Diary of a Criminal Investigator-Chapter 378: Speculations from All Sides

After the crime occurred, the first thing to confirm is the victim’s identity. This morning, since there was no progress comparing the recent missing persons in Haizhou City, the action team naturally needs to expand the scope.

"There are a total of 4 natural villages near the Warehouse Valley landfill. The current residential population is 1,283 people. We conducted a round of checks on all personnel."

Ren Qiang’s group mobilized more than a hundred people to visit the surrounding villages, which shows the importance attached to the murder case.

"There are about less than a hundred people who often go to the landfill to scavenge. We focused on questioning them, but basically didn’t find anything."

"The landfill is too large. Even under normal circumstances, these scavengers rarely see each other, and because the smell here is unpleasant, there are usually few people who come around."

"So, no important clues have been found."

"Additionally, because part of the garbage was incinerated yesterday, we also questioned the driver of the large loader that clears the garbage. He generally works here once a week and didn’t find any suspicious individuals. Most of the scavengers looked familiar to him, so there are no big leads at the moment."

Case investigation involves deploying a hundred, two hundred, or even more people, and there may not necessarily be any discoveries.

Some suspects go undetected even after one or two rounds, or even multiple rounds of checking.

Checking only increases the probability of solving the case, but it is by no means a decisive factor.

But it is also indispensable, like drinking with peanuts; without it, something just feels missing.

"Sun Jun, how is the situation on your side?"

Sun Jun’s side was originally conducting a field investigation. After Lu Chuan confirmed the victim’s identity, he was in charge of following up on Wang Lili’s missing person case.

"I have already contacted the Criminal Investigation Team in Huangzhou, and there are some clues."

The clue Sun Jun mentioned was a piece of footage.

"This is from a year ago, before Wang Lili disappeared, her last appearance in surveillance footage."

The video was shot in a relatively dimly lit section, and Wang Lili’s face couldn’t be seen clearly, only her clothing could barely be distinguished.

In the video, Wang Lili walked quickly, disappearing from the camera’s view in no time.

"According to the Huangzhou Criminal Investigation Team’s clues, Wang Lili wasn’t drunk that day but had gone to a slow rock bar with a colleague."

"According to her colleague’s account, they only drank two bottles of beer at the slow rock bar before leaving. Wang Lili said she felt uncomfortable and left first. The police checked the bar’s surveillance and confirmed she left by taxi."

"The location where the video was shot is near a chemical plant, but Wang Lili’s home is not there."

"So, was Wang Lili pretending to be uncomfortable?"

"Did you check the taxi driver?"

"Whether she was pretending or not is unknown. They checked the taxi driver and found no problems. The last piece of footage of Wang Lili was found according to the driver’s clues."

"Did you check her phone call records?"

"I have reviewed the case file. It has been checked, but no leads were found."

"Could it be someone from the slow rock bar, someone she had interactions with?"

"That’s unclear; it’s just a missing person case, so..."

Everyone understood what Sun Jun meant. Disappearance doesn’t mean death; the intensity of investigating a missing person case can’t be compared to a murder case.

Many things might not be investigated so meticulously.

After reporting on the four key aspects, Qin Yong patted the table.

"This is the situation. What should our next step be?"

Qin Yong is not a dictatorial leader. Especially when solving cases, he is good at listening to others’ opinions.

"I think North Mountain is the key point. There’s clay from North Mountain in the box containing the body. This likely means the body was put into the box at North Mountain. The suspect we’re looking for is very likely in the North Mountain area."

Wang Changjiang nodded: "Another point, the way the suspect dismembered the body is very professional. We didn’t find traces of cutting tools on the bones, no axe chopping marks, no signs of violent saw cuts."

"This indicates the suspect has a very good understanding of human skeletal structure, and many of the cuts are smooth and flowing, with no signs of hesitation."

"I suspect the suspect either has a related professional background, such as being an orthopedic surgeon, or..."

Wang Changjiang paused and continued, "Or has killed many people, accumulating experience."

Wang Changjiang’s speculation left everyone silent.

In terms of case-solving difficulty, a first-time killer would undoubtedly expose more flaws.

Fingerprints, blood stains, footprints, and so on can all serve as direct evidence to identify the suspect.

But humans are the best at learning, and it’s the same with killing. A person becomes highly skilled after killing many people.

For example, the current suspect everyone is dealing with froze the body and discarded it in a garbage dump, rendering many normal investigation methods unusable.

Of course, this is only Wang Changjiang’s conjecture. The possibility that the person is a professional is also high.

"Everyone, please continue."

Qin Yong interrupted the silence, urging everyone to continue speaking.

Every person cannot possibly view a situation from the exact same angle, and when solving cases, the focus points differ.

"I think we can investigate the driving route from North Mountain to Warehouse Valley landfill."

"There’s North Mountain clay in the box containing the body, suggesting that the body was very likely placed in the box by the suspect at North Mountain."

"Although we can’t be sure North Mountain is the first crime scene or where the body was dismembered, it’s very likely one of the locations where the suspect stayed."

"I just checked Baidu Maps. It’s twenty-three kilometers from North Mountain to Warehouse Valley, and the navigation route only shows the ring road."

"The body was discarded at the dump about a month ago. Can we check for vehicles traveling directly from North Mountain to Warehouse Valley landfill a month ago?"

"Such a great distance, the suspect couldn’t have dumped the body without using tools. Moreover, the ring road was reconstructed and expanded two years ago, making it relatively enclosed. North Mountain has two entrances, and only one entrance to the dumpsite. Check it out, investigate all the passing vehicles."

Zhang Hui’s suggestion made everyone nod.

This investigation direction is sound; the suspect couldn’t have appeared out of nowhere nor possibly moved a box with a body from North Mountain directly to the landfill without assistance. So, he must have driven.

Moreover, the surveillance cameras on the ring road store footage for three months, so the data should still be available.

Additionally, everyone is familiar with this type of investigation method and can quickly get started.

Sometimes solving a case doesn’t necessarily require a specific direction before dispatching people. Sometimes it’s about getting everyone busy and maintaining the spirit and morale in solving the case.

Otherwise, if nothing is done after a murder occurs with no leads and dozens to even a hundred members of the task force just sit in the office with nothing to do, the possibility of solving the case becomes extremely slim.