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

Wang Shuai's tone was heavy. Wang Hu shook his head, tears dripping onto the back of his hand: "I thought about it, but I didn't dare. I was afraid of going to jail, afraid that my wife and children would be left without anyone to take care of them. I just wanted to hide for as long as I could. These past few days at my sister's house, every time I closed my eyes I saw Zhang Hao's face. I lived in fear every day, unable to eat or sleep. Now that you've caught me, I feel relieved."

The interrogation lasted four hours. Wang Hu gave a complete account of the entire process, from his inability to pay the car repair bill leading to a conflict with Zhang Hao, to luring Zhang Hao to the auto repair shop under the pretext of "giving money," to strangling Zhang Hao with a towel during the argument, dumping the body in a garbage dump, and fleeing to his sister's house. Every detail perfectly matched the crime scene investigation and forensic autopsy results. The way the towel was used to strangle Zhang Hao's neck matched the band-like pressure marks on Zhang Hao's neck, the trajectory of the white van matched the surveillance footage, the scratches on Wang Hu's arms corresponded to the source of skin tissue fragments under Zhang Hao's fingernails, and even his description of "wrapping the body in a black plastic bag" perfectly matched the characteristics of the plastic bag found at the scene.

When Wang Shuai asked him to sign the interrogation record, Wang Hu's hand trembled violently, and the pen tip left crooked marks on the paper. "I am sorry to Zhang Hao, and I am sorry to his family," he said, and after signing, he suddenly bowed deeply to Wang Shuai. "I know I have committed an unforgivable crime. I am willing to accept the punishment of the law, and I only ask to give Zhang Hao's family an explanation, and I hope they can forgive me."

It was already dark when Wang Shuai walked out of the interrogation room. He looked at the interrogation record in his hand; every page detailed Wang Hu's confession, perfectly matching the chain of evidence. He took out his phone and sent a message to Lu Chuan: "Wang Hu has confessed to everything. The details of his confession are consistent with the investigation and autopsy results. The chain of evidence is complete, and the case can be formally transferred to the procuratorate for prosecution."

Lu Chuan quickly replied: "Thank you for your hard work. Justice will not be absent. Arrange to inform Zhang Hao's family as soon as possible so that they can rest assured."

Standing at the door of the interrogation room, watching the streetlights gradually illuminate the room, Wang Shuai knew in his heart that this tragedy, triggered by a few thousand yuan in car repair fees, had finally come to an end with Wang Hu's confession. Zhang Hao's soul could finally rest in peace, and his family would finally receive a just outcome. As for Wang Hu, who chose to take another's life in an extreme way in order to escape for the time being, he would ultimately pay the price for his cruelty, spending the rest of his life in prison to atone for his crimes.

Meanwhile, based on Wang Hu's confession, the other members of the Criminal Investigation Detachment had found Zhang Hao's phone and wallet at the location he described as "the place where he threw away his phone and wallet," further strengthening the chain of evidence. This gripping case of a decomposing corpse in a garbage dump has finally revealed its full truth in the face of irrefutable evidence and confessions, and a just trial is about to begin.

Less than a week after the Wang Guo case was closed, the Criminal Investigation Division received another report that a body had been found by fishermen on the Beihe River.

On a crisp early summer morning, the mist still lingered along the banks of the Beihe River. Fifty-year-old Chen Jian, carrying his fishing bag, walked along the riverbank towards his usual fishing spot. A seasoned angler, he fished on the Beihe River almost every day, familiar with every shallow spot and reed bed. Reaching a bend in the river, he skillfully took out his fishing rod, ready to cast his line, but his gaze was drawn to an object floating on the water: a dark cloth bag, half submerged and half above the surface, swaying gently with the ripples. Something seemed to be wrapped around the opening of the bag.

"Who threw this trash into the river?" Chen Jian frowned, assuming it was a discarded cloth bag, and prepared to use his fishing rod to hook it ashore and throw it away. But when the fishing rod touched the bag, he felt an unusual weight, and the shape of the bag looked strange, not like it was meant for holding trash. He moved closer and vaguely saw fabric peeking out from the gaps in the bag, like human clothing, and a strange chill instantly ran through him.

Chen Jian quickly took out his phone, his hands trembling, and dialed the police: "Hello... police officers? There seems to be a body floating in the water in the middle section of the Beihe River. Please come and take a look!"

An hour later, Lu Chuan's police car drove along the riverside road and stopped in an open area 50 meters away from the scene of the crime. "Immediately cordon off the scene, put up warning tape on both sides of the riverbank, and prevent unauthorized personnel from approaching!" Lu Chuan opened the car door, his black leather shoes stepping on the soft mud, and gave instructions to the team members behind him, "Yang Lin and Yang Sen are in charge of the initial on-site investigation, focusing on checking the water around the body, footprints on the bank, and any items left behind. Be careful to protect traces in the water and do not destroy key clues; Wang Shuai, come with me to question the person who reported the crime. The rest of you, patrol the area around the riverbank and look for any suspicious persons or abandoned tools used in the crime."

Yang Lin and Yang Sen, carrying survey bags and wearing waterproof boots, carefully walked to the riverbank. The fog gradually dissipated, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering shimmering light across the water. They put on gloves, crouched three meters from the floating bag on the bank, and turned on their powerful survey lights to begin their observation.

"The body was wrapped in a dark canvas bag with obvious signs of wear. The bag was tied with nylon rope, and there were knots at the ends of the rope," Yang Lin wrote in his notebook while gently poking the bag with a bamboo pole. "The bag was half submerged in water and half exposed to the air. Judging from the degree of inflation and its floating on the water, the body must have been submerged in water for some time. The exact duration needs to be determined based on the water quality and environment. In addition, there was a small amount of aquatic plants and silt on the surface of the bag. The type of aquatic plants was the same as those around the riverbank, indicating that the body may have floated down from upstream or been dumped in the nearby waters."

Yang Sen then began searching the shore. The beam of his footprint lamp swept across the soft mud, and about two meters west of the bag, he found a set of size 41 men's athletic shoe prints. "The edges of the shoe prints were covered with damp mud and bits of aquatic plants. The stride length was 78 centimeters, the stride width was 17 centimeters, and the stride angle was 2 degrees outward, suggesting a height of 170-175 centimeters," he measured with a ruler close to the ground. "The shoe prints were relatively intact and had not been washed away by the water, indicating that they were left not long ago and were likely left by the suspect when he disposed of the body."

In the reeds near the sneaker print, Yang Sen also found a cigarette butt. The cigarette butt was a "Yellow Crane Tower" brand, with obvious teeth marks on the filter and a small amount of damp soil clinging to it, consistent with the composition of the soil on the riverbank. "There should be the suspect's saliva on the cigarette butt. Although it was exposed to the damp environment for a while, the forensic team might be able to extract DNA," Yang Sen said, placing the cigarette butt into a special DNA collection bag. "Moreover, the degree of burning indicates that the suspect only smoked less than half of it before throwing it away, possibly due to nervousness or hearing some noise and leaving in a hurry." (End of Chapter)