Chapter 1131 - 579: Under What Circumstances Was She Strangled to Death? (Part 2)

Chen Guan quickly added, "Exactly."

"Mr. Jiang, your expertise is impressive, and it’s a rare opportunity for you to share your knowledge with our Guangling Criminal Investigation team."

Jiang An nodded and said, "No problem, let’s learn and improve together!"

.....

Thirty minutes later, a vehicle with the words "Scene Investigation" printed on it stopped at the base of the apartment building.

Immediately afterward, four technicians wearing black vests stepped out of the car.

The back of their vests was printed with "Scene Investigation."

They were carrying cameras, wearing masks, and holding boxes as they headed directly to the crime scene.

Upon reaching the stairway corner, they put on shoe covers, gloves, and foot covers before entering.

Mr. Chen nodded at the four individuals and introduced them, "Director Hou, Mr. Jiang."

"These four are the elite team of our Criminal Scene Investigation unit."

"There’s a specialist in fingerprint retrieval, a specialist in footprint identification, a specialist in scene analysis, and a young specialist in forensic examination."

Upon hearing the introduction, Director Hou and Jiang An looked at the four individuals in front of them.

Director Hou said, "Good. They seem very energetic."

"During the scene investigation later, pay close attention to every detail and don’t overlook any clues."

He then turned his head to Mr. Jiang and said, "Mr. Jiang appears young, but his professional skills are strong."

"During the scene investigation later, you should consult him frequently and seize this learning opportunity."

As soon as he finished speaking, an officer across from them, wearing glasses, stood upright and said, "Reporting to Director Hou, on our way here, Mr. Qin has already instructed us."

"He emphasized that this scene investigation should be viewed as an important opportunity to enhance our team’s capabilities and hone our skills.

"We are required to consult Mr. Jiang frequently and finally ask Mr. Jiang for guidance."

Jiang An nodded and said, "No problem! During the scene investigation later, we can discuss together."

He then looked around and said, "However, our focus in the investigation should be on the signs of struggle at the scene, the loss of property, and the condition of the deceased."

"The floor in this room is an old-style cement surface, which is very rough and not conducive to forming footprints."

"However, we need to focus on whether the rough cement floor might leave unique marks from the suspect’s shoe soles."

He spoke while looking towards the bathroom and said, "Earlier, I saw many scattered items in the bathroom, so the bathroom examination must be our top priority."

"According to Locard’s exchange principle, we know there are many traces at the scene of a struggle between the victim and the perpetrator."

"Moreover, the smaller the area where the struggle occurred, the more likely it is to leave traces of the suspect."

Upon hearing this, the four young investigation specialists immediately replied in unison, "Yes! We will remember!"

Subsequently, Deputy Director Chen Guan said in a solemn tone, "Mr. Jiang, we should not delay any further, let’s proceed with the operation."

"Mr. Qin, please take charge of the external investigation and inquiry."

"I’ll stay on the scene with Director Hou and Mr. Jiang to see if we can discover any crucial clues."

"No problem, we’ll proceed simultaneously."

After speaking, Qin Feng immediately departed.

One must know that for detectives, solving any homicide case is not simple.

It requires an organic combination of investigation, scene examination, interrogation, and multiple other steps.

Especially for this particular case in a remote and old residential area in the township, the coverage of surveillance cameras is practically negligible.

We can only use the most traditional case-solving methods.

The legendary three-pronged approach of criminal investigation: Scene Investigation, Inquiry, Interrogation Breakthrough.

Soon, the Guangling Criminal Investigation team was conducting a thorough examination inside.

They used flashlights to search for clues in the living room and the bedroom.

They reserved the bathroom, an important location, for the final examination.

Following the plan, they handled the peripheral first and saved the bathroom for last.

At that moment, Jiang An, Director Hou, and Chen Guan were also on site.

Jiang An stood in the living room, observing their process.

However, he was somewhat surprised by the fact that the Guangling Criminal Investigation team’s equipment was not only comprehensive, but their working practices were also highly professional.

Everyone wore masks, gloves, and foot covers.

Unlike some places where during scene investigation, investigators do not even wear masks, leading to the contamination of the scene by the technicians’ shed cells.

After 30 minutes, the investigation team completed the examination of two people’s bedrooms.

They found the deceased’s gold and silver jewelry and 2,000 yuan in cash from the bedroom.

Once the personal items were extracted and placed in evidence bags, Director Hou said, "It seems that the deceased’s belongings were not stolen, thus the likelihood that robbery led to resistance resulting in death is low."

Jiang An nodded and asked, "Process the body first, then transport it to the forensic autopsy center."

Soon, a technician with gloves began examining the body.

The three of them gathered around, where a female deceased lay on the sofa.

The young forensic doctor knelt down to examine and said, "The deceased’s livor mortis is in the non-pressed area of the back, does not blanch under finger pressure, the rigor mortis is very strong, encompassing the whole body, with limbs very rigid, and the cornea moderately cloudy."

"Judging by the signs on the body, I estimate her time of death to be around 15 hours ago."

While analyzing the results, he deliberately turned to look at Jiang An.

Where their eyes met, Jiang An nodded and said, "The analysis is good, continue....."

As if receiving a teacher’s praise, the young forensic doctor’s expression became more relaxed, and he continued, "The deceased has subcutaneous hemorrhage on the occipital area, with a palpable lump locally."

"There are distinct strangulation marks visible on the deceased’s neck, with a few crescent-shaped nail imprints locally."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang An bent over to observe and asked, "Are there more nail imprints on the left side, or the right side?"

Upon hearing this question, the young forensic doctor suddenly became alert, continued bending down to observe, and said, "From the crescent-shaped indentations on the skin, one is visible on the left side, and three are visible on the right side."

Following this, the young forensic doctor continued to examine downward, saying, "The deceased’s upper body is wearing a black long-sleeve, with two buttons missing from the shirt collar, the lower body is wearing blue jeans, the belt is intact, with no damage."

Upon hearing this statement, Mr. Chen asked, "Could it be that during the struggle, during resistance, the buttons were torn off?"

Director Hou nodded as well, saying, "I believe it’s possible, causing the collar to be torn during the struggle."

Hearing their discussion, Jiang An only nodded slightly without voicing an opinion, his gaze fixed on the buttons.

Immediately afterward, the young forensic doctor took off the deceased’s outer clothing.

He examined while saying, "The deceased’s underwear is in the normal position, the fastening is neat, with no signs of loosening."

"The position of the underwear is quite normal as well, with no signs of being pulled down."

Upon observing this, he said, "Overall, there were no signs of assault on the body."

After the young forensic doctor completed his preliminary examination, he stood up straight and deliberately asked, "Mr. Jiang, is there anywhere else that requires further examination?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang An deliberately turned his head to glance at Mr. Chen and said, "You’ve been very thorough, with a great forensic conclusion!"

Despite Jiang An’s feeling that many areas still needed attention, it’s important to speak favorably in front of others’ leadership!

Upon hearing this, Mr. Chen nodded and said, "We still need Mr. Jiang’s guidance!"

After pondering for a while, Jiang An said, "The distribution of injuries on this body is very limited."

"One being the scalp hematoma at the occipital area, which appears freshly formed. The other is the strangulation mark on the deceased’s neck."

"However, I did not see any obvious signs of struggle or resistance on the arms of this body."

After a long pause, Jiang An looked around and added, "I’m wondering under what circumstances she was choked to death?"