Chapter 539: Chapter 539: Case Analysis Meeting

Zhang Huiru, female, 29 years old, a nurse at Maria Plastic Surgery Hospital.

She was reported missing by the hospital half a month ago.

In the conference room, Qin Yong notified the groups to convene for the first case analysis meeting.

Since Wang Changjiang had not yet returned to Haizhou City, Forensic Doctor Shen Yan represented the forensic side at the meeting.

This was also Shen Yan’s first time attending a case analysis meeting, and she looked around with interest.

Usually, Wang Changjiang and Liu Guodong would sit together, but this time Liu Guodong changed his seat to let Lu Chuan and Shen Yan sit together.

The meeting was scheduled for 7:00, and it was now 6:45. Qin Yong had not yet arrived, so everyone in the conference room chatted about the case.

"Lu Chuan, I must say, you’re really something with Forensic Doctor Shen. The death duo nickname isn’t for nothing."

Zhang Hui genuinely felt some admiration.

Just a few days ago, there was the mummified corpse case in the statue at the East Sea Camping Area, and now these two had gone to Five-Flower Mountain for autumn sightseeing and stumbled upon another case.

As Zhang Hui spoke, the others nodded in silent agreement.

"Lu, Shen, you should really make some time to visit a temple and pray. They say the Buddha at East Mountain is quite efficacious."

A Great Buddha Temple was built in East Mountain Park a few years ago, inside which stands a 136-meter tall Buddha, the tallest statue along the East Sea coastline.

In recent years, the temple’s incense offerings have been very prosperous, and everyone says it’s very effective. Sun Jun advised them to pay a visit.

Upon hearing this, the others also nodded.

It’s not that police officers are superstitious; in fact, they are the least superstitious.

Otherwise, how could they handle daily contact with murder cases and dead bodies?

But some things are indeed strange. You say there’s nothing, but then there is, and you say there is, then there’s nothing.

It’s like how no one ever mentions having a quiet day, because as soon as you say that, a case will inevitably come up.

Lu Chuan had encountered this kind of situation at the Crime Scene Investigation office four or five times at least.

Faced with Zhang Hui’s teasing, Lu Chuan could only shake his head helplessly.

He used to think it was nothing, just discovering a case, quite normal. But the frequency of finding cases when out with Shen Yan was indeed a bit high.

From their first museum art exhibit visit, discovering the human skin case, there have been at least four or five cases since then.

It seems that once this case is over, if there’s time, they’ll really need to take Forensic Doctor Shen to the Great Buddha Temple and burn some incense.

Lu Chuan not speaking doesn’t mean Shen Yan won’t speak.

"Zhang Hui, does this mean your Action Group II doesn’t want me for physical exams anymore?"

"Uh... Forensic Doctor Shen, that’s not what we mean..."

"The fact that we can discover cases is a skill. You want to discover them but can’t..."

These words...

Zhang Hui was stunned; Shen Yan wasn’t wrong.

Because of this, the two of them had received commendations more than once.

The commendation regarding the mummified corpse case in the East Sea Camping Area statue was only just issued yesterday.

Due to outstanding performance, recognition was given, including Lu Chuan and Shen Yan.

Others go out to play and end up with a case...

Clearly, the higher-ups were quite satisfied.

As the chatting continued, the time arrived, and Qin Yong took the main seat.

"Alright, let’s begin the meeting. First, the forensic doctor will update us on the autopsy findings."

Shen Yan opened her notebook, sitting upright and serious: "Captain Qin, the forensic side has completed the relevant examinations on the body and issued an autopsy report."

"The deceased is a female, approximately 158 cm tall, around 30 years of age, with no childbearing history, and an old fracture on her left leg."

"The estimated time of death is about two weeks ago, and the cause of death is preliminarily determined as asphyxiation."

"Due to the high level of decomposition on the body’s surface, it is impossible to determine if there are any wounds on the chest or abdomen, the internal organs are severely decomposed, but the skeleton remains intact."

"No external injuries were found on the remaining intact skin."

"The body was found hanging from a tree branch by shoelaces. Due to the body’s high decomposition, the shoelaces had sunk into the neck, and the skin was completely decayed, making it impossible to determine if the death was caused by strangulation or hanging."

Everyone present was an expert, accustomed to listening to forensic autopsy reports. Shen Yan’s meaning was that the victim undoubtedly died from asphyxiation, but the specific method of asphyxiation was uncertain.

There are numerous methods that could cause asphyxiation; if external force is involved, it often leaves scars on the neck.

For instance, strangulation leaves circular scars, where the hand prints are clearly visible at the base of the thumb.

Hanging would leave an oblique mark under the jaw.

Additionally, the postmortem presentation of a hanging body varies depending on the position of the suspension.

If the body is hung from the front of the throat, it could cause the hyoid bone to fracture at the front, but the tongue would not protrude in postmortem stages.

Whereas, if hung from the back of the throat, it would fracture the rear of the hyoid bone, resulting in the tongue protruding, forming the classic image often associated with folklore hanging ghosts.

Those who have never seen a hanging body can hardly imagine how long a human tongue is.

The human tongue is composed of 17 muscles and, from root to tip, averages about ten centimeters in length.

Yet, the portion of the tongue that extends is typically only 5 to 6 centimeters long.

This is because of the frenulum beneath the tongue, whose length determines the extent the tongue can extend.

However, in hanging deaths, the entire tongue can project out of the mouth due to the fracture of the hyoid bone.

In such cases, the entire tongue would typically protrude from the oral cavity, giving the impression that the tongue is extraordinarily long.

Shen Yan’s autopsy was unable to determine the specific manner of asphyxiation that led to the victim’s death.

But this wasn’t of great concern; once the suspect is apprehended, it would naturally become clear how the murder was committed.

After all, identifying the manner of asphyxiation primarily serves to distinguish suicide from homicide, and from the scene’s situation, the victim clearly died of homicide.

"Old Liu, what’s the situation on the crime scene investigation side?"

Liu Guodong cleared his throat and spoke slowly, "Firstly, the DNA identification of the deceased was successful, confirming the victim’s identity."

This was the best news everyone had heard so far.

The crime scene was located on Five-Flower Mountain, a remote area, and after a full day of investigation, the action group found no additional information.

There were no eyewitnesses, no surveillance footage, and the nearest residents were over ten kilometers away.

Currently, the only leads are the high-heeled shoe prints left by the killer at the scene, along with the confirmed identity of the deceased.

Lu Chuan set up the projector, displaying the basic information just retrieved about Zhang Huiru.

"Zhang Huiru, female, 29, nurse at Maria Plastic Surgery Hospital. We’ve checked her background; she is from Tianzhou and began working in Haizhou three years ago after graduating from university."

The projection showed a picture of a pure-looking woman with two dimples in her smile.

One could hardly associate her with the decayed corpse found in the forest.