Chapter 271 164: Backlogged Case: 'The Vanished Person' (Part 1)

It wasn't the first time a case couldn't be closed, but it wasn't a common occurrence either.

Usually, it was because they couldn't catch the suspect, or perhaps the suspect's lawyer was exceptionally good.

However, the issue with Li Jianye's case was different...

"This was a case involving a domestic dispute."

"Mhm, a domestic dispute that turned into a criminal case. The deceased was the man of the house—the husband."

"The killer was his wife."

"They weren't old, but they weren't young either. The woman was thirty-five, and the man was thirty-six."

As Xu Huo's eyes fell upon the case file, Li Jianye's voice slowly began to explain.

Nearby, Wang Chao was enjoying the show.

"The case was opened in mid-August, sometime around the beginning of September."

"The person who called the police wasn't a passerby or a witness. It was the murderer herself—the wife!"

"She claimed to have killed her husband. When the police arrived on the scene, they found the husband lying in a pool of blood, his body already starting to stink. The wife was still in the house, holding a knife. They arrested her with practically no hesitation."

"And according to her story..."

"The deceased—her husband—had cheated on her during their marriage. Their relationship fell apart, which led to the wife killing him in a fit of rage."

"Based on forensic analysis of the evidence left at the scene, she definitely killed him."

Li Jianye spoke slowly, laying out the full story of the case, which gradually took shape in everyone's mind.

She definitely killed him...

The murder weapon, the clues—everything was there!

But... here it was, dragged out from August of '03 to January of '04, and even with her confession, the case still wasn't closed!

And the reason for that was...

"Here's the problem."

"The police couldn't verify her story or the evidence of the affair she provided."

Li Jianye was getting a headache. He truly never expected this case to drag on for so long.

"For example?" Xu Huo paused, looking at him.

"For example, the final straw that made her snap."

"The husband openly brought his 'mistress' home and then they were... fooling around in their bed."

"What's more, the other woman wore the wife's wedding dress, which was stained with the husband's... fluids!"

Li Jianye sighed and spoke in a heavy voice.

"But, aside from the fluid, we found no other trace of a second woman in the room!"

"No basic sweat or other bodily fluids."

"Not even a single strand of hair!"

Sex is often a passionate act, not to mention she was supposedly wearing a wedding dress. The headpiece alone should have been enough to leave a bunch of hair behind.

And that's not even getting into bodily fluids.

It's not just the man's fluids; there should have been the woman's as well.

But at the crime scene, there was no trace of a second woman...

The wife said the mistress was there, that they were doing something sordid, but there was no trace of her at the scene.

And yet, while there was no mistress, there was the husband's bodily fluid.

"Since the wife was definitely the killer, the division handed over the case."

"But it got stuck at the prosecutor's office."

"The logic of the crime didn't match the evidence, so it couldn't pass prosecutorial review. It was sent back for re-examination again and again."

"But I hadn't even started a detailed search before... well, you know what happened in early September."

Li Jianye frowned, a wry smile on his face.

In early September, the 'Modern Jesus' case had come up.

The number of victims in that one completely baffled Li Jianye.

So this case was temporarily handed over to Division 2 for handling.

Unfortunately, if his Division 1 couldn't crack it, it was no surprise that Division 2 didn't find any leads either.

They investigated it all this time, and now it's been thrown back to me.

"I see."

Xu Huo nodded thoughtfully.

"Where is the killer now?"

"The court has her in custody. If you need her brought over, we can arrange an interrogation."

Li Jianye said.

In this case, everything from the fingerprints and footprints to the angle of the fatal wound indicated the wife was the murderer.

But why couldn't it get past the prosecutor's office?

Because a case isn't just about finding out who killed whom.

Take the previous 'Human Skin Blood Robe' case. Huang Meng wasn't the direct murderer, but was he unrelated to the case?

No. So, in this little case...

What if the wife was taking the fall for someone?

Or what if someone paid her or offered her some benefit to kill her husband?

Anything was possible.

Therefore, until the complete story behind a case is known, what the police must do is continuously perfect the logic!

They had to determine if the case could be closed by comparing her testimony with the clues at the scene.

In this case, only half of the wife's story could be verified; there was no information for the other half.

It was entirely possible she was misleading the police or even burying the true story of the murder!

This part was crucial. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been dragged out for so long and sent back for further investigation.

"Is it urgent?"

Xu Huo asked.

"Pretty urgent. The case is stuck, it can't be closed, and the killer can't be sentenced."

Li Jianye nodded.

If nothing unexpected came up, wrapping up this case would be the first thing he'd have to do when he returned to work.

"Alright, this is the one."

Xu Huo nodded after a moment of thought.

"What do you mean, 'this is the one'?" Li Jianye faltered.

"Get the money ready. Since the apparent killer in this case has already been caught... I'll give you a discount. Twenty thousand."

"Captain Li, apply to the municipal bureau for twenty thousand in funds, and wait for me to crack the case!"

"Captain Li, get a car ready. We're going to check out the primary crime scene."

With that, Xu Huo turned and walked out.

He left only Li Jianye and Wang Chao behind. They were stunned for a moment, then their eyes lit up with joy.