ebookland Chapter 1178 Strangulation Marks and Hyoid Bone Fracture
Chapter 1178 Strangulation Marks and Hyoid Bone Fracture
When she cut open the black plastic bag, rotting tissue clung to the inner wall of the bag, making a "sticky" tearing sound. The exposed corpse exhibited typical gigantism—the face was swollen and deformed, the eyeballs bulged, the lips were everted, and the skin was taut due to the expansion of putrefactive gases, revealing a bluish-black network of putrefactive veins that spread across the body's surface like a map.
“The male corpse is approximately 172cm tall,” Xiaolin said, measuring with a ruler as her pen slid rapidly across the recording paper. “There were no obvious clothing remnants on the body, only half a piece of black polyester was found on the neck, the texture of which matches the plastic bag found at the scene. There are multiple putrefactive blisters all over the body, 1-3cm in diameter, with light brown fluid, consistent with the characteristics of post-mortem decomposition.” She pointed to the corpse’s right wrist, “There is a rusty watch here, the hands are stopped at 10:15, and the case is stuck to the skin tissue.”
Zhang Lin crouched down and gently punctured a putrid blister with a dissecting needle. Brown liquid slowly seeped out, emitting an even stronger sour odor. "The degree of decomposition indicates 7-10 days after death," he said, his gaze sweeping over the abdomen. "The abdomen is noticeably swollen, and pressing it reveals a crepitus-like texture, indicating a large accumulation of putrefactive gases in the abdominal cavity, consistent with the characteristics of late-stage decomposition." He used tweezers to pick up a polyester fragment from the neck and examined it under a microscope. "The fiber cross-section is an irregular polygon, with a single fiber linear density of 3.8 dtex, which is preliminarily consistent with the fiber composition of the plastic bag extracted from the scene, possibly remnants from the wrapping process."
Determining the time of death requires multi-dimensional verification, with rectal temperature measurement being the first step. Zhang Lin slowly inserted the probe of the electronic thermometer into the rectum 15cm. After waiting for the reading to stabilize, Xiao Lin suddenly pointed to the limbs of the corpse: "Teacher Zhang, rigor mortis has completely subsided, and the joint range of motion has reached 180 degrees. Doesn't this mean that the time of death has exceeded 48 hours?" Zhang Lin nodded, his gaze falling on the thermometer display screen—the reading finally settled at 22.5°C.
“Based on an ambient temperature of 18°C for the construction site foundation pit, the rectal temperature of the corpse differs from the ambient temperature by 4.5°C,” Zhang Lin said, rapidly tapping on the calculator as he compared the temperature correction formula for late-stage decomposition. “High levels of decomposition slow down the rate of cadaver cooling. Considering the gigantic morphology, the distribution of the putrefactive venous network, and the complete relief of rigor mortis, we initially estimate the time of death to be 9-12 days ago, between October 1st and 4th.” He paused, then added, “However, further verification with examination of gastric contents and histopathology is needed, as decomposition may affect the accuracy of some indicators.”
A neck autopsy is crucial for determining the cause of death. Zhang Lin, scalpel in hand, made a precise, arc-shaped incision in the decaying tissue of the corpse's neck. Putrefactive gases hissed from the incision, carrying a pungent odor of hydrogen sulfide. Due to tissue decomposition, the neck muscle structure was blurred, but deep within the sternocleidomastoid muscle, patchy dark red hemorrhages were still visible—even in severe decomposition, the decomposition products of hemoglobin formed during ante-death bleeding still retained their characteristic color.
“Look here,” Zhang Lin said, using hemostatic forceps to separate the neck tissue and expose the bleeding area. “The bleeding area is about 5x3cm, located in the middle of the left sternocleidomastoid muscle, reaching the muscle layer, with irregular edges, consistent with the characteristics of injury caused by blunt force before death.” He further examined the hyoid bone and found an incomplete fracture on the right side of the greater horn of the hyoid bone. Although the fracture ends were covered by necrotic tissue, fresh bone fracture marks could still be observed. “Hyoid bone fracture is an important indicator of mechanical asphyxiation. Combined with the bleeding in the neck muscles, it is preliminarily judged that there is a possibility of strangulation or ligation.”
Xiao Lin handed over a magnifying glass, and Zhang Lin discovered a more crucial trace in the putrefied venous network of the neck skin: "These tiny epidermal detachments are distributed in a dotted pattern, with a diameter of 0.2-0.3 cm," he pointed to the direction of the traces, "extending from the lower edge of the jaw to the back of the neck, arranged in the same direction, consistent with the pressure marks formed by fingers pressing when strangling—although putrefaction has blurred the traces, the distribution pattern of these dotted detachments rules out the possibility of putrefaction after death."
During the thoracic dissection, the lung expansion caused by putrefactive gas was particularly evident. When Zhang Lin cut open the sternum, the lung tissue bulged outward due to being filled with gas, appearing dark brown and covered with putrefactive patches of varying sizes. "Both lungs were significantly heavier, with the left lung weighing 680g and the right lung weighing 720g, far exceeding the normal range for adult lung weight," he said. He cut open the lung tissue with a scalpel, revealing a honeycomb-like cut surface, and when squeezed, a large amount of brown liquid and bubbles gushed out. "The lung tissue showed obvious edema, and the alveolar cavities were filled with putrefactive fluid, consistent with pulmonary congestion and edema caused by mechanical asphyxiation."
On the surface of the lungs, Zhang Lin found scattered hemorrhages, about 1 mm in diameter, dark red in color, distributed along the edges of the lung lobes. "These are Tardieu spots," he explained to Xiao Lin, "a typical lung change in cases of mechanical asphyxiation, formed due to capillary rupture caused by hypoxia. Even on a highly decomposed corpse, they can be identified by their color and distribution characteristics." He further examined the heart and found a small number of punctate hemorrhages under the epicardium. The left ventricular wall muscle tissue was dark in color, with no obvious infarct foci, ruling out the possibility of death due to heart disease.
Examining the stomach contents presented a significant challenge due to putrefaction. When Zhang Lin opened the stomach cavity, putrefied liquid mixed with partially digested food residue gushed out, the stench causing Zhang Lin to turn his head away. "The stomach contents were approximately 150ml, a brownish paste," Zhang Lin extracted a sample with a pipette and observed it under a microscope. "Rice grains, meat fibers, and vegetable scraps were visible. The degree of digestion indicates that the food died approximately 4-6 hours after entering the stomach—based on the time of death, the deceased's last meal was likely between the evening of September 30th and the early morning of October 1st." He tested the pH of the stomach contents with pH test strips, which showed a result of 3.5, "consistent with a normal gastric acid environment. No abnormal alkaline or acidic substances were detected, so poisoning is not currently considered."
Further findings were discovered during the examination of the body's limbs. Zhang Lin found a small amount of dark red residue under the fingernail of the deceased's right index finger. After rinsing with saline solution, it appeared as fine fibers and skin tissue fragments on a glass slide. "The fiber composition is consistent with the polyester fragments found in the neck, and the skin tissue fragments show obvious tear marks," he deduced. "The deceased may have been in a struggle before death, and his fingers may have scratched the suspect or torn at the package. These residues need to be sent to a DNA laboratory for testing, which may reveal the suspect's biological information."
"Professor Zhang, given the strangulation marks on the neck and the fracture of the hyoid bone, why is there such a large gap in the estimated time of death?" Xiaolin's question broke the silence in the autopsy room. She pointed to the putrefactive bubbles in the abdomen of the corpse. "Could late-stage decomposition affect the assessment of asphyxiation-related injuries? For example, could muscle bleeding be caused by decomposition?"