Chapter 987: Case Analysis Meeting

The murderer’s methods can be described as particularly brutal.

The clues currently gathered from the abandoned logistics park suggest that it might not be the primary crime scene.

The victim’s time of death was approximately 15 to 20 days ago, and the body seems to have been frozen during this period.

After freezing, the murderer likely used a bone-cutting machine to dismember the body completely, from head to toe, into 128 pieces.

The murderer then transported these body fragments to the logistics warehouse where they reassembled the entire body on a table, as if it were a human specimen.

The murderer’s intention seems to be more than just killing; otherwise, there would be no need to handle the corpse this way.

The major crime unit is currently working on identifying the deceased. Establishing their identity is the current direction for the investigation, focusing on their interpersonal relationships.

Of course, the clues are still sparse, making it hard to determine the motive for murder, whether it was committed by someone familiar with the victim or under other circumstances.

The task force has been stationed at the provincial capital’s criminal investigation team, which has comprehensive equipment and ample resources.

After Lu Chuan gave Li Donglin a brief report, he began using the crime scene investigation office at the criminal investigation team to analyze and evaluate future leads from the scene.

Though the crime scene may not be the initial one, the murderer left some clues there.

For example, footprints.

The warehouse where the body was found is an abandoned logistics warehouse, with a cement floor.

Under normal circumstances, such a floor wouldn’t leave any footprints, but due to long-term disuse, a thin layer of dust provided Wu Chuan with some possibilities for finding clues.

The murderer left numerous footprints around the body’s table.

Although the collected footprints were not very clear or ideal, they were sufficient for Lu Chuan to conduct some data analysis.

Regrettably, no fingerprints were found at the crime scene.

The body had severely decomposed, making it impossible to collect fingerprints from it.

Besides, Lu Chuan found some unusual items.

These clues need further verification to provide more technical support to Li Donglin for solving the case.

While Lu Chuan was conducting technical identification and analysis, Wang Song was working hard to determine the victim’s identity.

Initially, no suitable personnel were found among the missing persons in the provincial capital. The criminal investigation team had conducted some work but hadn’t identified the deceased.

Wang Song expanded the search while determining the identity, but no discoveries were made yet. The body was somewhat decayed, obscuring the original appearance.

So, now they are waiting for DNA identification results.

After receiving reports yesterday, the provincial criminal investigation team planned case investigations. However, upon reporting the case, superior management transferred the case to the political case group.

This led to a slower pace in basic works as the body had decomposed, indicating the victim had died a long time ago. Generally, with such cases, a day or two delay is insignificant, and the team has few leads.

The forensic doctors have organized the body and are undergoing further autopsies to determine the victim’s identity.

Everyone is busy, but identifying the deceased remains the central priority.

Only by confirming the victim’s identity can they investigate clues through the victim’s interpersonal connections; otherwise, the case would be hard to solve.

Quickly, time passed, and by midnight, Lu Chuan had not slept all night, albeit having gathered several leads.

First, the footprint identification and analysis results surprised Lu Chuan; preliminary results suggest the murderer may be a woman.

Additionally, Lu Chuan found tire tracks in the courtyard of the abandoned logistics park.

It would be impossible for the murderer to have carried the body alone to the park, implying the use of some transport.

Lu Chuan focused on examining the tire marks when inspecting the site.

Indeed, some findings were made.

The DNA identification results had just been released, and Lu Chuan promptly sent the results to Wang Song since the victim’s identity remained undisclosed. DNA information was a highly anticipated clue.

After completing some basic work, Lu Chuan took a short nap, and by 8 a.m. the following morning, Li Donglin began the first case analysis meeting.

When Lu Chuan arrived at the scene, others had gradually assembled, though clearly, everyone seemed exhausted.

Despite not obtaining critical clues the previous night, everyone had their busiest night.

Especially the crime scene investigators and forensic doctors.

These professions essentially act as precursors to solving cases.

Li Donglin didn’t convene the case analysis meeting yesterday, waiting for forensic doctors and the county’s resources to provide some basic info and support overnight.

"Forensic Doctor, please start the presentation."

The forensic doctor from the provincial criminal investigation team ranks among the top in the province’s forensic system and had completed the autopsy last night.

Lu Chuan had previously interacted with the forensic doctor, so he was familiar, and he knew a little about the initial results had been completed by the forensic doctor last night.

"The victim, male, aged between 40 and 45, height 172..."

After providing a basic information introduction, the forensic doctor presented their findings.

"The time of death should be between 15 and 20 days ago." The forensic doctor opened the projector, "The body shows clear signs of freezing. We guess the reason for freezing the body was either to conceal it or to facilitate future dismemberment."

Everyone seemed to understand this point.

Like cutting regular beef or pork, freezing makes using a wire saw to cut quite easy. But if thawed, the cut pieces’ sizes might not be as controllable as when frozen.

The murderer was cautious and deliberate while dismembering the body with all 128 pieces having almost equal thicknesses.

Note that the deceased’s height was just 1.72 meters, cutting into 128 pieces meant each was slightly over one centimeter thick, less than two centimeters.

If the body wasn’t frozen, achieving such uniform thickness in slices would be quite challenging.