Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

“The Henssge model we used has already taken into account the factor of limb injury,” the pen tip circled the “weight coefficient” and “ambient temperature correction value”. “The deceased weighed 70 kg, the ambient temperature was 10℃, and the rectal temperature was 22℃. Substituting these values ​​into the formula, the time of death is 7.3 hours, with a standard deviation of ±1.2 hours.” He looked up at Xiaolin. “Even if we consider the old injury on the left calf, it will at most cause a 5% deviation in the rate of temperature drop, which translates to about 20 minutes, within a reasonable margin of error.”

Xiao Lin pointed to the bone marrow cavity on the X-ray: "But the bone marrow density here is higher than normal. Could it affect the metabolic rate?" Zhang Kai pulled up the deceased's blood routine report. The red blood cell count and hemoglobin concentration were within the normal range: "The bone marrow hematopoietic function has long since recovered. Look at this bone marrow morphology; the ratio of granulocytes to red blood cells is 3:1, completely normal." He cut open the muscle tissue of the calf. The color and elasticity of the muscle fibers were consistent with the healthy side. "The glycogen content of the muscle tissue was measured at 1.2 mmol/kg, which is less than 0.1 different from other parts, indicating that energy metabolism has not been affected, and the rate of rigor mortis formation will not be significantly different."

“More importantly, there’s the livor mortis,” Zhang Kai said, turning the body over. The livor mortis on the back was dark purplish-red and did not completely fade when pressed. “It has entered the diffusion stage, but it has not yet reached the fixed stage. This state appears 6-8 hours after death, which perfectly matches the time estimated by body temperature.” He used a ruler to measure the extent of the livor mortis. “It spreads from the back to the buttocks and the back of the limbs, covering an area of ​​about 25% of the body surface area. This diffusion rate is not affected by local blood circulation and is the result of blood settling throughout the body.”

Xiao Lin suddenly remembered something: "What about the degree of corneal opacity? Could the old injury affect the circulation of aqueous humor?" Zhang Kai examined the cornea with an ophthalmoscope. "The corneal opacity developed from the periphery to the center. There is still a 1mm transparent area in the central region, which is consistent with the characteristics of about 7 hours after death." He compared it with the other eye. "The degree of opacity on both sides is basically the same, which indicates that the circulation of aqueous humor is not abnormal. After all, the fracture is in the lower leg, which is too far from the eye."

The histopathological report delivered by the technicians showed that the capillary density in the left calf muscles differed from that on the right by less than 8%. "This minute difference is within the normal range of individual variation," Zhang Kai pointed to the immunohistochemical results on the report. "The expression level of vascular endothelial growth factor is normal, indicating that collateral circulation has been fully established and will not affect the rate of body cooling." He summarized the various indicators into a table. "The inferred results for body temperature, rigor mortis, livor mortis, and corneal opacity are all within the 7-8 hour range, corroborating each other. The old injury to the left calf cannot shake this conclusion at all."

Finally, Zhang Kai asked Xiao Lin to observe the deceased's fingernail growth. The white lunula on the fingernail was clear, and there were no abnormalities in the proximal nail fold: "The fingernail grows at a rate of 0.1 mm per day. This old injury will not affect the blood supply to the nail bed. Look at the color and thickness of this fingernail, it's completely normal." He closed the autopsy record, "So we can confirm that the time of death was around 11 pm last night, with an error of no more than 1 hour. The old injury on the left calf did not cause any substantial impact."

As Xiaolin wrote the final conclusion on the record board, the pen paused for a moment on "Time of death: 7±1 hours." When she looked up again, Zhang Kai had already begun preparing the toxicology samples he had painstakingly collected. The operating lights in the autopsy room were still bright, shining on the healed fracture line on the left calf, as if silently proving that this old wound, which had long since scabbed over, ultimately could not change the truth of the time of death.

As the autopsy neared its end, Zhang Kai told his assistant, "Focus on the morphological characteristics of the strangulation marks on the neck to reconstruct the killer's method; examine the skin tissue fragments under the fingernails to confirm if they were left by the killer; analyze the pig feed components in the stomach contents to determine their correlation with the pig feed found at the scene." Looking at the body on the autopsy table, he continued, "Although the body was abandoned in the pigsty, the fatal wound was the strangulation marks on the neck. This is a typical case of mechanical asphyxiation murder. Further investigation, combining the scene investigation and physical evidence examination results, is needed to identify the killer."

As the body was cleaned and prepared for further examination, Zhang Kai looked at the data on the record board. The cause and time of death were clear; the next step was to wait for the laboratory test results to provide stronger evidence for solving the case. The lights in the autopsy room remained bright, illuminating the silent evidence that would tell the story of the deceased's final moments in the subsequent investigation.

Wang Shuai's rubber boots clicked on the asphalt road in front of the farm, the rhythm of his heels clattering in sync with the static from the walkie-talkie. "License plate number Ji AX789, white Foton mini-truck," he said into the microphone, tracing the outline of the truck on his notebook. "Chen Jianfeng said he saw it last Wednesday, and it came this morning too. It's at Old Li's farm at the west end of the village now."

When they found the pig-collecting truck, the owner was squatting beside the truck bed washing away pig manure, the high-pressure water jets creating winding streams on the ground. "My name is Liu Yong, and I've been doing this pig-collecting business for five years," the man said, his rubber gloves stained with yellowish-brown manure. "I was collecting pigs in a neighboring county yesterday afternoon; I've never been here before. You can check the dashcam footage if you don't believe me." His voice carried a fawning smile, and pig hair was still embedded in the wrinkles around his eyes.

Wang Shuai climbed into the driver's seat; the dashcam screen still bore the marks of sunlight. Footage from 3:17 PM on July 12th showed Liu Yong unloading goods at a slaughterhouse in a neighboring county. The surveillance footage captured him and the slaughterhouse manager signing documents, the timestamps perfectly matching the slaughterhouse's records. "Where were you between 8 PM and midnight?" Wang Shuai's pen hovered over the "alibi" section. On the screen, Liu Yong was squatting by the roadside eating noodles, chili oil dripping from the rim of his bowl onto his white T-shirt.

“I was keeping watch at the pig farm in Lijiazhuang,” Liu Yong suddenly raised his voice, snapping the water gun off. “Their sow is about to give birth, and they asked me to watch over her. Old Li and his wife can testify to that!” He pulled out a photo on his phone of piglets taken at 1:05 a.m., with the clock in the background pointing to 1:05 a.m. “This can’t be fake, right?” The surveillance cameras in Lijiazhuang did indeed capture him staying there from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., only going to the toilet three times, each time for no more than ten minutes.

The search inside the truck bed yielded a new discovery. Yang Lin's multi-band light source shone on the metal railings, revealing several dark red spots. "Test it with benzidine reagent," Wang Shuai's heart suddenly raced as he watched the reagent spread blue-purple over the spots. "This color... looks like blood." Liu Yong's face turned pale instantly, and his gloves fell to the ground: "It's from a pig! The old sow we picked up yesterday had external injuries and bled a lot; I haven't had time to clean it yet." (End of Chapter)