National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 941 - 877: The Suspect Dog

"I’ll summarize, it’s not a serial killer?"

Director Bai slapped his belly, creating a slapping sound.

He was now unsure whether to be happy or annoyed. The case had made a significant breakthrough, which naturally should bring joy, but it being not a serial killer—when the case was unclear, it was natural to worry about a serial killing, but when there was a breakthrough, should he be annoyed that it wasn’t a serial murder case?

As the deputy director in charge of criminal investigation in Qinghe City’s poorest county, Director Bai not only hoped that the case would be solved but also that money would be spent effectively, preferably with some dramatic and doubling opportunities...

Jiang Yuan interrupted Bai Jian’s reverie with a statement, "It’s not a serial killer. We should return to the original line of thought. The murderer is most likely an acquaintance, and probably a local villager. The footprints left in the grocery store do not match those of the villagers currently here. Additionally, considering where the door bar was discarded, we should consider people who live and work outside the village."

"Someone came and then returned?" Bai Jian suddenly had a clear direction for work, which was originally the most standard investigative approach, except everyone was terrified by the victim’s scalped head.

Even as a criminal police, one might not encounter a serial killer in a lifetime, especially such a psychopath, just like ordinary people who change partners every week in search of a sweet love story from the movies—they’re always playing, if you’re too real, you’re just too psychopathic.

In the entire task force, there must be someone who continuously leads.

Jiang Yuan was noncommittal about Bai Jian’s investigative approach, saying, "I don’t think we need to be too restricted. If it can be determined that the scalp was indeed skinned by a dog, then the case will move to the next phase. For this case, I think we should invest a bit more, explore multiple investigative directions, and try to be as comprehensive as possible."

The real difference between practical investigation and detective novels is that investigative actions have costs, and the results of the investigation must be presented in the form of evidence.

In the "Hangzhou Wife Murder Case", why did the police have to sift through 38 carts of sewage, filtering for human tissues in the mesh, because without evidence, even if it is known that the husband killed his wife, the case is still rootless and unsolvable.

Jiang Yuan urged Bai Jian here. Speculating a more likely investigative direction could certainly reduce costs and alleviate burdens, but losing the initiative might also result in losing evidence.

After all, if it comes down to matching just one footprint, the case’s persuasiveness would be very weak. The saying "single evidence lacks support" applies here, as footprints are indirect evidence, only proving that the perpetrator had been at a certain location, without even specifying the exact time. Thus, having only footprints is actually insufficient to prove that the perpetrator was at a specific place at a specific time, interacting with someone, and committed murder.

A very natural and reasonable suspicion, since the victim’s scalped face might have been skinned by a dog, could the victim have been killed by another person or another animal, while the suspect just appeared at the wrong place at the wrong time and had an altercation with the victim?

Jiang Yuan naturally would not allow such a situation in his case, so he specifically pointed it out.

Bai Jian immediately recognized Jiang Yuan’s needs and promptly responded, "The suspect’s investigation should indeed cover a wider range."

"Indeed, this case is challenging. The point about the dog tearing the scalp is difficult to prove since the skin was torn off, and there are no bite marks left on the flesh remaining on the scalp. Our current speculation is not yet confirmed; we still need to face it with full force." Jiang Yuan tactfully made this point, then added, "For now, let’s start by catching the dog."

"Understood. It has already been arranged." Bai Jian paused, then added, "Simultaneously, based on the victim’s network of relationships, we need to quickly compile a list of names for further screening."

"Yes, the murderer should be a male aged between 35 and 40 years, with a height between 1.6 and 1.68 meters, weighing between 140 and 160 pounds at the time of the crime, right-handed, with short steps, and a step width of about 65, primarily using a heel-toe step," Jiang Yuan stated, then added, "I’ll have Wang Chuanxing send you the information, and then I’ll write a report on the footprint analysis."

"Good, that’s excellent." Bai Jian’s confidence was greatly bolstered.

Given the conditions provided by Jiang Yuan, even if the victim’s network is a bit complex and the list of names is longer, filtering it slightly would make the task much simpler.

Soon, the dog-catching team also sent back news.

Out of the 22 dogs in the village, 20 were caught, while two lucky ones, who were playing outside the village, had people sent after them as well.

During the dog-catching operation, the police dog squad, which had exerted the most effort in catching the suspect dogs, seemed uneasy afterward.

Li Li specifically came to find Jiang Yuan and asked, "What should we do with these dogs?"

"The three dogs involved in the case are definitely doomed," Jiang Yuan bluntly stated, then added, "For the remaining dozen or so dogs, as long as they can prove their innocence, I’ll make them a meal and then let them go."

"How can they prove their innocence?"

"Check their paws," Jiang Yuan calmly responded to Li Li.

Li Li hesitated a bit, "Can you really tell by looking at a dog’s paws? Can’t you be mistaken?"

"No," Jiang Yuan commanded, "You will do this job. Call Shen Yaowei to help, take imprints of these dogs’ footprints for comparison later, and also, these may be used as evidence subsequently."

Li Li agreed, then asked, "And the... dogs that are not innocent..."

"Suspect dogs."

"Alright, suspect dogs... couldn’t the suspect dogs just undergo surgery?" Li Li knew it was not reliable, but still harbored some hope.

Jiang Yuan spread his hands, "Go ask the prosecutor and see what he says. If he agrees, I won’t object... Anyway, I won’t be doing it; this task will be handled by Miao Ruixiang and Shen Yaowei."

The three dogs involved in the case would be executed and then dissected, even if only for preservation of evidence. For forensic doctors, dissecting dogs isn’t much of a psychological barrier; they, like medical students during their studies, acquire practical skills through dog dissections.

If it’s for research purposes, simpler and more ordinary tasks also use dogs. It’s not that monkeys aren’t useful, but dogs offer a better cost-performance ratio.

In fact, a forensic doctor like Jiang Yuan, who can distinguish suspect dogs, has already brought prosperity to Qinghe City’s dogs; otherwise, without clear distinction, all 22 dogs in the village would have to be dissected.

As the captain of the police dog squad and a veteran criminal police officer, Li Li saw that things had come to this, and so there was nothing more to fuss about and went to make arrangements.

Jiang Yuan then turned to the village head’s house, provided some money, and used his Level 5 dog cooking skills in the chief’s kitchen to prepare a grand feast for all the dogs in the village.

The attendance was still 22 dogs; the two runaway dogs had returned, and plus the three official police dogs sitting at the head of the table, the number of dogs in Tangui Village remained unchanged, just like that day and that year.