The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

”Overall, the preliminary investigation was thorough and meticulous, and the evidence chain is complete, laying a solid foundation for our subsequent analysis.”

He paused slightly, his tone becoming more steady: ”Regarding the ’White Bone Case,’ it’s not really uncommon in our Jiangcheng region.”

”Jiangcheng is located in mountainous terrain, sprawling and expansive, with many remote hills and uninhabited wilderness areas in its jurisdiction, we encounter such cases of skeletal remains due to natural conditions relatively often.”

”Therefore, today, I take this opportunity to, on one hand, report to Director Hou about the set of mechanisms and specific practices we at Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau have formed when handling such highly skeletalized remains; on the other hand, I hope to take this chance to exchange experiences and learn from colleagues in the city bureau’s criminal investigation team to jointly improve the handling of such cases.”

Jiang An spoke sincerely and with humility.

He knew well that Director Hou had set the tone for this meeting, and if he were to overshadow at this moment, it would not only be untimely but could also disrupt the overall rhythm.

Moreover, in such a reporting setting, saying too little might make one appear incompetent or underprepared.

Saying too much or too prominently might embarrass the higher leadership.

Thus, he chose to focus his speech on sharing local experiences from Jiangcheng.

This approach demonstrates professional capability while maintaining a sense of propriety and facilitates business exchanges between various locales—truly a prudent and appropriate manner.

Then, he delved into the main topic, his voice low yet clear: ”Returning to the current skeletal remains, the core issue we must first clarify is the determination of the nature of death—murder, suicide, or accidental incident?”

”Superficially, there are only three possibilities, but in actual analysis, it is often complicated and intertwined.”

”From the current site environment of this case, my initial personal judgment is that accidental death is less likely.”

”There is no steep cliff at the scene, nor high-risk terrain, lacking geographical conditions leading to accidental falls or incidents.”

”Thus, what remains are the two scenarios of murder or suicide.”

He paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over those present, and continued: ”And when we return to the remains themselves—indeed, it is highly skeletalized, having almost completely lost the features of soft tissue, with only bones remaining.”

”But it is precisely these bones that present certain contradictions and confusions: for example, the skull is exposed, yet the torso is shallowly buried.”

”Although I was not on site, only analyzing from materials and images, does such a site status, to some extent, seem abnormal?”

”Mr. Qin also mentioned during the PPT presentation that determining the nature of death has always been the difficulty of this case.”

”I want to say, in such complex situations, judging whether the deceased committed suicide or was murdered is indeed highly challenging, requiring us to use combined scene traces, forensic anthropological examinations, and surrounding environmental evidence to conduct systematic deduction.”

”The layer of soil covering the deceased’s body itself warrants in-depth scrutiny.”

”Common sense suggests that a person intent on suicide could not possibly cover themselves with soil after ending their life.”

”However, we also cannot ignore that the amount of soil covering the body is actually very limited—barely covering the body surface and extremely unevenly distributed.”

”Compared to the chest area, the soil over the head and face is much shallower, almost exposed.”

”Could this situation possibly be caused by later factors?”

”For instance, could a wild animal have passed by, using its claws to scrape away the soil over the head, thus exposing the skull? These still need further verification.”

”Therefore, our current top priority is to ascertain the nature of death—to determine whether this case is murder or suicide.”

”Should we lean towards murder, it is undoubtedly necessary to open a case for investigation and delve into the investigation.”

”If it fits more within a suicide context, we need to further confirm whether the site is the primary scene and consider the motive and means of the suicide.”

Previously, Mr. Qin mentioned that no common toxic substances were detected in the soil samples under the deceased, which to some extent reduces the possibility of death by poisoning.

But specifically, which types of poisons have been ruled out?

What is the scope of the testing coverage?

This information is crucial for subsequent judgment.

Besides poisoning, other common causes of death should also be considered, such as mechanical asphyxia, mechanical injury, and even sudden death caused by rare diseases or organ failure due to congenital deformities.

For now, the clues observable and discernible from the body remain quite limited.

However, often it is these seemingly insufficient traces that harbor critical technical breakthrough points—the subtle differences and formation mechanisms among them warrant our investing more energy in analysis.

For instance, the rib fractures found on the remains are a trace needing focused analysis—did they occur before death or after?

If they formed before death, were they caused by the deceased falling himself, or were they the result of external force by another individual?

These questions all point to directions that must be clarified in the next stage of investigation.

As Director Hou pointed out earlier, in cases involving skeletal remains, we oftentimes face a typical ”three-no” object.

Unknown identity, relatively ambiguous cause of death, and the death scene may not be the primary scene.

Under such circumstances, determining the identity of the deceased is undoubtedly the primary task and foundational premise of the entire investigation work.

I believe the criminal investigation team has already conducted a relatively comprehensive and detailed investigation into the deceased’s identity during the preliminary work. But what is puzzling is why no effective breakthrough has been achieved so far?

This prompts me to ponder a question: Was the deceased ever included in our missing persons database?

Although I am not familiar with how you search for identities, in terms of Jiangcheng’s working model, identity investigation for such nameless bodies usually relies on existing missing persons report information.

That is to say, only if someone reports a disappearance will the relevant personal information be entered into the system, thereby becoming the basis for our comparison and investigation.

If no one reported the person missing in the first place, naturally, no corresponding information exists in the system for search and comparison.

Under such a scenario, even if we allocate substantial resources for technical comparison, it often proves challenging to achieve substantive progress.

Therefore, viewed from this reality, if we indeed cannot find matching missing persons information in the database corresponding to the deceased.

This actually also conveys some important information—at least it indicates that the deceased might not have been reported missing by friends or relatives during their lifetime.

This point holds significant reference value for us to portray the deceased’s social relationships, living conditions before death, and even analyze whether they were in a socially marginalized position.

Furthermore, this state of ”neglect” might even provide clues for characterizing the identity of the criminal suspect.

For example, could the perpetrator have precisely utilized the deceased’s weak social relationships to conceal the crime?

Moreover, as Director Hou mentioned earlier, although we face skeletal remains today, the spatial logic behind the case is highly complex.

Can we confirm whether the location where the body was discovered constitutes the primary crime scene?

If this site is the primary scene, how did the suspect and the deceased reach this place?

During the entire process of disposing of the body, was a vehicle used?

Are there other possibilities, such as the perpetrator committing the crime elsewhere and then transporting the body to this location?

These are all directions that merit in-depth scrutiny.

If the body was moved here, what was the motive for the perpetrator’s choice of this location?

Did they believe this place is hidden, unlikely to be found?

Confirming these details will directly impact our judgment of the case’s nature and the grasp of subsequent investigation directions.”