The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

”Over the years, even though we’ve conducted multiple investigations and analyses and invested significant manpower and resources, we have yet to make any breakthrough progress.”

”Today, we’ve invited experts from the provincial department for on-site guidance, and we hope that everyone will not only remain confident but also cooperate fully.”

”I require every member of the Qinzhou City Public Security Bureau’s criminal investigation team to follow the unified command of the task force, actively provide leads, and work collaboratively to strive for a critical breakthrough in the near future, and solve this unresolved murder case once and for all!”

As soon as the words fell, thunderous applause erupted again in the meeting room, and everyone’s gaze naturally focused on Jiang An.

Immediately, he turned his head and looked at Qin Feng, saying, ”Mr. Qin, please introduce to everyone the basic situation of the case and the current progress of the investigation.”

In response, Qin Feng solemnly nodded and said, ”Alright, I will brief everyone on this case.”

Director Hou quietly observed this scene, fully aware—it is not common for the head of the criminal investigation team to personally report a case, which is usually introduced by the investigative police, with the team leader supplementing the details.

This detail precisely reflects the high importance the Qinzhou police place on this long-standing cold case and the urgency to solve it.

Immediately, a police officer at the door quickly turned off the lights, and the meeting room darkened abruptly, with everyone’s gaze focusing on the projection screen at the front.

Qin Feng opened the laptop, and in a calm voice in the dimly lit room said, ”Alright, let us now formally begin a preliminary report on this case that happened seven years ago.”

He operated the computer to bring up the case data and continued, ”The case occurred seven years ago in the summer, at the outskirts of our city in a cornfield outside Lijiang Village, and it was classified as a murder case.”

”At that time, it was midsummer, the corn plants grew extremely lush and generally over two meters tall, forming a large natural barrier, which also created special environmental conditions for the occurrence and discovery of the case.”

”The discovery process of the case was as follows,” Qin Feng continued, ”The owner of the cornfield went to his own field to harvest corn in the afternoon of the incident day, and found the body among the dense corn.”

”According to the on-site investigation records, the body was relatively well-preserved when discovered, and the state was quite fresh.”

”Based on the forensic autopsy report, combined with the characteristics of Qinzhou City’s hot and humid summer climate, and the various indicators of the body, it is preliminarily estimated that the time of death was within 12 hours before the discovery.”

He paused for a moment and continued to describe, ”At the time of death, the deceased was dressed in an ordinary cotton T-shirt on the upper body, with the lower body naked.”

”It is worth noting that the surface of the body was covered with a small amount of fresh corn stalk leaves.”

”Upon receiving the report, we immediately activated the homicide investigation mechanism according to the procedure and conducted the investigation strictly in accordance with the requirements issued by the provincial department.”

Qin Feng’s tone became more serious, ”The primary task was to identify the victim.”

”After meticulous investigation, we confirmed the deceased was a local villager named Wang Xiu, aged 29 at the time, married, and had one child.”

”Her husband was working out of town for years, and Wang Xiu was alone at home taking care of the child, while also farming their land.”

Qin Feng brought up Wang Xiu’s basic profile materials and continued, ”According to our in-depth investigation of Wang Xiu’s activities prior to her death, she usually worked alone in the fields, with a very regular routine, often leaving at dawn and returning when night fell.”

”Although no one witnessed the exact time she went to the cornfield the day before the incident, some villagers confirmed seeing her drying clothes in front of her house the previous evening.”

”Based on the cross-evidence of these time points, our task force judged that her time of death was most likely in the early morning of the incident day.”

”After identifying the victim, we quickly launched a systematic examination of her social relationships.”

”Through comprehensive visits and understanding, we found the deceased’s social relationships were relatively simple, she got along harmoniously with neighbors, and no obvious conflicts or grievances were found.”

”Regarding her emotional life, it was relatively traditional; her husband worked out of town for years, and the deceased cared for the child alone at home. No rumors of extramarital affairs or emotional disputes were circulating locally, preliminarily ruling out the possibility of conflict stemming from emotional entanglements.”

”The forensics department conducted a comprehensive examination of the body. The results revealed that injuries were concentrated on the neck, where distinct pressure marks were evident, indicating significant force consistent with manual strangulation.”

”Analysis of neck tissue damage and bleeding suggested that the victim engaged in a rather intense struggle before death.”

”Considering the deceased was a rural adult female engaged in daily physical labor, possessing a certain level of physical strength, the degree of her resistance further reflects the perilous situation during the incident.”

”Additionally, no apparent mechanical damage was found elsewhere on the body, except for several minor marks on the inner thigh, waxy white in color, preliminarily judged to be post-mortem changes possibly related to the storage environment or changes on the body surface.”

”Laboratory tests on secretions from the victim’s lower body did not detect any male semen components. Combined with the state of the body’s clothing—though the outer clothing was removed—a sexual assault can be excluded.”

Continuing, Qin Feng said, ”In the initial phase of the investigation, we explored multiple directions around common motives such as vendetta, passion, and sexual assault.”

”The task force organized multiple case consultations, meticulously examining each detail, and conducted a comprehensive inventory of the victim’s village, without identifying anyone with motive or opportunity to commit the crime.”

”Subsequently, the scope of the investigation gradually expanded to surrounding villages, extending the search radius to neighboring villages and further areas, yet we have not been able to obtain valuable clues or identify any suspects.”

”For this reason, despite systematic investigation, the case still lacks a breakthrough and remains in a suspended state.”

During his forty-minute report, Qin Feng systematically reviewed and narrated all the case files, on-site investigation photos, and relevant clues.

Finally, he summarized, ”This is the basic situation and preliminary analysis we currently have on the case.”

”Director, Mr. Jiang, if you have questions about any part of the report or need further clarification on certain details, please feel free to ask.”

”I will do my best to provide answers based on the case records and the actual on-site investigation.”

He paused briefly, glancing at the towering pile of case files in front of him, and continued, ”Due to the comprehensive nature of the materials related to this case, covering multiple types of evidence and various testimonies, the content is vast. Detailed review may require a significant time investment.”

Subsequently, Commissioner Li Changming turned his gaze to Director Hou and Jiang An to seek their opinions, ”Director Hou, Mr. Jiang, do either of you have anything else you wish to know or any aspect you want to explore further?”

Director Hou nodded slightly, showing approval, and commented, ”Based on the content reported so far, you have maintained a pretty accurate grasp of the overall context of the case, and the foundational work done is quite solid.”

”Whether it’s the response process for receiving and handling reports, the normative operations for body examination, the detail level of on-site investigations, or the extent of outreach surveys, each aspect reflects a high level of professional standard, laying a solid foundation for establishing subsequent investigative directions.”

”It can be said that the preparatory work in the earlier stages is quite thorough and commendable.”

Immediately, he turned slightly to Jiang An and asked, ”Mr. Jiang, what are your thoughts or insights on this case?”

For a moment, all eyes in the meeting room focused on Jiang An.

Jiang An’s gaze fell on the projection screen, and he couldn’t help but ponder: Forming an accurate judgment on this unresolved case based solely on a forty-minute report is indeed challenging and pressuresome.

However, he also knew that at this critical juncture in the case’s progression, he must express his viewpoints.