Chapter 1162 - 594: Individual Characteristics of the Three Victims (2)

Following that, he added: "Once we’ve excavated most of the remains, switch to the iron shovels nearby for local clearing. This way, we can preserve the skeletal state to the greatest extent."

Actually, Jiang An’s work requirements are not excessive because for bones buried in soil, once a fracture occurs, it’s impossible to determine whether it was formed before death or during excavation, which would greatly hinder subsequent analysis."

A few people bent over and dug for a while longer, and most of the skeleton was exposed.

Then, as Jiang An suggested, they switched to smaller iron shovels.

After another half hour of digging, they cleared out the third body.

After doing this, everyone stared straight at the three bodies lined up on the ground.

The three bodies were arranged in a row, with skulls, limbs, thorax, ribs, and other large bones aligned according to anatomical structure.

At this moment, the deceased’s clothes were placed on the ground beside the bodies.

Looking at these three skeletons, Qin Feng shook his head helplessly: "Oh my God, this is the most complex case I’ve encountered since starting criminal investigation work."

Then he turned his head to Jiang An: "Mr. Jiang... should we keep digging?"

Jiang An nodded: "Let’s dig another half meter."

"Only then can we be slightly reassured."

At this, Chen Guan quickly turned to the two officers beside him and said, "Come on, keep digging. Once you hit something hard, report to us immediately."

After speaking, four assistant police officers picked up their shovels and started digging.

After forty minutes, the four assistant police officers were exhausted and out of breath. They turned to ask, looking dejected, "Should we keep digging?"

By now, the ground had been dug to a depth of 1.5 meters.

Jiang An glanced over and said, "That’s about enough, thank you for your hard work!"

"Please use the fishing nets you picked up earlier to carefully sift through the excavated soil. Many small bone fragments and teeth on the bodies haven’t been found."

Chen Guan quickly turned and said: "Proceed with the sieve as Mr. Jiang instructed, and make sure to sieve out the bones!"

Jiang An added: "For the wetter soil areas, you can use some water to flush locally, which will clean the bone of dirt."

In this case, Jiang An revealed all the techniques for inspecting skeletal remains from the soil.

Note that finding bones in the soil isn’t new to him.

In Jiangcheng, there was a time he searched for bones in a septic tank.

That case involved a murderer dismembering a victim and disposing of the pieces in a public toilet septic tank.

The smell mixed with decay was unforgettable for him to this day.

But still, in search of the bones, one must face it.

Even then, he used a fishing net and a high-pressure water gun from the garden to flush, until all the remains were found.

Fortunately, in this situation, the skeletons are relatively complete, and there are no signs of hacking and dismemberment.

As the police officers sifted for bones, Jiang An wore gloves, preparing to start the skeletal examination.

For a forensic expert of his level, he typically wouldn’t need to personally examine remains.

However, forensic anthropology for determining a victim’s age and gender is infrequently used among grassroots coroners.

Before the examination even began, the two young forensic scientists from Guangling Branch showed signs of apprehension.

After all, having three skeletons appear simultaneously exerts an intense visual impact.

Determining age, gender, and time of death from these remains is crucial for providing significant evidence for the investigation.

For such skeletal remains, especially those buried in a pit, factors influencing decomposition are few. However, related research is limited, and there aren’t many textual references available.

Determining sex and age through the pubic symphysis isn’t complicated, but deducing the time of death tests one’s forensic expertise.

Then, the two young forensic scientists stepped forward, sincerely saying: "Mr. Jiang, we will assist you. Please guide us."

Jiang An nodded: "No problem, we’ll explore together."

As he spoke, Jiang An squatted by the first skeleton, which he marked as No. 1.

At this moment, many forensic anthropology standards for judging bodies, skeletons, and age were manifesting in his mind.

Jiang An observed for a while and picked up the skull of the deceased, saying: "The deceased’s brow ridges are developed, superciliary arches are blunt and rounded, mastoid process is large, the external occipital protuberance is prominent, zygomatic bones are robust, mandibular angle everted and less than 125°, mandibular body height is high, overall the skull is large. Judging by these features, it matches male characteristics."

Then, he examined the deceased’s pubic symphysis, "The deceased’s pubic symphysis is tall and narrow, the subpubic angle forms a V shape, ischial notch is narrow and deep, and auricular surface texture is pronounced, fitting the male pelvis shape."

"Moreover, the pubic symphysis surface of the deceased is fine-grained, the ventral margin has slight damage, the dorsal margin is complete, the middle section of the symphysis surface is slightly elevated, no complete circular edge is formed. I estimate the deceased’s age at death to be around 30 years."

After estimating the age and gender of the deceased, Jiang An began to deduce the time of death.

He looked over at the soil excavated and then focused on the bones, particularly bone texture.

"The skeletal surface of the deceased has no soft tissue attachment, the surface is dry and slightly weathered but hasn’t developed deep cracks or layered structure, the bone color is light yellow-brown, the burial environment’s soil has a neutral-acidic bias, insect and microbial activity accelerated soft tissue decomposition, local bones begin showing surface powdering but aren’t significantly mineralized. I suggest the deceased’s time of death is about three years ago."

Lastly, Jiang An concluded: "In summary, No. 1 male deceased, age 30, time of death 3 years ago."

Continuing similarly, he observed the skeletons of No. 2 and No. 3.

Their ages, gender, and time of death were also deduced: No. 2 deceased, male, age 32, time of death about 2 years ago, No. 3 deceased, male, age 35, time of death about 1 year ago.

During the examination of the remains, he specifically asked the two young forensic scientists to note the deceased’s clothing status.

No. 1 was dressed in a spring-autumn jacket, No. 2 in a down jacket, No. 3 in a T-shirt.

Twenty minutes later, as Jiang An took off his gloves, Chen Guan, Deputy Director Hou, and Qin Feng’s expressions were very solemn.

The season of death for the three skeletons differed, and their ages varied.

Just these three groups of data already made the three feel the case was extremely challenging.

However, what shocked them more was what Jiang An said next.

"I just examined the damage on these three skeletal remains, and none of the deceased individuals have any fracture marks on their limbs and trunks."

"However, all three deceased have a quasi-circular fracture mark on the back of their skulls."

"Among them, No. 2’s skull damage is most evident, with a hole-like fracture."

"However, No. 1 and No. 3 only have a depression in the occipital bone at the back of the skull, without forming a hole-like alteration."

"So, from what we currently understand, I infer that these three deceased may share the same mode of injury, likely severe cranial trauma."

"Furthermore, it’s possible that No. 1 and No. 3 were buried in the ground while in a comatose state."

"Unfortunately, the soft tissues and internal organs of the three deceased are entirely decomposed and gone, making identification impossible."

"Regarding the cause of death, we can only deduce based on the deceased’s skeleton."

Upon hearing this, Chen Guan looked at Director Hou.

Their eyes met with significant surprise.

Could it be... that this truly is the work of the same individual in a serial murder case?