naturally take care of it.

Ever since the completion of Ningtai County’s complex building, the Criminal Science and Technology Squadron of Ningtai County started to expand, and various laboratories also began to get equipped—although the county bureau’s lab didn’t look grand, just a few lab benches along with some equipment and tools would do to set it up. A slightly better-equipped lab would have a few devices and a computer, and that would be considered upscale.

However, such laboratories were sufficient for common cases and could complete most of the testing tasks.

Bai Jian was quick to offer his agreement before Huang Qiangmin could speak.

Huang Qiangmin just smiled. He wasn’t the type to hold grudges or worry about a prey that wandered into his territory and escaped. He would only take decisive action when necessary, in a deadly roll, solving all problems and recouping the cost of lurking, and securing his family’s food supply.

Bai Jian hurriedly printed out the case-related information, especially the photos for Jiang Yuan.

"Have you come to any conclusions from your investigation here?" Jiang Yuan asked while looking at the photos. The investigation in Shitin County had already been underway for nearly 5 days. Such a lengthy investigation—especially for contemporary criminal cases and particularly homicide cases—most would have been solved by now, or if not solved, then the wrong investigative directions would constitute useful information.

Bai Jian organized his thoughts and said, "Our first consideration was the possibility of a crime of passion, given the skinning of the face, which suggests the tendency of an acquaintance being the perpetrator."

"For the part where the crime was committed by an acquaintance, we assigned a squadron of criminal police officers to handle it. We visited the surrounding residents and friends and relatives of the deceased. We also employed technical investigation methods to check the deceased’s phone, WeChat, and QQ among other communication tools, but no clear evidence of infidelity was found."

"Of course, we also considered normal acquaintance-based crimes which aim to cover up or destroy the facial area. The action of peeling off the face and even the scalp is too cruel and special; it is difficult for an average person to carry through. Therefore, we filtered through acquaintances and expanded our scope, considering if the killer might be involved in professions that routinely deal with bodies, such as butchery, medicine, funeral services, forensic science, and military or police work, but we came up empty."

Reaching this point in the explanation, Bai Jian looked at Jiang Yuan and added, "For crimes committed by strangers, we are mainly hoping for a breakthrough via technical means. At the crime scene, there were signs the victim was dragged and evidence of a struggle, but the perpetrator also did some cleaning of the scene. The most troublesome aspect is that during the crime scene investigation, many villagers entered to look around, taking photos, videos, even children or others took the opportunity to pick up items from the store, which caused further disturbance when the village organized an eviction..."

Jiang Yuan’s eyelids twitched but he didn’t say anything.

The senior officers around him found it amusing or were simply compelled to share their thoughts.

A fictional crime scene: inside the bright yellow tape, forensic investigators in white coats stepped carefully on acrylic walkways, meticulously collecting fingerprints, keen to record every detail and if possible, to transport the entire crime scene, walls and house included, to a lab for examination under microscopes and in test tubes.

The reality of a crime scene: within the old, crooked tape, villagers barged in unreservedly, politely offering water to the police while asking what to do about their own, their children’s, and various other troubling matters they’d heard of, and, after receiving legal education, they would innocently apologize while rinsing their mouths with tea, spitting it right onto the floor of the crime scene. Meanwhile, the detectives cursed as they took some photos of the scene inside the house and collected a few more obvious fingerprints and footprints, stuffing any ordinary case-related items into plastic bags all together, putting only the significant evidence into evidence bags for labeling. However, an evidence bag often contained numerous cotton swabs and fragments.

There are certain things, like irrelevant villagers going full Martial Arts at the crime scene, which sound quite far-fetched, but not a single police captain raised any doubts.

Actually, it is quite far-fetched. Over several years, a police team might only encounter one or two such homicide crime scenes, which makes it all the more credible.

"So, even though the victim’s death was so tragic, did the villagers still gather around to take photos?" Wang Chuanxing, still young, felt something was amiss while making the record.

Bai Jian replied calmly, "Someone threw up, right at the crime scene, and we collected their DNA. The more people felt nauseated, the more wanted to challenge themselves. After our officers arrived, there were still people climbing over the wall..."

"Were the marks on the wall also damaged?"

"We collected those too." Bai Jian paused before adding, "Currently, the scene is also protected."

The case discussion had come to this point, and people around were already shaking their heads.

Although Bai Jian didn’t spell it out, everyone, as police team managers on the same level, could more or less guess at Bai Jian’s thoughts.

For example, the reason he first considered crimes of passion or acquaintances murder was because such cases had a higher probability of being solved. If the perpetrator was not an acquaintance, not killing out of passion, and not a crime of passion, but rather if a stranger committed the crime, then there was a significant chance that this was one of a series of serial killings.

Bai Jian didn’t even want to entertain this possibility, for validating it would be fruitless since Shiting County lacked the resources and capabilities to deal with such cases. Not to mention anything else, but just the basic pursuit package: prepare half a squadron of twelve or thirteen officers, fly three or four officers wherever there’s a lead, provide lodging and meal allowances according to the standards, rent cars locally, occasionally invite local police comrades for a meal – average one suspect brought back each week... the county bureau would run out of funds for salaries within three months.

If he couldn’t ask for Jiang Yuan’s help, and should the latter situation arise, Bai Jian would have no choice but to call for assistance from Qinghe City Bureau and the provincial department.

Bai Jian looked eagerly at Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan examined the victim’s photos for a long time, looking at the exposed teeth and roots, as well as the partially exposed skull, and said, "The scalp and facial skin were peeled off haphazardly, lacking any technique. From this, we can rule out a professional. Otherwise, if one were to normally peel off the scalp, the cut would begin here..."

Jiang Yuan gestured a few times, then retracted his hand before continuing, "The cause of death for the victim was mechanical asphyxiation, and the perpetrator likely used some sort of rope. The rope wasn’t found, right? I see fibers were collected?"

"Yes, sent to Changyang City for analysis," said Bai Jian. "From what we see, it matches a type of rope sold at a small shop."

"The blunt force trauma to the head... that was probably done with a wooden stick, right? Have you found one that matches?" Jiang Yuan, a Level 6 in Tool Trace Identification, concluded this directly from the photos.

Bai Jian was taken aback and asked softly, "What kind of wooden stick?"

Identifying the tool that caused an injury or death is rather difficult, at least the forensic doctor in Shiting County hadn’t successfully made such a determination.

Jiang Yuan took one photo and placed it on the table, picked up another from the crime scene, and directly said, "Considering the diameter and the force of the wooden stick, I tend to believe it was the rod used to prop the door. Look at this position on the victim’s front door, they would usually place a door prop there. If the crime scene doesn’t show the stick, you should ask around and search the area. Such a thick stick shouldn’t be easy to dispose of."

"Alright, alright." Bai Jian quickly nodded, feeling much more at ease.

Speaking of which, Jiang Yuan’s approach to solving cases was similar to Bai Jian’s. Everyone uses their own strengths and advantages, attempting to make a breakthrough in the facts of the case, just that their capabilities differ.

"Captain Jiang, the vehicle team is ready. Shall we depart for the scene?" Wang Chuanxing came over to report.

"Let’s go. Take two more vehicles with us, it’ll be easier to search for things," said Jiang Yuan.