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

"An empty stomach? That means the deceased hadn't eaten for a long time before death?" Xiao Chen asked, quickly jotting down the organ conditions with his pen. Zhang Kai thought for a moment and replied, "An empty stomach with smooth walls and no food residue indicates that the deceased hadn't eaten for at least 8 hours before death. Combining this with the previous assessment of rigor mortis and livor mortis, which suggested a 24-36 hour timeframe for death, we can further narrow down the timeframe—the deceased likely died 24-36 hours ago on an empty stomach, which is between 7 pm Tuesday and 7 am Wednesday. Most people are on an empty stomach during this period, which fits the characteristics of an empty stomach."

"So the cause of death is still likely asphyxiation? But we didn't find any strangulation marks or ligature marks on the neck." Xiao Chen was still puzzled, his brows furrowed tightly. Zhang Kai didn't rush to answer, but picked up a scalpel and cut open the deceased's trachea and bronchi: "Look at the condition inside the trachea and bronchi, are there any foreign objects or secretions?"

No foreign objects were found in the trachea and bronchi, but there were a few light red petechiae on the mucous membranes, corresponding to the petechiae in the lungs. "The petechiae on the tracheal mucosa further confirm the possibility of death by suffocation. But why are there no external injuries to the neck? Could it be that the suspect used a special method of suffocation, such as covering the mouth and nose with a soft object, causing the deceased to be unable to breathe, but without leaving any marks on the neck?" Zhang Kai muttered to himself, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

Xiao Chen suddenly had a bright idea: "Teacher Zhang, could it be that the suspect used the victim's coat to cover his mouth and nose, causing him to suffocate? The victim's coat was made of cotton, which is soft. When it was used to cover his mouth and nose, it would not leave obvious marks on his neck. Moreover, the fibers from the coat might still be around the victim's mouth and nose!"

Zhang Kai nodded, agreeing with Xiao Chen's speculation: "That's highly likely! We'll immediately collect skin samples and coat fibers from around the deceased's mouth and nose and send them to the technical department for testing to see if there are any coat fibers remaining. If so, it will prove that the suspect used the coat to cover the deceased's mouth and nose, causing them to suffocate. In addition, we also need to test the deceased's blood, liver, and kidney samples to rule out the possibility of death by poisoning and ensure that the cause of death is accurately determined."

Following Zhang Kai's instructions, Xiao Chen used cotton swabs to collect skin samples around the deceased's mouth and nose, and also cut off a small amount of outer garment fibers, placing them into sealed test tubes, labeling them, and sending them to the technical department. Subsequently, he collected blood, liver, and kidney samples from the deceased in preparation for toxicology testing.

"Teacher Zhang, besides suffocation, are there any other possible causes of death? Such as a sudden illness?" Xiao Chen asked again, hoping to consider all possibilities. Zhang Kai picked up the deceased's heart and carefully examined the coronary arteries: "The coronary arteries are not narrowed or blocked, and the myocardial cells are not necrotic, ruling out an acute attack of coronary heart disease; the liver and kidney functions are normal, and no signs of cirrhosis, kidney failure, or other diseases are found; there is no bleeding or infarction in the brain tissue, ruling out cerebrovascular accidents. Therefore, the possibility of death from a sudden illness can be basically ruled out."

He put the organs back into the chest and abdominal cavities one by one and began to suture the body: "Based on the current autopsy results, the cause of death is preliminarily determined to be mechanical asphyxiation, specifically the method of which may be that the mouth and nose were covered by a soft object (such as the deceased's own coat), leading to respiratory failure and death; the time of death is preliminarily determined to be between 7 pm on Tuesday and 7 am on Wednesday, that is, 24-36 hours ago, and the deceased had not eaten for at least 8 hours before death."

"Based on the clues from the crime scene investigation, what can we deduce about the case?" Xiao Chen asked while assisting Zhang Kai with stitching, his curiosity piqued. Zhang Kai paused, thought for a moment, and then said, "From the autopsy results, the deceased had no obvious signs of resistance, indicating that the suspect may have attacked suddenly when the deceased was off guard, or that the two knew each other and the suspect committed the crime when the deceased was relaxed; the deceased's stomach was empty, and the time of death was at night, suggesting that the deceased was likely killed while asleep or on an empty stomach. The primary crime scene was probably the deceased's residence, such as a rented room or a temporary shelter for the homeless, after which the suspect moved the body to an unfinished building and disposed of it."

"The on-site investigation revealed drag marks and gray fibers, which match the fibers of the deceased's coat, as well as tire tracks and black polyester fibers. Could these correspond to our autopsy results?" Xiao Chen pressed, trying to connect the autopsy clues with the on-site investigation clues.

“Of course it matches!” Zhang Kai’s tone was tinged with excitement. “After the suspect killed the victim, he moved the body to a car—most likely the old black sedan found at the scene. During the move, fibers from the victim’s coat were left on the drag path, forming gray fiber traces at the scene; black polyester fibers from the suspect’s own clothing were left around the tire tracks. Afterward, the suspect drove the vehicle to the unfinished building, dragged the body to the third floor of Building 3, and dumped it there, forming drag marks at the scene. The whole process matches the autopsy results and clues from the scene investigation perfectly. It’s just that we don’t know the victim’s identity yet, so we can’t further investigate the relationship between the suspect and the victim.”

"After the technical department's test results come out, will we be able to get more clues? For example, whether there are any traces of outerwear fibers around the deceased's mouth and nose, the source of the black polyester fibers, and the type of vehicle with the tire tracks?" Xiao Chen asked, his eyes full of expectation.

Zhang Kai nodded, his tone firm: "Definitely! If we detect outer clothing fibers around the mouth and nose, we can determine the method of suffocation; the material and source of the black polyester fibers can narrow down the scope of our investigation of the suspect's clothing; the tire tracks can help us track the suspect's vehicle and find more related clues. Moreover, through DNA comparison, we will eventually be able to identify the deceased. Once we know who the deceased is, we can follow their social connections to find the suspect, and the case will see a major breakthrough."

At 1:30 a.m., the autopsy was completed. Zhang Kai and Xiao Chen properly disposed of the dissected body, organized the autopsy report and extracted samples, and sent them to the technical department for further testing. Stepping out of the autopsy room, Zhang Kai rubbed his sore shoulders, looked at the dark night sky outside the window, and felt a surge of confidence—although the identity of the deceased and the specific information of the suspect were still unknown, the cause and time of death determined by the autopsy, as well as the connection with clues from the crime scene investigation, had already pointed the way for solving the case.

"Teacher Zhang, do you think we'll get the test results from the technical department tomorrow?" Xiao Chen followed behind Zhang Kai, her voice tinged with weariness yet full of anticipation. (End of Chapter)