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

The cold, bright lights in the autopsy room were blinding, the stainless steel autopsy table gleamed with a metallic sheen, and the ventilation system hummed, trying to dispel the putrid odor emanating from the corpse. Forensic pathologist Zhang Kai, dressed in a dark blue autopsy gown and double-layered latex gloves tightly fitting his fingers, stood beside the autopsy table, his gaze solemn as he examined the body covered by a white sheet. His assistant, Xiao Chen, had already prepared the autopsy tools and a record board, waiting intently for instructions.

"Xiao Chen, first record the basic external characteristics of the body. Pay attention to the skin color, rigor mortis, and livor mortis; these are key indicators for determining the time of death." Zhang Kai's voice came through the protective mask, calm and steady. He gently lifted the white sheet, revealing the body in its entirety—male, approximately 40-50 years old, about 175 centimeters tall, of medium build, wearing dark trousers and worn-out sneakers, with a gray cotton jacket covering his upper body, covered in dust and dirt, and empty pockets.

Xiao Chen immediately picked up a measuring tape to measure the body's dimensions, while carefully observing: "Teacher Zhang, the deceased's skin is pale grayish-white, with slight swelling on the face and limbs. Rigor mortis is present on the jaw, neck, and upper limb muscles, with the finger joints in a semi-flexed position. Rigor mortis is not obvious on the lower limbs. Lividity is located on the back, buttocks, and the back of the limbs, and is dark purplish-red in color. It fades slightly when pressed and returns to its original color after about 10 seconds when the pressure is released. Can these characteristics provide a preliminary assessment of the time of death?"

Zhang Kai crouched down and gently pressed the muscles of the deceased's upper limbs with his fingers to feel the firmness of rigor mortis: "Based on the development of rigor mortis and livor mortis, combined with skin color and swelling, the preliminary judgment is that the time of death is between 24 and 36 hours. You see, rigor mortis only appears on the upper body, and the lower limbs have not yet fully formed, indicating that rigor mortis is in the development stage; the livor mortis fades slightly after being pressed, proving that the livor mortis has not been formed for long and has not yet fully solidified. However, the specific time still needs to be further determined by combining the condition of the internal organs and the contents of the stomach."

He paused, then continued, "In addition, the deceased's coat was covered in a lot of dust and dirt, which is consistent with the environmental characteristics of the unfinished building site. It is preliminarily determined that the body was dumped at the unfinished building, but it cannot be determined whether this is the primary crime scene. An autopsy is needed to check whether there are any traces left during the body removal process."

"Teacher Zhang, shall we begin the physical examination now? Focus on checking for any signs of external injury, right?" Xiao Chen asked while taking notes, his eyes fixed on the deceased's body, afraid of missing any details.

“Yes, the physical examination must be thorough, especially of vulnerable areas such as the head, neck, and chest. Pay attention to any blunt force trauma, sharp force trauma, or strangulation marks.” Zhang Kai picked up tweezers and gently parted the disheveled hair on the deceased's face, revealing a pale and swollen face. The deceased's eyes were closed, with a few scattered petechiae on the conjunctiva of the eyelids, cyanosis of the lips, and intact teeth. No obvious signs of external force injury were found.

"There are no obvious external injuries on the face, but there are bleeding points on the conjunctiva of the eyelids, which may be a characteristic of death by suffocation, but other causes cannot be ruled out. Continue to examine the neck." Zhang Kai gestured to Xiao Chen to adjust the lights, and gently lifted the collar of the deceased with tweezers. The skin on the neck was light grayish-white, and no obvious strangulation marks or ligature marks were found, nor was there any subcutaneous bleeding or skin damage.

"There are no external injuries on the neck, but what about the chest and abdomen?" Xiao Chen asked疑惑地, his pen hovering over the paper, waiting to record any new findings. Zhang Kai didn't answer directly, but instead pressed his hands against the deceased's chest and abdomen, feeling the elasticity of the ribcage and abdominal wall: "There is no obvious indentation when pressing on the chest, the abdominal wall is soft, and there is no subcutaneous hematoma or fracture friction. Xiao Chen, gently cut open the deceased's coat and underwear with a scalpel, being careful not to damage any possible fiber traces, and we will check the torso skin for any hidden external injuries."

Xiao Chen carefully used a scalpel to cut open the clothing, exposing the deceased's torso. The pale gray skin had no obvious wounds or bruises, only a few old scars, which looked like the result of long-term manual labor. "There are no external injuries on the torso. Could the deceased have died of natural causes? But why was he abandoned in the unfinished building?" Xiao Chen couldn't help but ask, his face full of confusion.

Zhang Kai shook his head, his tone firm: "It couldn't be a natural death. If it were a natural death, the deceased's family wouldn't have dumped the body in the unfinished building. Moreover, the on-site investigation found drag marks and tire tracks that appeared to belong to the suspect. This indicates that the deceased's death was definitely related to external force. However, the external injuries may be hidden inside, or it could be death by poisoning. The cause of death can only be determined by dissecting the internal organs."

He picked up the scalpel, preparing to perform an autopsy: "Now we'll begin dissecting the thoracic and abdominal cavities, focusing on the condition of organs such as the heart, lungs, liver, and spleen, looking for signs of internal damage or poisoning. Xiao Chen, record every discovery, especially the color and texture of the organs, and whether there is bleeding or necrosis."

The scalpel was inserted along the midline of the deceased's sternum, and the skin, subcutaneous fat, and muscle were cut layer by layer to expose the organs inside the chest cavity. The heart was located on the left side of the chest cavity, with normal volume, a smooth surface, and no obvious bleeding points or infarct foci; the lungs were dark red with scattered bleeding points at the edges, and a small amount of edema fluid seeped out from the alveoli.

"Teacher Zhang, the heart looks normal, but there are bleeding points and edema in the lungs. Are these characteristics of death by suffocation?" Xiao Chen leaned forward and carefully observed the condition of the lungs, his eyes full of eagerness to learn.

Zhang Kai used tweezers to pick up the lung and gently squeezed it. A small amount of pale red liquid seeped out from the lung tissue: "The bleeding points and edema in the lung are indeed consistent with the characteristics of death by suffocation, but we still need to further confirm whether there are other causes for these symptoms, such as poisoning or drowning. Look, is the weight of the lung normal? Let's weigh it and see."

Xiao Chen immediately brought an electronic scale and carefully placed the lung on it. The screen showed a weight of 780 grams. "Teacher Zhang, the lung weighs 780 grams. The normal weight of an adult's lung is about 700-800 grams, which is within the normal range. Does this rule out drowning?"

“The lungs of drowning victims will show ‘hydraulic emphysema,’ with a significant increase in weight, usually exceeding 1000 grams, and a large amount of drowning fluid will seep out. Here, the lungs are of normal weight and there is no large amount of drowning fluid, so drowning can basically be ruled out.” Zhang Kai explained as he put the lungs back into the chest cavity and continued to dissect the abdominal cavity.

The liver, spleen, stomach, and other organs in the abdominal cavity are exposed. The liver is dark red, soft in texture, and shows no obvious enlargement or necrosis; the spleen is of normal size, smooth in surface, and without rupture or bleeding; the stomach is empty, with thin and soft walls, and no food residue or foreign objects are found. (End of Chapter)