Chapter 1052: The Second Crime Scene

According to the sanitation workers, each household in Second Lane, Jianguo Road throws their trash into this trash bin every morning.

In other words, this trash bin is where all the residents of Second Lane, Jianguo Road dispose of their garbage.

Nearly seven days have passed since the crime occurred, and there is little of investigative value left around the crime scene.

As for footprints and fingerprints, the Criminal Investigation Team of Dongzhou City has already inspected them after the incident.

However, in the case files, Lu Chuan did not find much analysis or conclusive discussion on this part.

The police officers involved with the case from the Criminal Investigation Team were all briefing the task force members on their work.

Li Donglin was receiving an overall report, while Wang Song, Song Mingguang, including Lu Chuan, were listening to reports on the other police divisions.

Approximately an hour later, the task force had grasped the related information about the case and the progress of Zhou Baoguo’s team.

The conclusion was that Zhou Baoguo and his team tried numerous methods and investigated many individuals, but they did not obtain many directive clues.

Inside the command vehicle, Li Donglin was convening a short meeting with the task force members.

"The Criminal Investigation Team of Dongzhou City does not have many clues, but they have done extensive groundwork, which can provide us with some references."

Li Donglin already had a general understanding of the basic situation at the crime scene; as for the situation of the discovered body at the landfill, he planned to inspect it later.

"Regarding this, does anyone have any thoughts to share? We will later head to the North Suburb landfill to investigate the area where the body was discovered again."

"I somewhat agree with the broad judgment they made. Since the suspect was able to place a handkerchief in a black plastic bag and throw it into this trash bin, it indicates the suspect certainly appeared here."

These were Wang Song’s views.

"On the day of the incident, there were 593 individuals living or transiting through Second Lane, Jianguo Road. I suggest a comprehensive investigation of these 593 people, including checking their call records, financial status, and interpersonal relationships."

"I agree with Old Wang’s opinion."

Song Mingguang evidently held the same opinion.

Song Mingguang had heard of the Dongzhou City serial killings before; if they only performed basic investigation similar to previous methods, it might very well be that this case remains unsolved.

Fifteen years have passed, and there have been a total of eleven separate cases, with expert teams from the department and plenty more joining from the provincial office during the first ten.

Many investigative methods have been utilized, yet effective results remain absent.

But this time, since logically it’s possible to narrow in on 593 individuals, including the suspects, tracking these 593 individuals will certainly reveal something regardless of the time and effort.

Li Donglin also nodded in agreement with the opinions of Song Mingguang and Wang Song. Although Zhou Baoguo’s team hadn’t identified suspects or directive clues, the incident at least narrowed suspects to 593 individuals.

Li Donglin even considered narrowing down potential suspects from the 593 based on who might appear at the North Suburb landfill.

Sometimes resolving cases is like this; even if clues don’t directly point to someone guilty and there aren’t clear traces left by suspects, spatial cross-checking can identify suspect appearances in relevant spaces, indicating great suspicion.

After soliciting other opinions, Li Donglin looked at Lu Chuan.

"Director Lu, do you have any thoughts?"

Everyone knew that Lu Chuan had been promoted to Deputy Chief, so they no longer addressed him as Lu or Captain Lu but referred to him as Director Lu.

"Director Li, please don’t address me like that; better call me Lu or Lu Chuan."

Regarding the investigation scope of suspects, Lu Chuan possessed no additional opinions.

His recent crime scene investigation focused mainly on technical analysis.

"Director Li, I need that garbage bag."

Lu Chuan’s demeanor turned solemn.

"The severed finger in the garbage bag indicates contact with the suspect. Furthermore, I want to see whether we can perform micro-evidence analysis on the contents inside the black plastic bag to identify its owner."

Lu Chuan’s idea was straightforward. Although it’s difficult to ascertain who tossed the black plastic bag into the trash based on surrounding information, the black plastic bag contained other garbage aside from the severed finger.

Lu Chuan hadn’t seen a detailed description in the case files of what’s inside the black plastic bag, so he wished to analyze it himself.

"Alright, no problem; I’ll inform Zhou Baoguo, and they’ll provide full support."

"Anything else?"

Lu Chuan shook his head.

The provincial office already notified that all resources should be directed towards the task force, fulfilling needs promptly.

What Lu Chuan required primarily was technical support, like micro-evidence identification and analysis; he previously had to undertake these himself.

But this time, technological support was provided by the provincial technical center, reducing his workload significantly, allowing him room to hypothesize and confirm his judgments.

"Alright, if that’s the case, follow through with your individual plans for investigation; later we’ll collectively head to the North Suburb landfill to check the situation where the body was discovered."

After completing the deployment, task force members engaged in a communication exchange with corresponding criminal investigators from the Criminal Investigation Team of Dengzhou City.

Following this communication, all task force members boarded vehicles to proceed to the second crime scene.

North Suburb landfill.

The site where the body was discovered is located at a reclamation field in the North Suburb landfill. Garbage disposal here occurs outdoors, attracting many who come to sift through useful refuse post-collection.

The victim’s body was discovered by one such scavenger at the dump’s bottom.

At the crime scene, Zhou Baoguo continued describing findings and fundamental insights from Dongzhou City’s Criminal Investigation Team.