National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 873 - 811: Onsite Investigation

Jiang Yuan and Miao Ruixiang arrived at the scene just as the personnel from the Criminal Science Center were also nearly there.

The local forensic doctor from Qianjin District, Niu Tang, who was stout and short with somewhat squinty eyes, had also been called over.

"Captain Jiang is already here," Niu Tang said, yawning from fatigue, and hastily added, "Sorry, I’ve been collecting evidence all over the place ever since we started catching those involved in pairs."

An important piece of forensic knowledge: biological material related to the human body constitutes forensic evidence. That is to say, a piece of toilet paper when white and clean is just ordinary evidence, but the moment it gets stained with human tissue, whether it be mucus, blood, breast milk, saliva, or something else, it instantly becomes forensic evidence, which is Niu Tang’s specialty.

Jiang Yuan smiled and nodded to Niu Tang, "I was actually at a body examination, but got called over. Let’s head inside first."

"Sure, after you, after you..." Niu Tang had worked with Jiang Yuan on quite a few cases before, and they were well-acquainted with each other.

They filed into the apartment one by one.

The scene was a normal apartment of about 80 square meters with two bedrooms and one living room that was fairly tidy.

The suspect was handcuffed with his hands behind his back, sitting on the sofa. His arms were finely muscled and quite attractive, but his face was too square, his skin rough, his expression arrogant, and his demeanor slightly manic.

Thud.

A detective carried out a parcel box and placed it in the center of the living room, saying, "All condoms, all from the same brand."

"Buying so many of a single brand, you really don’t get tired of it, huh?" Lei Xin said, trying to provoke him into talking.

The suspect, having some experience in counter-surveillance, sensed that something was off, but still hopeful and casual, retorted, "How many condoms I use is your business?"

"Zhu Tianwei, do you have a girlfriend?" Lei Xin asked.

The suspect, Zhu Tianwei, paused before replying, "Is that any of your business?"

Lei Xin curled his lips and said, "So you bring your own condoms to solicit prostitutes, right?"

As soon as the word "prostitution" was mentioned, the suspect’s expression visibly improved, and he raised his voice, "You guys are really overstepping, accusing me of prostitution? Do you have any evidence? Just barging into my home."

Lei Xin then glanced towards Chief Medical Examiner Niu.

He wanted to conduct a quick interrogation of the suspect; the crime scene evidence in this case had been severely tampered with, leaving no DNA or fingerprints that could directly identify the murderer. At this point, obtaining the suspect’s confession was extremely important, as was collecting evidence through the suspect’s admission.

There are many ways to handle a surprise interrogation. Some prefer a thunderbolt approach, exploiting the suspect’s unsettled state immediately after arrest to gather as much confession as possible.

Alternatively, one might adopt Lei Xin’s method, asking questions progressively and targetedly to first establish the suspect’s criminal behavior, even if it concerned crimes in other areas, and from there gradually expanding the gains.

Following Lei Xin’s visual cue, Chief Medical Examiner Niu immediately went over to examine the parcel box that had been carried out by the detective.

Niu Tang laughed with just a glance, "The brand you bought is a lesser-known one."

"What’s wrong with a lesser-known brand? As long as I’m satisfied with it," Zhu Tianwei retorted, displeased.

Niu Tang chuckled and taking a box of condoms with gloved hands, he examined the ingredients list on the back and said, "The condoms you bought come from a production environment that isn’t stable. They share a production line with other models. So, the lubricant used in each batch has subtle differences depending on the line’s cleaning, the type of models sharing the line, and the quality of the raw materials in that batch."

Zhu Tianwei frowned in confusion.

Niu Tang continued merrily, "In a nutshell, I can take your box of condoms and compare it with the ones you used at the scene to prove they come from the same batch..."

"So what? Even if I solicited prostitutes, what are you going to do about it?" Zhu Tianwei wasn’t concerned about a possible 15-day administrative detention.

A look of triumph on Niu Tang’s face faltered. Indeed, the man had already admitted to soliciting prostitutes, rendering a costly proof process that ran thousands of yuan irrelevant.

Niu Tang became visibly disheartened, as if his defenses had been breached.

"The money, where did it come from?" Lei Xin asked, quickly stifling Zhu Tianwei’s arrogance.

Zhu Tianwei’s arm muscles tensed briefly before relaxing again. He pursed his lips and fell silent.

"Don’t think that if you don’t speak up, we won’t be able to find out. Fencing stolen goods follows certain pathways, there will be people who buy stolen goods, and money has its trails."

"Nowadays, there are so many places where you can obtain cash, and we can always track it down. But if you save us some time, we might be able to go easier on you."

Lei Xin continued to apply pressure, speaking nothing but hard truths.

The most feared aspect of domestic criminal investigations is being unable to identify the perpetrator, or not knowing who committed the crime. Once a person is found and evidence needs to be gathered, China does not adhere to the exclusionary rule of fruit of the poisonous tree, nor does it emphasize procedural justice strictly enough to easily exclude evidence.

In short, the domestic judicial system pays more attention to what actually happened, including the chief judge of the court. When asking questions, the main purpose is also to clarify the facts. freeweɓnøvel.com

Lei Xin’s purpose in the ongoing interrogation was to find more evidence.

Proving solicitation of prostitution and even getting the hardware store owner to identify the killer, these are all indirect evidence. Indirect evidence alone is not enough to convict somebody of a capital crime; it would be rejected upon examination.

Shen Yaowei, who had been paying close attention to the Cold Case Squad’s work, shuddered when he saw Zhu Tianwei’s muscles, not out of fear, but because he suddenly remembered a legend he had heard these past few days.

Shen Yaowei’s cousin worked in the Changyang City Public Security Detachment and had access to various sources of information. Looking at Zhu Tianwei on the sofa, Shen Yaowei glanced around and whispered in Liu Wenkai’s ear, who he preferred, "I heard about this guy, there’s a rumor, do you know it?"

"What rumor?" Liu Wenkai put down his phone.

Shen Yaowei said in an even lower voice, "It’s said that this guy is incredibly strong. Once, he made a woman lay on the bed, then lifted another woman on top, and alternated his ’output’ for 10 minutes."

Liu Wenkai’s tongue was almost tied in a knot: "Lifted her for 10 minutes?"

"The girl wasn’t willing to ’go for a piggyback ride’ without extra payment, so he just lifted her up." Shen Yaowei paused then added, "It has to be said, a rich porter truly lives a blissful life."

Liu Wenkai imagined it for a moment and slowly nodded: "However... if you really give a porter a good father, within three years, others will be carrying him instead."

"It would be worth it for three years," Shen Yaowei said, punching his own waist. "What have we done in the past three years? Just caught some thieves."

Liu Wenkai smirked contemptuously.

...

Lei Xin conducted the interrogation on the spot and directed the Criminal Investigation Department’s technicians to start working, thereby increasing the pressure on Zhu Tianwei.

Jiang Yuan put on gloves, a head covering, and shoe coverings. Then he had someone move the box of coverings downstairs, and he began to search.

The first thing he looked for was the shoes by the front door. After checking the soles and inside the shoes without finding anything, he went on to rummage through the dirty clothes in the washing machine.

Liu Wenkai, who had acted as the de facto leader of the Serious Crime Unit for many years, understood at a glance. He approached Jiang Yuan and asked, "Are you looking for clothes or shoes worn during the crime? He probably discarded them, though. As thrifty as this guy is, he’s still a graduate from ’The Great Learning’ of society."

The two men stayed in the bathroom and closed the door, making sure the suspect outside couldn’t hear their conversation.

"That’s not it. I just checked his criminal record; he was released after less than six months of detention once and another time received an administrative penalty of only 7 days. This is at most the equivalent of an associate’s degree from ’The Great Learning’ of society," Jiang Yuan said while continuing to search.

Liu Wenkai chuckled: "Now ’The Great Learning’ has educational discrimination too? But even for an associate degree graduate, he wouldn’t bring back blood-stained clothes, would he?"

"I looked at his academic performance when he was in ’school,’ and it seems he’s not the meticulous type who covers all bases. Using a lot of salt and cleaner at the crime scene probably was a quick-witted move."

"I agree with that. If he had known what was in the other party’s home, he wouldn’t have chosen to break in when all three people were present," Liu Wenkai said.

"So, regarding the blood-stained clothes, I guess he probably didn’t bring his own clothes and likely changed into clothes at the victims’ home. It’s very possible he also changed shoes," Jiang Yuan’s response made Liu Wenkai freeze.

Jiang Yuan continued, "Although the scene was severely tampered with, the blood loss of the three people was still massive. There would have been a lot of blood splashed onto the killer. So, before he left, he should have changed clothes and shoes, otherwise, he would have left traces at the door."

"Changed clothes without taking a shower?"

"He might have been afraid of leaving behind hair, probably heard of similar cases," Jiang Yuan said with a hint of regret. There were many cases where the killer bathed at the victims’ house. Some who were careful got away with it, but others were caught because they left hair in places like the floor drain. The delivery company worker murderer that Jiang Yuan dealt with could have gotten away if it wasn’t for Jiang Yuan’s level 4 crime scene investigation skills.

In any case, for the police, crime scene bathrooms are always carefully inspected, leading to more and more criminals getting arrested, and the experience of the predecessors being widely circulated.

Jiang Yuan shifted the topic and continued, "Although I don’t know how the killer disposed of the bloody clothes and shoes at the scene, the clothes and shoes he changed into still have traces of blood. Especially the shoes, because blood remaining on the body could have dripped down. If it’s a fresh case, before he has time to deal with these clothes, we might be able to lock down the suspect immediately!"

Liu Wenkai was stunned again, then smiled helplessly: "I thought..."

If it were any other technician speaking, Liu Wenkai would have been furious, but this was Jiang Yuan’s words...

Jiang Yuan went on, "However..."

"Yes?"

"When I was looking at the clothes and shoes just now, I suddenly realized that some of the suspect’s clothes are cheap work attire, but some of his clothes, especially the shoes, are actually quite good, all brand-name stuff. ANTA, Nike, Adidas; none of them are limited editions, but neither are they knock-offs from Putian."

Liu Wenkai frowned: "Does this indicate that the suspect’s actual living standard exceeds that of an ordinary porter?"

Jiang Yuan circled his finger and said, "Like such an apartment, my family also has quite a few for rent, over 80 square meters in a conveniently located apartment building. The rent per month has to be at least 2000 yuan. Zhu Tianwei, working as a porter paid by piece, mostly earns only three or four thousand a month. How can he afford such expensive rent, food, and drinks, let alone buy brand-name clothes?"

"Does he have other sources of income?"

"It’s very possible. The profession of a porter is quite convenient for committing burglaries."