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

During the identification process, Zhang Huaide also described in detail his escape route after committing the crime: he rode an electric tricycle out through the passage on the west side of the community, walked along an unnamed alley all the way to Xingfu Road, threw the mask into a trash can in the alley along the way, and then returned to his temporary residence. Technicians immediately went to the trash can in the unnamed alley and found a mask that matched Zhang Huaide's description. The mask had a small amount of green fiber residue, which matched the fiber composition of his jacket. At the same time, Zhang Huaide also confessed that after returning home, he immediately washed his green jacket and sneakers, hid his rain boots in the storage cabinet on the balcony, and threw the underwear he wore during the crime into the community's garbage station. Technicians then found footage of him discarding the underwear on the garbage station's surveillance camera, and the extracted residual fibers from the underwear matched the composition of the core green fiber sample No. 1 from the scene.

The identification process lasted three hours. Zhang Huaide detailed the entire process, from preparing for the crime, following and tracking, strangling, disposing of the body and hiding evidence, to cleaning up the scene and escaping. Every detail corresponded perfectly with the traces and physical evidence collected at the scene, as well as the cause of death and injury characteristics determined by the forensic autopsy, forming a complete chain of evidence. For example, his description of the strangulation method—using his elbow to hold the back of the neck and tightening his hands—perfectly matched the tear in the left carotid artery intima found in the forensic autopsy, confirming the cause of death as mechanical asphyxiation. His description of the time of the crime—following the victim at 10:30 pm and disposing of the body around midnight—perfectly matched the forensic estimate of the time of death as between 11 pm the night before last and 2 am yesterday, and the time of body disposal as between yesterday night and this morning. His description of the tools and items left behind—a green jacket, size 43 sneakers, size 41 rubber rain boots, and an electric tricycle—all corresponded one-to-one with the traces and physical evidence collected at the scene, with characteristics perfectly matching.

After the identification process, Zhang Huaide was escorted back to the Criminal Investigation Detachment. Technicians organized the additional traces and physical evidence collected during the identification, including rubber particles from Zhang Huaide's electric tricycle, receipts from a convenience store, and surveillance footage of him discarding a mask, further strengthening the chain of evidence. Wang Shuai and his team reviewed Zhang Huaide's confession, confirming that his statements were consistent with all evidence, including the scene investigation, forensic autopsy, and surveillance records, and were mutually corroborative, definitively establishing Zhang Huaide's crime of intentionally murdering Zhang Fenglu.

That afternoon, the technical department delivered the forensic report on the additional trace evidence to the special investigation team. All samples were linked to Zhang Huaide and the murder weapon, providing conclusive evidence. Wang Shuai immediately compiled the video recording, transcript, and supplementary evidence of the identification process, merging them with previous case materials to form a complete indictment, which was then transferred to the procuratorate for review and prosecution. Zhang Huaide confessed to his crime without reservation. Faced with the complete chain of evidence, he offered no further defense, only repeatedly expressing his remorse, regretting that he had murdered his fellow villager Zhang Fenglu because of gambling debts, and regretting that he had committed an unforgivable crime in a moment of confusion.

The successful completion of the on-site identification marks the complete conclusion of the investigation into the body found in the ditch of Jianshe Road community. Through Zhang Huaide's detailed confession, all the doubts discovered during the on-site investigation and forensic autopsy were reasonably explained. The trace evidence and the crime process formed a perfect closed loop, laying a solid foundation for the prosecution and trial. Although the members of the Criminal Investigation Detachment had worked tirelessly for several days, they all showed relieved smiles upon seeing the case successfully solved and the evidence conclusive.
Less than half a month after the Zhang Huaide case was closed, the Criminal Investigation Detachment received another report.

At 9:17 a.m., the city's Criminal Investigation Detachment Command Center received an emergency call from Zhang Hu, who reported finding a body while scavenging garbage on the third floor of an unfinished building in the northern suburbs. The Command Center immediately relayed the information to Lu Chuan, the deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment. Lu Chuan led a team to the scene, including Yang Lin, the head of the on-site investigation team, team member Yang Sen, six investigators, and two technical support personnel, carrying a full set of on-site investigation equipment, and drove to the unfinished building site in the northern suburbs.

Located outside the North Third Ring Road in the northern suburbs, this unfinished commercial complex project was developed by a real estate company two years ago. Construction halted due to a broken funding chain, and it has remained abandoned for nearly two years. The project covers approximately 8000 square meters, with a 12-story main building and a 4-story podium. It is surrounded by a dilapidated 2-meter-high fence, with numerous gaps allowing entry and exit. The area around the unfinished building is overgrown with weeds and piled high with construction debris. Aside from the occasional homeless person stopping there, it is rarely visited.

At 9:42 a.m., Lu Chuan's investigation team arrived at the scene. As soon as the police car came to a stop, a middle-aged man in tattered clothes and with a panicked face came forward. It was Zhang Hu, the person who reported the incident. "Officer, it's on the third floor inside. I found it this morning when I was picking up trash. It's terrifying..." Zhang Hu's voice trembled as he pointed towards the main entrance of the unfinished building.

Lu Chuan first conducted an initial questioning of Zhang Hu: "When did you discover the body? Did you touch anything at the scene after you discovered it? Does anyone else know about this situation?" Zhang Hu quickly shook his head: "I arrived here at around 9:10. When I climbed to the corner of the 3rd floor, I saw a bunch of plastic sheets wrapped around something. I pulled them open a little and saw a hand. I was so scared that I ran down and called the police. I didn't touch anything and didn't tell anyone else."

After confirming that Zhang Hu had not disturbed the scene, Lu Chuan immediately issued an investigation order: "Yang Lin and Yang Sen, you take the technical support personnel to conduct an on-site investigation, strictly following the principle of 'from far to near, from outside to inside,' and comprehensively collect all traces and physical evidence from the scene; the other team members are responsible for setting up a cordon, blocking all entrances and exits of the unfinished building, prohibiting unauthorized personnel from entering, and at the same time conducting a preliminary investigation of the surrounding environment to find witnesses."

"Understood!" Yang Lin responded, and then he and Yang Sen organized the investigation equipment. Both were dressed in blue investigation suits, wearing investigation caps, latex gloves, and shoe covers. Yang Sen carried a crime scene investigation kit on his shoulder, containing equipment such as footprint extractant, fingerprint scanner, electrostatic adsorbent, evidence bags, measuring tape, and laser rangefinder; Yang Lin pushed a small investigation equipment cart, which carried large equipment such as multi-band light sources, trace investigation lights, digital cameras, and video cameras. Technical assistants Xiao Li and Xiao Wang followed closely behind, responsible for equipment assistance and on-site recording.

"Let's start with an investigation of the surrounding environment to determine the scope of the core area of ​​the site, and check for any suspicious footprints, vehicle tracks, or debris." Yang Lin, holding a survey lamp, led the way to the fence surrounding the unfinished building, while Yang Sen, with a digital camera, took comprehensive photos of the fence and the surrounding environment. (End of Chapter)