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

Zhang Kai, dressed in a dark blue autopsy gown, double-layered latex gloves, a protective face mask, and protective shoe covers, gave the instructions in a calm tone. He had worked as a forensic pathologist for over ten years, handling hundreds of autopsies in homicide cases. His experience was extensive, and his attention to detail was almost obsessive. He was particularly adept at reconstructing crime scenes and deducing the time and cause of death through autopsies. His assistant, Xiao Lin, had only been with the company for two years. While possessing a solid theoretical foundation, his practical experience was still limited. At this moment, he was intently following instructions, carefully unzipping the transport bag.

The two men worked together to lift the body onto the autopsy table. The body was covered by a worn blue coat, stained with dust, oil, and a few dried dark red stains, consistent with the description given at the scene. Kobayashi gently lifted the coat with sterile tweezers, gradually revealing the body: the deceased was male, of medium build, measuring 175.3 cm in height and weighing approximately 62 kg. His age was preliminarily estimated to be between 32 and 38 years old. The skin was a pale bluish-purple, rigor mortis had progressed throughout the body, joint movement was restricted, and livor mortis, mainly distributed on the back, buttocks, and posterior limbs, was dark purplish-red and did not blanch upon pressure. Based on the morphology and distribution of livor mortis, it was consistent with the formation of livor mortis in a supine position.

“Teacher Zhang, there is a lot of dust on the body, mainly concentrated on the limbs, the back of the torso, and the hair. The stains on the clothing are preliminarily determined to be a mixture of oil and dust, consistent with the composition of the stains on the deceased's clothing collected by Yang Sen and his team at the scene.” Xiao Lin carefully examined the surface of the body with a magnifying glass, while simultaneously measuring relevant data with tools such as an electronic scale and a measuring tape, recording the data on the autopsy record sheet. “In addition, the rigor mortis is obvious; the jaw joint, neck, and large joints of the limbs are all immobile, and the livor mortis has entered the infiltration stage. Combined with the ambient temperature at the scene (around 18°C), the preliminary judgment is that the time of death was between 48 and 72 hours, which is two to three days before the incident.”

Zhang Kai nodded, leaned closer to the autopsy table, and gently pressed the muscles of the corpse's limbs with his fingers to feel the firmness of rigor mortis: "The rigor mortis developed evenly, with no premature relief or abnormal intensification. The boundaries of the livor mortis are clear, and there is no displacement, indicating that the deceased was not moved in the short term after death. This does not contradict the drag marks found at the scene—the dragging may have occurred within hours of death, when rigor mortis had not yet fully formed. Next, we will focus on examining the neck injury, which is the preliminarily determined fatal site, and at the same time, check for any other hidden injuries throughout the body."

Xiao Lin immediately adjusted the angle of the autopsy table, elevating the corpse's neck for easier observation. Zhang Kai, holding a sterile scalpel, gently cut open the skin covering the neck, exposing the wound area. A horizontal cut was found directly in front of the deceased's neck, measuring 8.2 cm in length and approximately 1.5 cm in width. The wound edges were clean, without serrated marks, and there was no epidermal abrasion or subcutaneous bleeding on either side of the wound edges, consistent with the characteristics of a single-edged sharp instrument. The wound reached the front of the cervical spine, with no interstitial bridging within the wound cavity, but some muscle, blood vessel, and nerve ruptures were visible, consistent with the preliminary on-site examination results from the forensic team.

“Teacher Zhang, look, the wound is uneven in depth at both ends. The left side is deeper, about 2.3 centimeters, while the right side is shallower, about 1.1 centimeters. This indicates that the force applied by the perpetrator gradually decreased from left to right when cutting, most likely indicating that the perpetrator used the weapon in their right hand and applied force from the left side.” Xiao Lin said while separating the wound edges with tweezers. “In addition, no foreign objects were found in the wound cavity, nor were there any obvious signs of wiping or crushing. The perpetrator may have cleaned the wound simply after committing the crime, but did not damage its original shape.”

Zhang Kai used a probe to carefully examine the depth and extent of the wound: "Indeed, the sharp edge of a single-edged weapon is very sharp, resulting in less resistance during cutting and creating such a clean wound. Further tissue separation reveals that the common carotid artery and internal jugular vein were completely severed, and the trachea was also cut open. The rupture point is located about 1 centimeter below the cricoid cartilage, which is the direct cause of the victim's death from hemorrhagic shock. There is significant bleeding in the neck muscle tissue, with an infiltrative distribution, indicating that the victim still had vital signs when the cutting was performed. The blood was gushing out in a jet-like manner, which is consistent with the bloodstain splatter marks found at the scene."

The two then conducted a thorough examination of the deceased's head. The deceased's hair was black, approximately 10 centimeters long, and coarse in texture, containing a large amount of dust and a small amount of fine fibers. These were extracted and packaged separately and handed over to the technical department for comparison with fiber samples collected at the scene. There were no obvious external injuries to the head, no skull fractures, and no scalp hematomas. The conjunctiva of the eyelids was pale, consistent with hemorrhagic shock. There were no foreign objects remaining in the nasal cavity or oral cavity, no loose or missing teeth, no bleeding gums, and no bite marks on the tongue, ruling out the possibility of death by asphyxiation. Zhang Kai pressed his fingers around the deceased's eye sockets to confirm there was no subcutaneous bleeding. At the same time, he had Xiao Lin number and record the teeth and take dental X-rays for later identification of the deceased based on dental characteristics.

"The absence of external head injuries indicates that the deceased did not suffer any head impact or coercive injury before the neck was cut. Combined with the lack of obvious signs of resistance at the scene, it is highly likely that the victim was attacked by the murderer without any warning," Zhang Kai analyzed. "The teeth showed moderate wear, no cavities or dentures, and normal tooth development. Based on the degree of tooth wear and the closure of the cranial sutures, the age of death can be pinpointed to between 34 and 36 years old, which is more accurate than the initial assessment."

Next came the anatomical examination of the torso. Following anatomical protocol, Zhang Kai made a midline incision from the suprasternal notch to the pubic symphysis, using dissecting scissors to cut through the skin, subcutaneous fat, and abdominal muscles, exposing the thoracic and abdominal organs. No other external injuries were found on the chest and abdomen; there was no subcutaneous hemorrhage, epidermal abrasion, puncture wounds, or crush marks, ruling out the possibility of other violent injuries suffered by the deceased before death.

First, an examination of the thoracic organs was performed. There was no blood or air accumulation in the thoracic cavity; the pleura was smooth and showed no adhesions. The heart was of normal size, weighing approximately 320 grams, with no subepicardial hemorrhages. The myocardium was firm and dark red in color, with no abnormal hemorrhages or necrosis on the cut surface. Both the left and right ventricles were empty, consistent with cardiac emptying following hemorrhagic shock. No atherosclerotic plaques, stenosis, or occlusion were found in the coronary arteries, ruling out heart disease as the cause of death.

"Teacher Zhang, the lungs are normal in shape, weighing approximately 1100 grams. The lung tissue is dark red, and the cut surface is moist. A small amount of bloody fluid can be squeezed out. This is due to pulmonary circulatory disturbance caused by hemorrhagic shock, a secondary change and not a fatal cause." Xiao Lin lifted the lungs with tweezers, carefully observing the surface and cut surface, while recording data. "There are no foreign objects in the trachea and bronchi, the mucous membranes are smooth, and there is no bleeding or edema, further ruling out death by asphyxiation." (End of Chapter)