The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

Chapter 601: Chapter 336: Every Case Must Exclude Reasonable Doubt!

Mr. Ma examined carefully for a moment: ”Is there a problem?”

”There are no obvious external injuries on the body, and the thighs and calves are very clean.”

”That’s precisely the problem, Mr. Ma.”

Jiang An’s voice was deep and forceful, ”It’s because it’s too clean that it seems abnormal.”

Mr. Ma paused upon hearing this, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes.

”This body was examined by forensic experts from both the city and the province.”

”They unanimously identified the cause of death as drowning.”

”I participated in the entire autopsy process, could there be any oversight?”

Jiang An did not answer immediately but turned to another page.

”Mr. Ma, by analyzing these autopsy photos, the cause of death indeed resulted from drowning due to a traffic accident.”

”However...” He pointed to a specific part in the photo.

”Look here, the condition between the deceased’s legs is very suspicious.”

”Oh?”

Mr. Ma’s brow furrowed even tighter.

”Under normal circumstances, a body in this type of accident would certainly exhibit straddle injuries.”

Jiang An explained professionally, ”Straddle injuries refer to characteristic injuries formed from the friction of the perineum with the motorcycle frame during an abrupt collision.”

”However, in this case, we don’t see any trace of such injuries.”

Upon hearing the term ”straddle injuries,” Mr. Ma felt a chill run down his spine.

Though he wasn’t a forensic expert, he wasn’t unfamiliar with the term from many years of case handling.

He remembered a case from several years ago where such injuries were crucial evidence for solving it.

”Are you saying that the case must have straddle injuries to be considered normal?”

Mr. Ma pursued.

Jiang An nodded affirmatively: ”Mr. Ma, from a forensic perspective, when a body dives into the water at high speed on a motorcycle, there is an instinctive spastic contraction process.”

”During this process, the inner thighs must rub violently against the motorcycle frame, creating obvious straddle injuries.”

”But on this body, we couldn’t find any features of such injuries at all.”

Hearing this, Mr. Ma’s gaze shifted between the photo and Jiang An.

After pondering for a long time, Mr. Ma said cautiously, ”Jiang An, this case is not ordinary, having been verified by several experts in the earlier stages.”

”Can we upend the entire nature of the case just based on the absence of straddle injuries?”

Jiang An nodded slightly: ”There are additional doubts.”

”Look, this pond is located below a steep slope. The speed at which the motorcycle came down must have been very fast, impacting the water like a fall from a height.”

”Under such tremendous impact, with the acceleration downhill and the gear status of the motorcycle, how could the body have no injury at all? It’s too illogical.”

Mr. Ma thoughtfully stroked his chin, gesturing for Jiang An to continue.

”Moreover, there’s an even more suspicious aspect of this body.”

Jiang An flipped to a photo of the back, ”Look at the deceased’s back, it shows an unusual redness.”

Mr. Ma leaned in to observe: ”Isn’t this livor mortis?”

”The livor mortis formed from the prone position in water.”

Jiang An shook his head, ”Mr. Ma, in my opinion, this is certainly not ordinary livor mortis.”

”Not livor mortis?”

Mr. Ma reassessed the photo, ”Such a uniform redness, blending into a patch, I think it’s a typical feature of livor mortis.”

”Look at the boundaries here.”

Jiang An pointed to a specific area in the photo, ”If it were livor mortis, the edges wouldn’t be so distinct.”

”The formation of livor mortis is a gradual process, unlikely to appear so uniformly in a short time.”

He further explained, ”The deceased hasn’t been dead for even six hours, for livor mortis to have blended so completely in such a short time is abnormally fast.”

”Additionally, the water temperature at the time was quite low, which should have slowed the formation of livor mortis.”

”Considering the environmental factors at the scene and the traits of the reddening on the back, I believe it cannot be naturally formed livor mortis.”

Mr. Ma’s expression grew increasingly grave: ”If not livor mortis, then what could it be?”

Jiang An looked directly into Mr. Ma’s eyes, carefully enunciating: ”This is a special contusion formed from the skin slapping the water surface.”

”In forensic science, it’s called ’impact hollow injury,’ where a body strikes the water surface at a certain angle and speed, resulting in such distinctly edged red contusions at the contact point.”

Upon hearing the term ”impact hollow injury,” Mr. Ma fell into contemplation.

At this moment, waves swept through Mr. Ma’s previously calm heart, an indescribable thrill surging from the depths.

His fingers unconsciously tapped on the table, brow slightly furrowed.

Initially, he was very adamant about the original conclusion.

But Jiang An’s orderly analysis hit like a heavy hammer, making him feel a sudden fear.

”This was formed by impact?” Mr. Ma mused, his voice slightly hoarse, ”But during the motorcycle’s descent into water, it directly plunged in, not impacting the surface.”

”Precisely!” Jiang An’s eyes gleamed, speaking with conviction, ”This is exactly why I suspect the deceased may have entered the water separately from the motorcycle.”

”If they entered the water together, such marks shouldn’t appear.”

In an instant, Mr. Ma sharply lifted his head towards Jiang An, eyebrows raised high, a flash of shock in his eyes.

”Entering separately...” He pondered the startling hypothesis internally.

If they entered separately, it would surely be a murder case!

Thinking about this, a layer of cold sweat seeped from his back.

After a long time, Mr. Ma slowly laid the case file down, raising a hand to rub his throbbing brow.

”This case is not ordinary, we must treat it cautiously.”

He straightened himself, his tone becoming resolute, ”Bring Mr. Li and Mr. Wang over, we will discuss this case together.”

Fifteen minutes later, the atmosphere in Mr. Ma’s office grew solemn.

Mr. Ma, Jiang An, Mr. Li, and Zhang Chao gathered in the meeting room.

Mr. Ma held the case file, scanning the group: ”Jiang An came to me with the file earlier, initially for discussion, but Jiang An’s points were very valid, prompting me to reevaluate this case.”

Upon hearing this, Mr. Wang’s face showed a relieved expression.

He leaned back on the chair, saying: ”Mr. Ma, I just reviewed this case file in the office. I mentioned to him that the case has undergone multiple reviews with experts from the provincial hall involved, it should be error-free.”

Mr. Li quickly flipped through the case file, slightly frowning: ”Indeed.”

”I recall Mr. Ma personally led us through many studies, the evidence chain is complete, there shouldn’t be errors.”

He paused and added: ”The family has become neurotic from repeated petitions, it’s become routine, we shouldn’t overly mind their demands.”

However, as soon as he finished speaking, Mr. Ma’s voice suddenly rose: ”Precisely because we think there are no loopholes, we must be cautious!”

”We believed this was an impeccable case, but the discoveries Jiang An presented made me suddenly find it odd.”

”We cannot become complacent just because the case is closed!”

In an instant, Mr. Li and Mr. Wang’s faces turned solemn.

The air in the office seemed to freeze.

”What do you mean?”

The two looked at each other, then simultaneously turned their gazes to Jiang An.

Jiang An took a deep breath, ”Mr. Li, Instructor, upon carefully studying the file earlier, I found doubts in the autopsy report of this case.”

”The body has issues?”

”What issues?”

”The cause of death is clear, but the injuries on the body present contradictions.”

Jiang An opened the case file, pointing to a page, ”The deceased’s back shows markings from being struck by the water surface, and the distribution is very peculiar.”

”More crucially,” he emphasized, ”the inner side of the deceased’s legs shows no traces of straddle injuries.”

”These peculiar details suggest that this case might have hidden truths.”

Suddenly, Li Jian and Zhang Chao were stunned, eyes locked on the photos.

At this moment, Mr. Ma nodded firmly, his tone resolute: ”In any case, we must eliminate reasonable suspicion.”