Chapter 538: Chapter 538: Identity of the Deceased Confirmed

The body, which had been decomposing for two weeks, had its blood long decayed, making it impossible to determine DNA information through blood analysis.

Lu Chuan collected hair and nails.

As for fingerprints...

Collecting fingerprints from a highly decomposed body is an extremely challenging task; of course, Lu Chuan was working on it, but it took quite a long time.

Moreover, the subsequent fingerprint comparison was also difficult. Lu Chuan planned to do DNA identification analysis first and then try fingerprint identification if the comparison did not succeed.

Of course, these are just conventional identity identification methods; if they all fail, they can actually reconstruct the deceased’s portrait based on the head.

A portrait artist is not a new technical profession in the criminal investigation industry.

Lu Chuan had even studied this field in university; creating sketches of criminal suspects based on eyewitness descriptions is a skill that crime scene detectives must master.

In addition, the Criminal Investigation Team also has specialized portrait artists.

Criminal investigation portraits differ from typical art; they emphasize realism and creating images based on textual descriptions.

The key in this process is not to add one’s imagination and emotions; portrait artists focus on the emotional shifts and language changes of the person described.

In recent years, due to technological advances, portrait artists have also used many modeling techniques.

Sometimes eyewitnesses can use software to select facial shapes, nose shapes, mouth shapes, eyebrows, and eye shapes to piece together a memory-based portrait of the suspect.

After explaining this to Shen Yan, Lu Chuan sent the collected DNA identification materials back to the crime scene laboratory.

"I’ll do it; it should take about seven to eight hours to get results."

Old Bai’s previous skill in this area was average, but after recent training by Lu Chuan and using new equipment in the crime scene laboratory, Old Bai could now use almost all of it.

In all the crime scene technical protocols, DNA identification is actually relatively simple.

Not that the steps are few or the operation is simple, but on the contrary, DNA identification involves many steps and intricate operations, but each step is constrained by protocol standards.

As long as the protocol standards are followed step by step, with no additional contamination of the carrier, and if the carrier amount is sufficient, DNA information can generally be identified.

While Old Bai was conducting DNA identification, Lu Chuan was organizing the fingerprints just collected from the body.

Collecting fingerprints from a decomposed body is extremely challenging; once collected, they are in pieces, needing organization and consolidation before fingerprint identification analysis can be done.

After finishing these tasks, Lu Chuan also needs to further analyze and judge the footprints discovered at the crime scene to form a Footprint Identification and Analysis report.

Liu Guodong, on the other side, was busy analyzing hair and fibers found on the trees in the forest on another two machines.

The goal is to determine whether the hair belonged to the deceased or the perpetrator. If it’s the deceased’s, it might not be very useful, but if it’s the perpetrator’s, it can be used to directly identify them.

The main thing with fibers is to conduct a component analysis, then compare with the fiber components of the clothes on the deceased.

These tasks cannot be completed quickly; results will slowly come out by tomorrow at the earliest.

"Old Liu, do you think it’s more likely that the murderer had a premeditated plan or acted on a sudden impulse?"

After working for more than an hour, Old Bai’s work had basically gotten on track, with the initial processing of materials completed and purification in progress.

In another three hours, once purification is complete, the materials can be put into the machine for testing, and results will be available tonight.

So the remaining work is procedural, and Old Bai took a breath.

Liu Guodong’s work had also entered another phase.

The DNA identification of the hair found on the tree was aligned with Old Bai’s workflow, and fiber testing was ongoing, expected to yield results in three to four hours.

Liu Guodong didn’t hesitate: "The killing was sudden."

Hmm?

Old Bai handed Liu Guodong a cigarette and was slightly puzzled, "So sure?"

"Firstly, the opposing party’s method of faking a hanging was too clumsy, definitely not meticulously planned. It should have been an impulsive decision."

Old Bai agreed; in TV dramas, the lower part of a hanging scene would have a stool kicked away, but nothing was found under the deceased’s feet at the crime scene, as if they floated in the air to the tree?

"The second?"

"High heels."

"High heels? What do you mean?"

"The crime scene is located at the foot of a hill on Five-Flower Mountain."

"Walking from the foot of the mountain to the hill takes at least an hour."

If the murderer killed someone at the foot and then discarded the body on the mountain, how could they walk such a long distance carrying a body in high heels?"

"Therefore, I lean toward the murderer being female and inclined to wear high heels; otherwise, they wouldn’t wear three or four-centimeter high heels while climbing. The murder should have come from an impulsive decision."

"There is a high possibility that the murderer knew the victim and a conflict arose between them, leading to an unplanned murder."

Liu Guodong’s analysis...

Old Bai found it quite reliable.

Just like Liu Guodong said, the footprint left at the scene was a typical high-heel footprint.

It’s highly unlikely that a killer would randomly murder someone they don’t know in a fit of passion.

If the murderer wasn’t killing under such circumstances, then where did the killing occur?

At the foot of the mountain?

If it happened at the foot, it would mean they carried a body up the mountain path for over an hour.

Is such a scenario likely?

Ignoring the chance of being spotted, the murderer probably wouldn’t have the physical strength for that.

After all, the place where the body was found is near the walking path, which isn’t accessible by car.

Actually, the entire Five-Flower Mountain comprises narrow walking paths only meant for walking, not for driving.

Additionally, the effort to fake the victim’s hanging suicide was indeed clumsy and had logically inconsistent flaws.

Both Liu Guodong and Old Bai could make this analysis, and the action team could reach similar conclusions.

Inside the meeting room, the action team was discussing the case.

"I believe the most crucial thing now is to determine the victim’s identity and start an investigation centered on their interpersonal relationships."

In any homicide case, identifying the victim is the first priority, as it’s the foundation for any further work.

"The murderer deliberately staged a suicide scene, suggesting there’s a high likelihood that the perpetrator knew the victim."

"Moreover, the crime scene investigation concluded there were high heel traces, indicating the killer is likely a woman."

"Further, the possibility of the killer murdering someone at the mountain’s base and then discarding the body on top is minimal."

"What does this imply?"

"It implies that the murderer and the victim likely hiked together, and during the journey, a conflict arose that led to the victim’s death."

"Therefore, I believe the most urgent priority now is identifying the victim. Once this is confirmed, resolving other matters will become manageable."

Fortunately, the report from the crime scene team was very beneficial for advancing the case.

At six thirty in the afternoon, the DNA identification results of the deceased were released.

The victim was a nurse reported missing half a month ago.