Chapter 249 The Cry of the Dead
Xu Nian's words lifted Zhou Yi's originally tired spirit.
Counting it up, Mr. Qin has been doing the autopsy for more than eight hours from this morning till now?
Zhou Yi informed Shi Tao and everyone rushed back to the bureau.
When I saw Qin Beihai again, he was obviously very tired. He leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, rubbing his eyebrows with his right index finger and thumb to relieve his fatigue.
Zhou Yi didn't dare to say anything, but just exchanged glances with Xu Nian beside him.
But it was obvious that Xu Nian's expression was very solemn.
Soon, all the main personnel involved in the investigation of the case arrived.
Shi Tao originally wanted to go up and say hello to Qin Beihai, but Zhou Yi shook his head at him.
"Zhou Yi, are everyone here?" Qin Beihai asked after opening his eyes.
Zhou Yi nodded: "Mr. Qin, you have been troubled. The main people responsible for this case are here."
Qin Beihai nodded. "Well, let me first tell you the results of the autopsy, and then I'll go into the specific details. I'll give you the detailed autopsy report after Zhao Xing and Xiao Song finish compiling it later."
Zhou Yi and others immediately sat up straight and listened attentively.
Qin Beihai said: "The autopsy results finally confirmed that among the 56 body parts recovered, only one was from another deceased person."
"What?" Everyone was shocked. There was only one piece?
But Qin Beihai's next sentence was even more shocking.
"And it is almost certain that the other deceased was a premature newborn."
This sentence was like a bolt from the blue, shocking everyone. Even Zhou Yi had not thought of this possibility.
Shi Tao couldn't help but ask, "Old Qin, this... is correct?"
"Zhao Xing, please show the photos to everyone."
"Okay, teacher." Shen Zhaoxing placed several photos in front of everyone, which included a section of highly decomposed human intestine and detailed slices of different parts of the intestine.
Then, Qin Beihai explained the specific details of the autopsy.
First, the thickness of the human intestine.
The diameter of an adult's large intestine is approximately 5 to 8 cm, while the diameter of the small intestine is 2.5 to 3.5 cm, and the diameter of the terminal ileum can reach 2 to 2.5 cm.
The main part of a newborn's large intestine has a diameter of about 1.5 to 2 centimeters, which is closer to the small intestine of an adult in terms of thickness.
Among the body parts salvaged, only a section was human intestinal tissue, and the rest was not found.
Therefore, based on a preliminary judgment based solely on the diameter, it is easy to assume that this section of intestine with a diameter of nearly two centimeters is part of the deceased's small intestine.
However, the large intestine and small intestine of the human body actually have obvious differences in morphological characteristics.
Perhaps laymen don’t know how to distinguish them, but professional forensic scientists can easily tell them apart.
So, there is a second interfering factor, rot.
In addition to their thickness, the large intestine and small intestine also have several significant differences in morphology.
First, the color. The large intestine is lighter in color, while the small intestine is darker in color.
The second is the surface characteristics. The surface of the small intestine is smoother and the intestinal wall muscle layer is more evenly distributed.
The third is the internal structure. The large intestine has dense circular folds and villi inside, while the small intestine has a smooth inner wall without villi, with occasional semilunar folds.
These are all very significant features. Even if the intestinal tissue found is limited and there are no features such as the colon bands unique to the large intestine, these points can still be used to distinguish it.
But the bad thing was that the intestinal tissue was found to be rotten.
The high degree of decay has almost destroyed the above three characteristics, making it basically impossible to distinguish them.
In particular, this section of intestinal tissue is extremely decayed, having turned dark green and black overall, and some parts have even begun to semi-liquefy.
Only one part was less decomposed, but it gave the autopsy the wrong information.
Because the large intestine of a newborn is still in the process of development and growth, it is somewhat different from that of an adult. The surface of the intestinal wall is smoother and has a certain sense of transparency.
Qin Beihai said that based on this point alone, 99 percent of forensic doctors would make wrong judgments if they did not know any identity information of the deceased.
Although Zhou Yi did not have enough professional knowledge of forensic medicine, Mr. Qin's expression was quite concise and clear. This matter could not be blamed on Song Yiming's lack of skills, but because Song Yiming was guided by the preconceived notion that "the deceased was Zhang Hui". In the absence of other intestinal tissues, it was impossible for him to associate this intestinal tissue with the large intestine tissue of a newborn.
Qin Beihai then explained how he roughly determined that this section of intestinal tissue came from a newborn. This was mainly through continuous section staining experiments and observing the remaining muscle layer structure under a microscope to make a judgment.
Zhou Yi didn't understand this, but he completely believed in Qin Beihai's autopsy results. If he couldn't find out the reason, then there would probably be few people in the country who could find it out.
Qin Beihai said that he actually tested this section of intestinal tissue as soon as he started the autopsy in the morning.
Because the slices sent for examination were marked corresponding to the body parts, he, like Song Yiming, knew from the beginning through DNA testing that this section of intestinal tissue came from another deceased person.
But what forensic scientists have to do is not just to confirm this established fact, but to find useful clues from it and provide strong assistance to criminal police.
This was the fundamental reason that tortured Song Yiming for a whole day and a half.
In order to make the autopsy results more rigorous and comprehensive, Qin Beihai examined all the body parts before asking Xu Nian to notify Zhou Yi and others to come back.
"Comrades in Hongcheng, in my forty years of practicing medicine, this is the first time I've encountered a case like this," Qin Beihai said earnestly. "Under the same conditions, a newborn's body decomposes much faster than an adult's. So, theoretically, it shouldn't be possible for this highly decomposed intestinal tissue to remain in the septic tank after the rest of the newborn's body tissue has decayed and been excreted."
This was also what shocked Zhou Yi immensely. They fished out more than fifty pieces of human tissue, but most of Zhang Hui's body had been washed into the city's sewage system due to decay and could not be found at all.
There is actually a section of intestinal tissue from a newborn baby in the middle.
This is absolutely unimaginable.
Qin Beihai clapped his hands on the table and said, "Comrades, this section of intestinal tissue is the child calling out to us!"
These words hit the chest of everyone present like a heavy hammer.
Especially Zhou Yi. He was the one who discovered the Zhang Hui case, and it was he who suggested sending the DNA for testing. He even said the bad words.
He looked at the thin, rotten piece of human tissue in the photo and felt as if something was entangled in his throat.
He encountered one in a million, or even lower, probability.
He must solve this case!
Qin Beihai's words were deafening, but they also caused everyone present to fall into silence.
"Do you have any questions? If so, feel free to ask." Qin Beihai said.
Zhou Yi said, "Mr. Qin, I'd like to ask, are the bones of newborns much more fragile than those of adults? Especially the skull."
Qin Beihai nodded. "That's right. A newborn's overall bone hardness is quite fragile, much lower than that of an adult. Take the skull, for example. Firstly, the bone plates haven't completely closed yet, which is what people call the fontanelle. Secondly, a newborn's skull is not fully calcified, so the bone plates are thin and flexible, and the overall hardness is much lower than that of an adult."
Qin Beihai paused and said, "Therefore, the bones of newborns are completely capable of being destroyed and disposed of through sewage pipes."
The older you get, the wiser you become. With just one sentence from Zhou Yi, Qin Beihai knew what the fundamental question he wanted to ask was.
Zhou Yi nodded heavily.
Shi Tao couldn't help but ask, "Zhou Yi, do you have any ideas?"
Zhou Yi stood up, took a deep breath and said, "Yes!"
"From Mr. Qin's autopsy results, we can confirm one thing: the other victim in the Donghai Community double dismemberment case was a premature newborn."
"This is crucial. Once we've identified the victim, we can then develop a precise line of inquiry based on this. It's undeniable that where there's a newborn, there's a mother. She might be the murderer, or she might not be, but she's definitely the key figure in this case. So our next priority is to find this mother."
"The search for mothers can be divided into two dimensions: adult women and underage women."
"Adult women include married and unmarried women, with the focus on unmarried women living alone. Through their family members, colleagues and other social connections, we can confirm whether they have ever been pregnant but whose children are currently missing."
"In addition, married women cannot be completely ignored. They can confirm their pregnancy information through hospital records. Pregnant women who meet their due dates and those who may have premature births are all targets for screening."
"But I personally prefer underage women because adult women, regardless of whether they are married or not, will usually go to the hospital for further examination and confirmation. After all, adults have full behavioral capacity. However, underage women, such as middle school or high school students, do not have this capacity and may even lack knowledge of the most basic physiological common sense, which can lead to tragedies."
"And I think there's a high probability that this child was killed and dismembered shortly after birth. A child born under normal circumstances would easily attract the attention of relevant social connections. It's impossible for them to have been missing for so long without anyone noticing."
Zhou Yi's words were not alarmist, but something he had actually seen in his previous life and had read a lot about on the Internet.
From junior high school students to college students, similar news appears every now and then.
They ate the forbidden fruit and didn't even know about contraception. After ten months of pregnancy, some gave birth to their children in the toilet and some in the dormitory.
Some were lost and found alive, while others froze to death in the ice and snow.
Others were killed by their mothers at birth.
But the idea of dismembering a body and flushing it down the drain was truly shocking, and Zhou Yi had never heard of it before.
"Therefore, the middle and high school girls in Donghai Community are our top priority for investigation."
Shi Tao clapped his hands and shouted, "The mother and daughter in Building 12!"
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