The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1393 Autopsy Examination

Suspected bloodstains found at the bottom of the tricycle's cargo bed cannot yet be definitively identified as belonging to the deceased due to insufficient sample size; enhanced processing of fingerprints and footprints is underway; DNA testing of fibers and hair will take more than 24 hours to yield results. This means that although a large amount of trace evidence has been collected, the case investigation still faces numerous difficulties, with identifying the deceased and identifying the suspect remaining the two core challenges for the investigation team.

Around 2 PM, the body was transported back to the Criminal Investigation Division, awaiting further identification and forensic examination. Security at the northern suburban landfill remained in place, with technical staff conducting a final check of the scene to ensure no trace or physical evidence was overlooked. Li Ming stood at the landfill entrance, gazing at the garbage-strewn wasteland before him, his brow furrowed. This murder case on the city's edge was like a mystery, perplexing every investigator. But Li Ming knew that the more complex the case, the more patience and meticulousness were required. He believed that as long as they focused on the crime scene and relied on physical evidence, they would surely find a breakthrough and bring the suspect to justice.

At 2:30 PM, the investigation vehicle carrying the body smoothly entered the courtyard of the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment's Forensic Identification Center. Forensic pathologist Zhang Lin, who had been waiting there, immediately led his assistant, Xiao Lin, pushing an autopsy table to meet them. Both were wearing dark blue forensic uniforms, sterile masks, and gloves, their expressions serious. "The body was transported from the northern suburbs landfill. The on-site investigation yielded bloodstains, hair, fibers, and other evidence. Xiao Yang and his team have preliminarily determined the deceased to be male, with torn clothing and skin injuries on the hands," Zhang Lin explained to Xiao Lin while directing his team to transfer the body to the autopsy table. "Our core task today is to determine the cause of death, estimate the time of death, and extract biological samples from the deceased to provide a basis for further in-depth investigation and suspect identification. All operations will be strictly performed in accordance with the 'Forensic Autopsy Standards,' and a complete record will be kept."

At 3:00 PM sharp, the body was wheeled into the autopsy room. The room was dimly lit, with a sterile drape covering the central dissection table. Various dissection instruments were neatly arranged on the adjacent instrument table, including a scalpel, forceps, scissors, rib shears, and a skull chisel. Zhang Lin first conducted a surface examination of the body, a fundamental step in determining the cause and time of death. "Xiao Lin, first record the general condition of the body," Zhang Lin said, carefully illuminating the surface with his examination lamp. "The deceased is male, 178 cm tall, medium build, normal development, and good nutrition. Rigor mortis has reached its peak; all muscles are stiff, especially the jaw joint, neck, and large joints of the limbs, which cannot be moved voluntarily. This is consistent with the development of rigor mortis 12-24 hours after death."

Xiaolin, holding a recording board, quickly wrote: "Stiffness level: The whole body is rigid, the jaw joint is fixed, and the elbows and knees are flexed and cannot be straightened." While recording, she followed Zhang Lin's instructions and pressed the biceps and quadriceps muscles of the corpse with her fingers. "Teacher Zhang, there is no sign of muscle relaxation when pressing, which is indeed the peak of rigor mortis." Zhang Lin nodded and continued, "Examine the livor mortis. The deceased is in a supine position, and dark purplish-red livor mortis is visible on the back, buttocks, and back of the limbs. It does not fade when pressed, and the edges of the livor mortis are blurred, indicating that it has entered the diffusion stage." He gently parted the clothing on the back of the corpse with tweezers. "The mechanism of livor mortis formation is that blood circulation stops after death, and blood accumulates in the lower part of the body due to gravity, causing blood vessels to dilate and congest. Based on the peak state of rigor mortis, the preliminary inference is that the time of death is more than 24 hours."

“Besides rigor mortis and livor mortis, we can further estimate the time of death by examining the degree of corneal opacity.” Zhang Lin took out an ophthalmoscope and carefully flipped open the deceased’s eyelids. “Look, the deceased’s cornea is moderately opaque, and the pupil is not clearly visible; only its general outline can be seen. According to forensic standards, the cornea is transparent within 12 hours after death, slightly opaque between 12 and 24 hours, moderately opaque between 24 and 48 hours, and highly opaque after 48 hours. Combining the characteristics of rigor mortis and livor mortis, the time of death is initially narrowed down to 24-36 hours after death.” Xiao Lin leaned closer to observe and nodded, saying, “Indeed, the cornea doesn’t show the details of the pupil, which matches the description of moderate opacity. Can we use other methods to further narrow down the time of death?”

“Of course, ambient temperature has a significant impact on the decomposition of a corpse and the estimation of the time of death,” Zhang Lin said. “The temperature at the northern suburban landfill this morning was 12°C, and the daytime high was 18°C, which is a low-temperature environment that will slow down the decomposition process. We can use rectal temperature to estimate the time of death.” He took out an electronic thermometer, sterilized it, inserted it into the deceased’s rectum, and waited a moment before reading the value: “Rectal temperature 30.5°C. According to the formula for estimating the time of death based on rectal temperature, when the ambient temperature is between 10-20°C, the rectal temperature decreases by 0.5-0.8°C per hour after death. Assuming the deceased’s rectal temperature before death was 37°C, the temperature difference is 6.5°C, and calculated at a decrease of 0.7°C per hour, the time of death would be approximately 9.3 hours? No, this does not match the time estimated by rigor mortis and livor mortis.”

Xiao Lin asked in confusion, "Teacher Zhang, what's going on? Did we use the wrong formula?" Zhang Lin shook his head and explained, "It's not that the formula is wrong, but the corpse was exposed in the landfill for a long time. Affected by factors such as wind and morning fog, the body surface temperature dropped quickly, and the rectal temperature was also affected to some extent. Moreover, the corpse was covered by garbage, and some areas were kept warm, so the temperature dropped unevenly. Therefore, rectal temperature can only be used as a supplementary reference and cannot be used as the sole basis for inference. We need to combine it with the degree of digestion of the stomach contents to make inferences."

Zhang Lin then began examining the body's surface injuries. "The deceased was wearing a black long-sleeved T-shirt and dark jeans. There were multiple tears at the collar and cuffs, with irregular, jagged edges, consistent with lacerations sustained during a struggle, perfectly matching the 'clothing damage' found at the scene." Zhang Lin used tweezers to lift the deceased's T-shirt collar. "There were fibers loosened from the tears, which may be related to the 'white synthetic fiber sample' collected at the scene; further fiber comparison is needed." He then examined the deceased's hands: "There were small amounts of dirt and fiber residue under the nails of the right index and middle fingers. Samples were collected at the scene, consistent with our previous hypothesis that the deceased had struggled. There were multiple abrasions on the right palm and fingers, the wounds were pale red with irregular edges, and had a small amount of tissue fluid seeping out. These are injuries sustained before death, caused by friction against rough objects during the struggle."