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

The Venetian blinds in the Criminal Investigation Division's conference room sliced ​​the morning sunlight into long, thin patches, which fell onto the long conference table. Lu Chuan had the case file for Chen Gang spread out in front of him. The words "Male Corpse Case at Heping Road Garbage Transfer Station (Chen Gang)" were circled in red marker on the cover, and next to it was Chen Gang's ID photo—the man in the photo wore a light gray shirt, his eyes gentle. No one could have imagined that this driver, who had worked for Didi for five years, would end his life curled up beside the garbage.

"Everyone's here, let's begin." Lu Chuan's voice broke the silence, his gaze sweeping over everyone present: Yang Lin's survey uniform still bore traces of brown mud, Zhang Kai's white lab coat cuffs reeked of disinfectant, Wang Shuai's computer screen was frozen on a screenshot of a black SUV being monitored, and Zhang Hui's checklist was filled with dense annotations. Each person had a freshly brewed cup of hot tea in front of them, the steam rising gently in the cold air, yet unable to dispel the heavy atmosphere in the meeting room.

Yang Lin stood up first and projected the scene investigation map onto the screen. The layout of the Heping Road garbage transfer station was clearly visible on the screen. The compression box where the body was located was marked with a red circle, and there were scattered evidence such as footprints, fibers, and cigarette butts around it. "Four types of core traces were extracted from the scene," Yang Lin pointed to the investigation map. "The first type is footprints: 15 footprints of size 43 men's work boots, with a stride length of 76-78 centimeters, estimating a height of 178-183 centimeters. The pressure of the forefoot of the shoe prints is concentrated, and there are drag marks on the heel, which matches the action of disposing of the body; 9 footprints of size 42 men's leather shoes, with a stride length of 68-73 centimeters, which belonged to the deceased Chen Gang. The edges of the shoe prints were covered with brown soil, which is consistent with the soil composition around the abandoned factory in the suburbs, proving that Chen Gang had been to the factory before his death."

He switched to a close-up shot, showing a complete palm print: "A complete palm print of the right hand was extracted from inside the compression box. The 22 feature points were clear and there was no obvious contamination. The direction of the lines initially matched the hand features of the owner of the work boot print, suggesting that it was left by the suspect pressing the box when he was moving the body. There were light brown drip marks next to the palm print, which were identified as Chen Gang's bloodstains. The drips were spaced 15 centimeters apart and pointed from the door of the compression box to the depth of the box. It was confirmed that the bloodstains were formed by the body's wounds when the suspect was moving the body."

“The most crucial evidence is the two types of fiber evidence,” Yang Lin said, pulling up the fiber testing report. “Yellow plastic rope fibers, black plastic fibers, and iron alloy fragments were extracted from Chen Gang’s fingernails, wrist binding marks, and the scratches on the compression box, respectively. The yellow fibers are consistent with the composition of the half-cut plastic rope found at the scene, the black fibers came from the transfer station’s garbage, and the iron alloy fragments match the material of the compression box, proving that Chen Gang was bound by the yellow plastic rope before his death and rubbed against the compression box after his death.”

Zhang Kai then reported the autopsy results. An autopsy diagram of Chen Gang appeared on the screen, with red arrows marking the locations of the fatal injuries. "The cause of death was determined to be respiratory failure," Zhang Kai said, pointing to the contusion area on the chest. "A 6×7cm contusion in the upper lobe of the left lung, with lung tissue hemorrhage and swelling, alveolar rupture, leading to pulmonary dysfunction; a 4×5cm subcutaneous hemorrhage on the right side of the neck, caused by blunt force trauma. It is speculated that the suspect first struck the neck to incapacitate him, then struck the chest, causing the fatal injury."

"The time of death is accurate to around 8 PM on August 15th," he said, pulling up the biochemical report. "The blood potassium concentration was 15 mmol/L. Combined with the degree of digestion of the stomach contents (last meal 4-6 hours, corresponding to 3-5 PM on the 15th) and the development of cadaveric spots, the triple evidence cross-validates the time of death, with an error of no more than 30 minutes." Zhang Kai emphasized, "The yellow fibers extracted from the restraint marks on Chen Gang's wrists are consistent with the composition of the plastic rope at the scene; the brown soil on his trouser legs contained sand and humus, and tests showed it came from an abandoned factory in the suburbs, perfectly matching the destination of Chen Gang's last job; the black fibers under his fingernails are consistent with the fiber composition of the abandoned equipment in the factory, proving that the first crime scene was at that factory."

As Wang Shuai reported on the progress of the investigation into the black SUV, multiple surveillance screenshots simultaneously appeared on the screen. "Initial investigations revealed that around 10 PM on August 15th, a black Changan CS75 PLUS (2021 model) appeared near Heping Road. The taillights were broken, and the rear bumper had scratches, consistent with the eyewitness description," Wang Shuai zoomed in on the images. "However, after checking each one, all 12 vehicles matching the description in the city had alibis. Among them, the owners of 10 vehicles had clear time witnesses, and 2 were vehicles with counterfeit license plates. However, the owners of the vehicles with counterfeit plates had no connection with Chen Gang. It is preliminarily determined that the SUV was rented or borrowed by the suspect, and that the vehicle information was deliberately disguised."

He pulled up Chen Gang's Didi ride-hailing route map: "Chen Gang accepted an anonymous order at 5:10 PM on August 15th. The starting point was the intersection of Heping Road and Jianguo Road, and the destination was an abandoned factory in the suburbs. The navigation showed a journey time of about 40 minutes, and he should have arrived around 5:50 PM under normal circumstances. However, there are no surveillance cameras around the factory, so it's impossible to confirm whether the suspect got into the car at the factory, or whether the SUV is related to the order." Wang Shuai shook his head helplessly, "We have contacted car rental companies throughout the city to check people who rented the black Changan CS75 PLUS in the past week, but no suspicious clues have been found yet; at the same time, we have retrieved private surveillance footage within 3 kilometers of the factory, hoping to find traces of the SUV."

Zhang Hui concluded by reporting the deceased's identity and related clues. A diagram of Chen Gang's social relationships and bank statements appeared on the screen. "Chen Gang, 47 years old, a Didi driver, divorced, his daughter studies in another city, with simple social relationships and no major debt disputes," Zhang Hui pointed to the diagram. "There are three key clues: First, the last anonymous order involved a passenger using a virtual number, with the destination being an abandoned factory, suggesting the suspect lured Chen Gang there; second, at 4:30 PM on August 15th, Chen Gang's bank card received a 50,000 yuan transfer from an unknown number, which was withdrawn at 5:30 PM from an ATM on Heping Road. The transfer account was an unregistered 'ghost account,' and the source of the funds is unknown; third, Chen Gang's family reported that over the past month, Chen Gang had repeatedly mentioned 'encountering a strange passenger who kept asking about the factory,' but without specifying the passenger's characteristics."

He added, "We visited the Didi driver rest stops that Chen Gang frequented. Some drivers recalled seeing Chen Gang arguing with a man wearing a black jacket and a baseball cap around August 10th. The man seemed to be threatening Chen Gang, saying, 'Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask.' At the time, they thought it was just a verbal argument and didn't pay much attention. Based on the size 43 work boot print and palm print found at the scene, we speculate that the man may be the suspect."

A brief silence fell over the meeting room. Sparrows outside perched on branches, their chirping unable to penetrate the heavy atmosphere. Lu Chuan's fingers tapped lightly on the table, his gaze lingering on the keywords: "abandoned factory in the suburbs," "5 yuan transfer," and "man in black jacket." (End of Chapter)