Chapter 99 Autopsy: Accidental Death, Destruction of Evidence
The body was wrapped in a tattered burlap sack stained with oil and blood, with only a small part of it showing.
Forensic pathologist Lao Liu stepped forward to conduct a preliminary examination: "Male, height and build match Wang Youfu. There are blunt force injuries on the back of the head and face. The preliminary judgment is that the time of death was more than three days ago. The cause of death will be determined by further autopsy."
After surveying the scene, Lao Liu's voice carried a professional heaviness: "The body was buried very shallowly, right under the garbage heap. They didn't even dig a proper pit; they just covered it with some soil and garbage. It was very rushed and chaotic."
Jiang Ling's gaze sharpened slightly. From the hastily buried scene, one could imagine the murderer's terror and frantic actions after the killing.
The first possibility is that the murderer was a first-time offender and had no experience in disposing of a body.
Like Chu Jingen, whose first target was high school student Zhang Lei, the body was buried shallowly and quickly discovered by the police. Later, when he killed auto mechanic Zhao Rui, he had learned from his previous experience and disposed of the body with great skill. If Jiang Ling hadn't forced him to talk, no one would have been able to find Zhao Rui's body.
The second possibility is that the murderer did not premeditate the crime, but rather committed the crime accidentally.
In cases of premeditated murder, the scene would not be handled so carelessly. The bloodstains on the stove were not cleaned up, the bag containing the body was grabbed from the kitchen, and the burial site was very close to the Shunlai Restaurant. This does not conform to the principle of "neither too far nor too close" for disposing of a body in a premeditated murder.
While Jiang Ling was deep in thought, the landlady had already been brought over by the police to identify the body.
Upon seeing the curled-up corpse, the proprietress let out a scream, all hope gone. She plopped down on the ground, pounding the ground and wailing.
"You short-lived wretch, how could you die such a tragic death?"
"What will we, a widow and her orphans, do now that you're dead?"
"Which damned bastard did this to you..."
Zheng Yu bent down and looked at the proprietress who was singing and acting: "Is this your husband, Wang Youfu?"
The proprietress had no tears in her eyes, but her wailing didn't lessen at all: "It's him, it's him."
It has been confirmed that Wang Youfu is dead.
However, judging from the proprietress's reaction, the couple's relationship is not very good.
Liang Jiushan stood to the side, his face ashen and his legs trembling.
He was the one who called the police, and he had suspected that Wang Youfu had been murdered. But suspicion is one thing, but when he actually saw the body, a body that had been decomposing for three days and reeking of foul odors, anyone who saw it would feel physically uncomfortable.
Jiang Ling raised her hand, intending to pat his shoulder as she used to, but found that Liang Jiushan was tall and slender, and had shed his boyishness, now looking somewhat mature.
After hesitating for a moment, Jiang Ling gently touched Liang Jiushan's back and whispered, "Are you alright?"
Liang Jiushan shook his head, desperately suppressing the nausea churning in his stomach.
The warmth of Jiang Ling's hand came from his back, and Liang Jiushan felt a surge of warmth in his heart. He said in a hoarse voice, "Sister Ling, I'm not afraid." In the future, he was going to take the police academy entrance exam and become a policeman. How could he be frightened by this little corpse?
A hint of admiration flashed in Jiang Ling's eyes: "Jiu Shan, well done."
If Liang Jiushan hadn't been so observant, noticing the bloodstains and insisting on calling the police, the body would likely have been disposed of with the garbage or rotted away in some forgotten corner. As for Wang Youfu's disappearance, it's very likely that no one would investigate further because the landlady insisted he had eloped with his lover.
Upon receiving Jiang Ling's praise, Liang Jiushan was immediately invigorated. The nausea in his stomach completely disappeared, and even the stench emanating from his nose seemed to vanish.
He turned to look at Jiang Ling: "Sister Ling, did I help you?"
Jiang Ling nodded: "Of course."
Driven by his inner suspicions, Liang Jiushan worked at a grocery store in the sweltering heat, keeping watch for eight days. He was not afraid of hardship or fatigue, and was a promising candidate to become a criminal police officer.
"That's good." Liang Jiushan's lips curled up slightly, his eyes sparkling.
Jiang Ling said, "Now that the police have taken over, you should hurry home and study. School starts soon, so you can't let your guard down."
Liang Jiushan stood at attention and saluted: "Yes!"
Although his salute wasn't quite standard, his serious expression made Jiang Ling want to laugh. She nodded and said, "Alright, hurry home."
Liang Jiushan obediently left.
Although the grocer was a little reluctant to let him go, someone had died on this street, and he planned to close the shop for a few days to ward off bad luck. He paid Liang Jiushan his wages and then let him go.
The body was carefully lifted out and transported to the forensic center for an autopsy.
Zheng Yu led the police officers to conduct an investigation of the surrounding businesses, carefully inquiring about the abnormalities that occurred at Shunlai Restaurant before and after the incident, as well as the owner's character, personality, and social relationships.
Everything proceeded smoothly and in an orderly manner.
A day later, the entire case team met and began analyzing the case.
The incandescent light bulbs hummed, illuminating the small conference room. On the whiteboard hanging on the west wall were shocking photos of Wang Youfu curled up in a ball, his body mangled and bloody, a floor plan of the Shunlai Restaurant's kitchen, and a diagram showing the distribution of bloodstains.
The core members of the task force sat around a long conference table, with Zheng Yu, as the team leader, taking the head seat. However, everyone tacitly agreed that Jiang Ling was the one leading the analysis process.
Jiang Ling's "Three-Fixed Investigation Method" is now widely used in the Criminal Investigation Detachment. As soon as a case is filed, the first thing to do is to determine its nature, scope, and character. Even if the character cannot be determined immediately because the evidence has not been fully collected, it can at least narrow down the scope of the investigation.
"Everyone, the detailed autopsy results are in. Lao Liu, please tell us the situation." Zheng Yu gestured for the forensic doctor, Lao Liu, to speak.
Old Liu, with a serious expression, opened the autopsy report: "Colleagues, the final confirmed cause of death is severe traumatic brain injury, caused by a single, violent impact to the back of the head. The point of impact was the protruding sharp corner of the stove, where trace amounts of human tissue and bloodstains were found. The intracranial hemorrhage and fracture pattern are completely consistent with an accidental backward fall and impact of the back of the head against a hard object, which is the direct cause of death."
"In addition, the deceased's face, especially the forehead and cheekbone area, had multiple lacerations and subcutaneous bleeding. These injuries showed signs of life and were sustained before death."
The meeting room fell silent as everyone awaited Lao Liu's explanation.
Old Liu continued: "Analyzing the shape, distribution, and direction of force of the facial injuries, they were caused by repeated blows from a relatively light, blunt object with certain angles. The injuries are relatively scattered, and the force is controlled, unlike the concentrated fatal blow to the back of the head. The formation time of these facial injuries is very close to that of the fatal blow to the back of the head, and they occurred almost consecutively in the same conflict."
At this point, Lao Liu turned his gaze to Zhao Jingxin of the physical evidence team of the technical brigade.
Zhao Jingxin added: "Upon examination, the murder weapon was a commonly used kitchen spatula, and the wounds closely matched the description."
Zheng Yu immediately grasped the core point: "This means that before Wang Youfu's head hit the corner of the stove and he died, a brief but intense physical altercation occurred. During the altercation, someone used a readily available kitchen tool—a spatula—to strike Wang Youfu's face. And this altercation ultimately led to Wang Youfu's accidental fall and fatal impact."
Upon hearing this, a murmur of discussion arose from below.
Everyone here is a seasoned criminal investigator, and they knew what this conclusion meant as soon as they heard it.
"Oh, it wasn't murder."
"It was an escalation of conflict that led to an accidental death."
"But...why bury the body?"
After the discussion subsided, Lao Liu and the others added three more points.
"The time of death was between 3 and 6 p.m. on August 24."
Alcohol residue was found in the deceased's stomach.
"The wounds on the neck, shoulders, back, and buttocks were all abrasions and contusions sustained after death."
These three points are very important and fully prove Zheng Yu's speculation.
Discussions then began among the crowd.
"It's hot in the afternoon, there are no customers, and no one cares about the disputes in the kitchen or the handling of corpses."
“Wang has been drinking, so he is unsteady on his feet and prone to slipping.”
"After discovering that Wang Youfu had fallen to his death, the murderer panicked and dragged, wrapped, moved and buried the body, which caused multiple abrasions and contusions."
Jiang Ling stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and wrote down the eight characters: “Accidental death, destruction of evidence.”
"The kitchen was the primary crime scene. Considering the hasty and chaotic burial scene, the murderer was most likely killed in a state of passion or extreme anger, and then hastily disposed of the body out of fear. This case was definitely not a premeditated revenge killing or robbery killing, but can be classified as an accidental death caused by a conflict, followed by the destruction of evidence."
"The perpetrator didn't attack proactively, but rather reacted passively to a sudden disaster. Their behavior was more focused on cover-up than killing." At this point, Jiang Ling looked at Li Zhenliang, "Liangzi, analyze whether this timeframe supports the possibility of a sudden accident?"
Having worked alongside Jiang Ling for over a year, Li Zhenliang's main task now is data processing. Upon hearing Jiang Ling's question, he immediately responded, "I fully support you! Last Friday afternoon from 3 pm to 6 pm is a relatively quiet time for the restaurant, with fewer kitchen staff, providing the time and space for a sudden dispute or accident."
Jiang Ling looked at Zhou Wei: "Zhou Wei, does the hasty and chaotic disposal of the body, along with the immediate handling of the situation, fit the characteristics of an accident?"
Zhou Wei has a high sensitivity to maps and geography. In the case of the stolen bicycle bell, he quickly located the Peony Towel Factory. In the case of Chen Yan, he was able to determine from the geographical locations of Yizhou and Yanshi that Fan Hu's key foothold was Yuezhou. Therefore, Jiang Ling focused on cultivating his ability to create geographical profiles.
Upon hearing Jiang Ling's question, Zhou Wei immediately nodded: "That's very accurate. After the accident, the perpetrator was extremely panicked, and his first reaction was to hide the accident scene and the body. Because it was located in a busy urban area, he had neither the means nor the time to carry out long-distance relocation or thorough disposal, so he would usually choose to bury the body within a 1-kilometer radius of the restaurant. This nearby corner of the garbage dump became his temporary body disposal point."
"Very good." Zheng Yu looked around the room. "The nature of the case has been determined. Does anyone have any objections?"
Everyone said in unison, "No objections."
Wang Youfu got drunk and got into an argument with someone. The other person hit him several times with a spatula. Whether it was from the shoving or from accidentally slipping while dodging, Wang Youfu's head hit the sharp corner of the stove hard, causing his death. The other person was terrified when he saw the blood. He hurriedly disposed of the body, dragged it, put it in a sack, and then buried it when no one was around.
The autopsy report was so clear that it was easy to deduce the entire incident.
Zheng Yu nodded: "Okay, then let's define the scope."
Jiang Ling returned to her seat and handed over the task of defining the scope to Zheng Yu.
Zheng Yu and Jiang Ling's formal collaboration began with the soy milk poisoning case in Pinganli Community. It was during that experience that Zheng Yu deeply engraved the Three-Fixed Investigation Method in his mind.
Zheng Yu stood up, walked to the whiteboard, and wrote down the names of the suspects one by one.
"The case has been classified as manslaughter. We investigated the victim's social relationships and found five suspects who had the opportunity to commit the crime and had a history of conflict with the victim. These suspects are: the owner, Ge Cuiping; the head chef, Liu Biao; the handyman, Mao Dali; the loan shark, Zhao Laoliu; and the former employee, Sun Xiaojun, who was fired."
There were five suspects, including his wife, business partner, employee, and creditor!
Everyone secretly shook their heads.
This Wang Youfu really seems to make enemies everywhere he goes.
Zheng Yu said, "Here, we really have to commend Liang Jiushan. He was working as a temporary worker at the grocery store opposite Shunlai Restaurant and promptly discovered the problem and called the police. Otherwise, it would have been too late once the store was renovated and the landfill was covered up."
With no body found, the scene completely destroyed, and Wang Youfu's family not pursuing the matter, it will most likely just be a case of "disappearance."
Jiang Ling nodded: "When Liang Jiushan enrolls, let the Municipal Bureau give him an award."
Whether it's the "Heroic Act" award or the "Good Samaritan" award, it's an honor.
Liang Jiushan, who was praised by Zheng Yu and Jiang Ling, is at home pondering how to handle the custody issue of Xiao Yu.
As soon as he got home, he saw Lin Xiaoyue holding Xiaoyu's hand and silently shedding tears.
Lin Xiaoyue couldn't bear to part with her younger brother, Xiaoyu.
She was an only child, and what she feared most when she was a child was her father beating her mother. Later, her father passed away unexpectedly, and she and Wen Xiufen lived in fear and trembling for the few years they depended on each other.
Therefore, upon seeing Xiaoyu, who had also suffered domestic violence from his father, Lin Xiaoyue was deeply moved and determined to protect this poor child. It seemed... that protecting Xiaoyu was like going back in time to save her own sorrowful, weeping self.
Everything was fine at first.
Wen Xiufen obtained temporary guardianship of Xiaoyu, and Xiaoyu obediently called her "sister." The two siblings ate together, studied together, and played together. Seeing Xiaoyu's increasingly cheerful face, Lin Xiaoyue felt very happy.
However, Xiaoyu's grandparents came over and started making a scene, insisting on taking Xiaoyu away.
Even the police at the local police station were at a loss and could only resort to stalling. But Lin Xiaoyue guessed from her mother's worried expression that it would be very difficult to keep Xiaoyu in her home.
When Wen Xiufen took Xiaoyu to the provincial capital for treatment, Lin Xiaoyue stayed at the Liang family's house and had a good relationship with the Liang siblings. Knowing that Liang Jiushan was full of clever ideas, she took Xiaoyu's hand and came to him for advice.
After listening to Lin Xiaoyue's words, Liang Jiushan suddenly understood why Jiang Ling was still unhappy even though Zhang Minghui's case had been solved.
A good policeman with a strong sense of responsibility like Jiang Ling would definitely want to "help people to the end." If he didn't give Xiao Yu a good arrangement, Jiang Ling would feel guilty.
Liang Jiushan's eyes darted around.
Snakes have their paths, and rats have theirs. Police officers follow the proper path, but sometimes when they encounter selfish and cunning people like Grandpa Xiaoyu, taking a secret route isn't out of the question.
Liang Jiushan whispered to Lin Xiaoyue, "You do this and that..."
The more Lin Xiaoyue listened, the brighter her eyes became.
After Liang Jiushan finished explaining the plan, Lin Xiaoyue felt relieved and nodded emphatically: "Okay! Brother Jiushan, I'll listen to you! I promise to complete the mission."
Holding Xiaoyu's hand, Lin Xiaoyue skipped and hopped out of the Liang family home, a stark contrast to her tearful and somber appearance when she first arrived.
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