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

In addition, the team members also found a pack of cheap flue-cured cigarettes in Zhang Laibin's pocket, which was exactly the same brand as the cigarette butts left by the suspect at the scene. At the same time, they extracted oral mucosal samples and fingerprints from Zhang Laibin, which will be sent to the laboratory for comparison and confirmation with the saliva residue and fingerprints on the suspect's DNA cigarette butts extracted at the scene.

Faced with the evidence found, Zhang Laibin's face turned even paler, his struggles weakened, and his eyes were filled with fear and despair. He could no longer deny it and could only lower his head, repeatedly muttering, "I didn't kill him, I didn't kill him, I didn't do it..."

Following standard procedures, the team members handcuffed and shackled Zhang Laibin, then took him to a police car to be sent to the city's criminal investigation branch for interrogation. As Zhang Laibin was being taken to the police car, many villagers gathered around. Seeing Zhang Laibin being arrested by the police, they discussed the matter animatedly. Some said, "We knew he wasn't a good person, but we never expected him to actually kill someone." Others said, "He's always committed many evil deeds; now he's finally getting his comeuppance." Still others said, "We hope the police will severely punish him and give Li Yongbao justice."

Wang Shuai did not linger. He arranged for some team members to remain at Zhang Laibin's home to protect the scene and further search for any traces or physical evidence that might have been missed. Meanwhile, he instructed other team members to properly pack the seized items, such as knives, jackets, sneakers, metal buttons, and cigarettes, and send them to the laboratory for further testing to confirm their relevance to the case. In addition, he arranged for team members to revisit the villagers to collect more clues about Zhang Laibin, especially his activities and behavior before and after the incident, in order to strengthen the chain of evidence.

At approximately 10:00 AM that day, Zhang Laibin was successfully escorted to the interrogation room of the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment. The interrogation room was dimly lit and the atmosphere was oppressive. A cold interrogation table separated the interrogators and Zhang Laibin on either side. In charge of this interrogation were Lu Chuan, the head of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, and Wang Shuai, a key member of the investigation team. They knew that interrogation was crucial to breaking through the case and that it required meticulousness, patience, and guidance to get Zhang Laibin to truthfully confess to his crimes.

Zhang Laibin was forced to sit on an interrogation chair, his hands handcuffed to the armrests and his feet locked in shackles. He had his head down, his hair disheveled, his face filled with exhaustion and fear, and his eyes staring blankly at the ground. He remained silent, his whole body trembling. Clearly, his psychological defenses were beginning to crumble, but he still did not voluntarily confess to his crimes.

Lu Chuan sat across from Zhang Laibin at the interrogation table, his gaze fixed on Zhang Laibin. His tone was calm and serious, without the slightest fluctuation, as he slowly said, "Zhang Laibin, we know you are very scared and regretful right now, but there's no point in hiding it any longer. We have enough evidence to prove that you are the murderer of Li Yongbao. The footprints, metal buttons, cigarette butts, and bloodstains collected at the scene, the knife, jacket, and sneakers we found in your home, and the surveillance footage from the convenience store—all the evidence points to you. No matter how you try to deny it, you cannot deny it."

Zhang Laibin kept his head down, not saying a word, but his whole body was trembling even more violently. Tears silently slid down from the corners of his eyes and dripped onto the ground, making a soft sound.

Lu Chuan continued, "Zhang Laibin, we also know that there were some rumors and entanglements between you and Liu Mei. You repeatedly harassed Liu Mei, and after being rejected, you harbored resentment towards Li Yongbao and even threatened to kill him. We have already investigated all of this, and Liu Mei has truthfully confessed everything to us. The reason you chose to kill Li Yongbao in an empty farmhouse in Lucao Gou Village is because you were familiar with the environment there and knew that few people went there, making it difficult to be discovered. The reason you deliberately took Li Yongbao's ID card and cleaned up the traces at the scene was to hide the victim's identity and prevent the police from identifying the victim through the ID card and thus tracing you back to him. The reason you wore a mask and disguised your accent was to hide your identity and avoid being recognized."

“But even with all your careful planning, you still made a mistake,” Lu Chuan’s tone became more serious. “At the scene, you left your footprints, cigarette butts, and metal buttons, all of which became key evidence against you. When you bought cigarettes at the convenience store, you were captured on surveillance video. Although you were wearing a mask, your height, build, and walking posture were clearly recorded. You hid the tools used in the crime, the clothes and shoes you wore during the crime, in your home. These are all irrefutable evidence of your crime. No matter how you deny it, you cannot change the fact that you committed murder.”

"Furthermore, we have sent the bloodstains from the knife found in your home to the laboratory for preliminary comparison with the bloodstains of the deceased, Li Yongbao. The results show a high degree of match. We have also extracted your DNA and fingerprints, and conducted preliminary comparisons with the DNA of the suspect found at the scene, as well as saliva residue and fingerprints from cigarette butts. The results also show a high degree of match. This evidence forms a complete chain of evidence, sufficient to prove that you are the murderer of Li Yongbao."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Laibin could no longer control his emotions and burst into tears. He raised his head, his face covered with tears and remorse, his eyes filled with despair. He shook his head violently and said, "I was wrong, I was really wrong. I shouldn't have killed anyone, I shouldn't have killed Li Yongbao. I regret it, I really regret it..."

Seeing that Zhang Laibin's psychological defenses had completely collapsed, Lu Chuan and Wang Shuai did not rush to question him. Instead, they waited quietly for him to calm down before guiding him to truthfully confess his crimes.

Zhang Laibin calmed himself down, wiped away his tears, and slowly said, "Officer, I confess the truth. I did kill Li Yongbao. I did everything myself, and it has nothing to do with anyone else."

"Why did you kill Li Yongbao? Tell me in detail the entire process of your crime, including the time, place, motive, and methods of the crime, as well as your escape and the process of hiding evidence after the crime. Every detail must be truthfully explained without any concealment." Lu Chuan said in a serious tone, while signaling Wang Shuai to take good notes during the interrogation.

Zhang Laibin nodded and slowly said, "The reason I wanted to kill Li Yongbao was because of Liu Mei, because of the rumors between Liu Mei and me, Li Yongbao's attitude towards me, and Liu Mei's rejection of me." (End of Chapter)