Chapter 1062 - 544: A New Lead in the Investigation!

After a long while, Director Hou gently nodded, his gaze slowly sweeping over everyone present.

His tone was steady, each word clearly enunciated as he said:

"Everyone take a look; this is the situation we are facing right now—as the saying goes, ’Where the case happens, the key lies in the people involved’. Since this case falls in Guangling City, all of you are naturally the main force tackling it.

Actually, I have already shared my thoughts with you all before.

Looking at it now, the direction of the case is indeed increasingly deviating from our initial predictions."

At this point, he paused slightly, his eyes turning towards Jiang An, seated opposite.

"The points Mr. Jiang raised earlier are logically sound and offer fresh perspectives. We do not deny the possibilities among them. As for the forensic evidence and theoretical framework involved, I personally have no doubts."

Director Hou slightly shifted his focus, adding a contemplative note to his tone, "However, right now, I want to concentrate on discussing a practical problem: if we all tend to believe there is a ’third person’, then from where should we begin the search for this so-called third person?"

He placed his hands softly on the edge of the table, leaning his body slightly forward, his voice not loud, yet imbued with an undeniable seriousness.

"Any case that occurs, inevitably has its causal connections, and will not happen without any reason.

Unless the involved party falls into a state of unconsciousness or uncontrollable behavior, every move will leave traces of motivation behind.

However, in this case, to this day, we have yet to find a suspect with an apparent motive for committing the crime—this is precisely the most bewildering aspect at present."

Upon the conclusion of Director Hou’s statement, several officers behind him simultaneously nodded, their expressions revealing the same gravity and difficulty.

This case, from its establishment to the present, has been thoroughly investigated for over six months.

Over these six months, they have nearly sorted out all the ins and outs of the case, scrutinizing every individual connected to it.

After hearing his question, Jiang An pondered slightly before speaking, "Mr. Qin, Mr. Chen, I have a preliminary idea here, I’m not sure what you think of it?"

At this moment, Mr. Chen’s attitude towards Jiang An was already quite amiable, even somewhat valuing.

Earlier, Jiang An’s deduction of the entire incident process was clear, well-founded, and perfectly aligned with the logic of criminal investigation.

If even such rigorous reasoning cannot hold, then future criminal investigations would hardly be discussed at all.

Therefore, he slightly nodded, addressing Jiang An in a peaceful tone, "Mr. Jiang, please speak freely."

Jiang An did not immediately respond; he first glanced around the room.

His gaze lingered for a moment before slowly returning, continuing, "At the current scene, with the victim being murdered in such a manner and at such a location.

From a certain perspective, could it not point to a decisive judgment?

The killer, when committing the murder, acted extremely cleanly and efficiently, possibly even using some external force or special technique, leaving virtually no evident flaws or excess traces throughout the process.

"Moreover, the autopsy reveals that the deceased, Li Yong, died due to sudden external pulling force on the neck, causing cervical damage, suffocation, and a rapid transition into a dying state.

Then the question arises: in such a nearly fatal, instantly completed act, the killer did not further carry out more complex, prolonged harmful actions, nor did he show signs of excessive slaughter or emotional outburst.

Could this indicate that the conflict between the killer and the deceased might not be as intense as we initially assumed?

In other words, the motivation behind this killing may be something other than the venting of deep-seated resentment."

He finished these words in one breath, his gaze sweeping over those present again, seemingly observing every person’s reaction, possibly also awaiting further additions or questioning.

"If deep conflicts are involved, such as avenging a wife’s snatch or a father’s murder, they usually evolve into intense confrontations, even violent clashes.

Yet in this case, I find the killer’s actions exceedingly gentle.

Behind this ’gentleness’, perhaps lie two implications: firstly, the killer’s character may be relatively timid, lacking the courage and ability to implement vigorous hits or direct attacks;

secondly, it might also indicate that the conflict between both parties has not escalated to a life-and-death degree, not enough to ignite such extreme actions driven by hatred.

Going further, I even suspect whether there is an explicit intent to murder in this case.

The killer’s act, was it merely out of a momentary resentment, intended to make the other party uncomfortable, frustrated, rather than truly take their life?

In other words, this looks more like an emotional outburst rather than a meticulously planned homicide.

As it stands now, I believe the murder motive in this case is not strong, even vague and insufficient.

Therefore, asserting ’no apparent criminal motive’ at the initial investigation stage is rather presumptuous.

During the case-solving process, we should strive to avoid drawing premature conclusions and instead probe deeply into the causal relations beneath the surface.

After listening to Jiang An’s analysis, Mr. Chen did not refute but slowly nodded, musing, "This indeed makes sense. According to this, our future investigation direction should adjust.

After all, there is no love or hatred without reason in this world.

Thus, we must thoroughly investigate everyone the deceased had contact with before his death, carefully sorting through whether there exist conflicting relations or potential motives."