met free Chapter 911 Discoveries from Autopsies
Chapter 911 Discoveries from Autopsies
Li Ming rubbed his temples, watching the New Year decorations rush past the car window, a heavy feeling rising in his heart. A murder had occurred at the very beginning of the new year; the killer was clearly emboldened. He took out his phone and sent a message to the forensic team: "Prioritize the autopsy, focusing on the stomach contents and nail residue."
The cold lights in the autopsy room made the stainless steel table appear bluish-gray. Forensic doctor Zhang Lin, wearing double-layered latex gloves, used tweezers to pick up an alcohol swab and slowly wiped along the area below the collarbone of the corpse.
The deceased had been submerged in water for more than ten hours, and the skin showed obvious signs of "washing woman-like changes." The fingertips were wrinkled like dried tangerine peel, and there were scattered mushroom-shaped bubbles in the jaw and collarbone area. These were typical characteristics of drowning before death. However, Zhang Lin's attention was quickly drawn to an old scar about 10 centimeters long on the right side of the body's chest—a suture mark from the removal of the seventh rib.
"Record: The deceased's right seventh rib is missing. The incision is healing well, and periosteal hyperplasia is visible, suggesting the surgery was performed more than five years ago." Zhang Lin used a probe to separate the skin around the scar. Under the microscope, collagen fibers were seen arranged in a wavy pattern, consistent with the characteristics of tissue repair after surgery. He then examined the limbs. When the deceased's right elbow was bent, a slight crepitus was suddenly heard at the medial epicondyle of the humerus. The X-ray showed that there was malunion of an old fracture at that location, with significant callus hyperplasia at the fracture ends, forming a typical "bayonet-like" change.
“There is a linear fracture line in the mid-shaft of the left tibia and fibula, with callus healing in a bridging manner, indicating that a direct violent blow was suffered.” Zhang Lin measured the length of the fracture line with a ruler. “There are symmetrical subcutaneous ossification nodules in the olecranon region of both arms, which, combined with occupational characteristics, may be related to long-term weight-bearing or repetitive strain.” He turned to his assistant, “We will take pubic symphysis cartilage and use anthropological methods to determine the age; we will extract dental pulp tissue for DNA typing, focusing on comparing it with male samples in the national missing persons database who have lost ribs due to trauma.”
The moment the scalpel sliced open the chest and abdominal cavities, a burst of putrid gas erupted. Zhang Lin skillfully used a suction device to clear away the fluid, then removed the heart, liver, lungs, and other organs in sequence. "There were patchy hemorrhages in the lower lobe of the right lung, consistent with signs of strangulation before death." He used tweezers to pick up the stomach contents, "and undigested duck skeletons, wheat starch granules, and alcohol were visible. It's estimated that the last food consumed was braised duck and beer, and the time of death was 2-3 hours after the meal."
During the examination of the skull, Zhang Lin discovered a 3-centimeter depressed fracture in the parietal bone with radiating bone cracks at the edges. "This was caused by a blunt force trauma before death, with a depression depth of 1.5 centimeters, which may have caused an epidural hematoma." He pointed to the vital signs around the fracture line, "The hemorrhage layer is clear, which is obviously different from the pale cross-section of post-mortem injuries."
When dissecting the pelvic cavity, Zhang Lin suddenly stopped his instruments—there was a calcification the size of a mung bean on the surface of the deceased's prostate, a characteristic change commonly seen in patients with long-term prostatitis. "Record: Prostatic calcification, combined with old fractures of the limbs and missing ribs, these features have individual identification value." He removed the dissecting scope, opened the missing persons file on the computer, and entered keywords such as "male, 45-50 years old, right seventh rib resection, fractures of both upper limbs and the tibia and fibula, prostatitis."
Three minutes later, the matching result popped up on the screen: Liu Weiguo, male, 48 years old, was involved in a fight over a trivial matter and was struck with an iron rod, resulting in a fracture of the right seventh rib and fractures of the radius and ulna of both upper limbs. He underwent rib resection and internal fixation treatment at the hospital. Zhang Lin clicked on the preoperative X-ray in the file and compared it with the fracture morphology of the corpse in front of him. Whether it was the angular deformity of the medial epicondyle of the humerus or the fracture line of the tibia and fibula, they all showed a complete match.
"We'll extract the rib cartilage for radiocarbon dating to confirm if the fracture healing time matches the records," Zhang Lin said, placing the tissue sample into a special preservation tube. "In addition, we'll send the skin tissue from under the fingernails for STR typing to see if it can match the database of criminal records."
The autopsy ended at 2 a.m. Zhang Lin removed his fogged-up goggles and signed his name on the autopsy record. Outside the window, the figure of Li Ming, the head of the criminal investigation team, appeared at the end of the corridor. In the folder in his hand was Liu Weiguo's criminal record for robbery—which detailed his disciplinary record of being beaten with a rubber baton by guards in prison, resulting in a fracture of his right elbow.
“The comparison results are in,” Zhang Lin handed the DNA report to Li Ming. “The pubic symphysis measurement indicates an age of 47.6 years, which is within six months of Liu Weiguo’s actual age; the rib removal surgery time matches, and the history of prostatitis is also consistent with the hospital records. As for the depressed fracture of the parietal bone…” He paused, “the shape and size are highly similar to the injury characteristics caused by the iron rod, which is very likely the direct cause of his disappearance.”
Li Ming opened the on-site investigation report: "The work shoe print found in the back alley is size 43, which matches Liu Weiguo's shoe size before his death; the wear and tear on the cigarette butt's teeth marks indicates that the user had a long-term habit of chewing betel nut, which also matches the description given by Liu Weiguo's cellmate. Now we need to confirm who would kill him in a way he was familiar with, and why they chose to dump the body in the fishpond?"
Zhang Lin was packing up the dissection instruments, the stainless steel trays clinking together crisply: "The way the body was disposed of was very professional. The nylon rope was tied in a typical 'cow knot,' often used to secure live fish boxes during seafood transport. Perhaps we could start with local seafood industry workers, especially those with a history of violent crime."
After confirming the deceased as Liu Weiguo, Li Ming, the head of the criminal investigation team, posted three photos on a whiteboard: a map of the deceased's life after his release from prison, a medical report on old injuries, and a purchase order for small commodities he sold at a street stall. In the lower right corner of the whiteboard, marked in red, was the phrase "social vacuum"—this was the most unsettling point of suspicion for him.
“If a person with a prior robbery conviction suddenly cuts off all old contacts after being released from prison, it’s either because he’s genuinely repentant or because he’s covering something up.” Li Ming pointed to the address “No. 17 Hongxing Lane” with a laser pointer. “We need to focus on investigating every single expense record and every social interaction he’s had in the three years since his release, even with stall owners at the market or strangers passing by.”
Investigators Xiao Zhang and Wang Fang first visited the neighbors in Hongxing Lane. Mr. Chen, who repairs bicycles at the lane entrance, wiped his wrench and recalled, "In the first year after Weiguo was released from prison, he loved to chat with people, saying he learned shoe repair in jail. Later, I don't know why, he became increasingly silent, just squatting at the lane entrance every day with a plastic sheet, selling lighters and insoles." He suddenly lowered his voice, "But last month I saw him arguing with a man wearing a hat. The man spoke with a non-local accent, and pushed him as he left."