Eyes that are the same as those of evil

Chapter 4: The Elopement Murder Case
Once we have the suspect's identity information, all we need to do is use the powerful big data technology to find the person and then interrogate them.

Everyone thought the case was halfway through, but Liu Guanhua disappeared without a trace in Jiujiang, like a clay ox sinking into the sea. The Criminal Investigation Team 2 asked the local police station for help and searched for two days, but they couldn't find a single trace of him.

The case has reached an awkward point.

The search for the missing person cannot stop, but it also cannot remain stalled. Zheng Yan called together the second team, the forensic pathologists, and the trace evidence examiners for another meeting to look for other clues that could lead to a conviction.

"The deceased was confirmed to have died of mechanical asphyxiation. There were no signs of sexual assault. The most serious injury was on the face. The murder weapon was likely a stone. The murderer used a lot of force, smashing the deceased's brow bone so hard that it pierced into the eye socket. Stone fragments are still embedded in the flesh. However, stones are too common, and we couldn't find that particular stone. There were no other traces of the murderer on the deceased's body, so we can't provide you with any more clues," said forensic doctor Lao Li.

Xiao Chen: "The act of smashing someone's face could be an attempt by the murderer to cover up the victim's identity, but it certainly also suggests a desire for revenge. There must have been some emotional entanglement between them. What did the victim do to make the murderer hate that face so much? Actually, the people who hate the victim the most are probably her husband Luo Zhiyong and her sister Luo Mei, right?"

“But they have alibis, and if they really did kill the person, why would they call the mediation channel to their home and deliberately expose the matter?” Tan Ming reasoned carefully.

Although experience suggests that in cases where the wife dies, the husband is 80% likely to be the killer, this case seems different.

Zheng Yan nodded and said, "Liu Guanhua, the deceased's lover, is highly suspicious. A man with a criminal record, coming from another province to have an extramarital affair, and nobody except the deceased knew him. He also acted suspiciously when he fled with his entourage. Furthermore, according to the deceased's husband, she wore a bracelet on her wrist and controlled the family's savings, but there was no bracelet or anything else on the body, which perfectly matches Liu Guanhua's robbery nature. Unless he is ruled out, he remains the prime suspect."

Tan Ming frowned: "We applied to check the location of Liu Guanhua's phone number, but it showed that his phone card was automatically cancelled and resold four years ago, and he did not apply for a new phone card with his own ID card after he was released from prison."

It's highly likely that they bought someone else's phone card, so the location tracking method won't work.

The surveillance footage couldn't find him, and his location couldn't be found either. Liu Guanhua really knows how to hide.

The forensic examiner asked, "What about the deceased's cell phone? There are no more clues on the body, and we haven't found the original crime scene. The only traces at the dumping site are messy muddy shoe prints, which don't provide any further information. If we could have a cell phone for the technicians to examine, perhaps we could find some clues."

Technicians: "We can locate the deceased's phone. It's near the entrance to the suburban expressway, not far from where the body was dumped. We're still investigating bit by bit, hoping to find the phone and, in the process, the primary crime scene."

After listening, Zheng Yan pondered and asked, "Did they ask the deceased's husband, Luo Zhiyong, about the last time he saw the deceased and Liu Guanhua? What conversation did they have?"

Tan Ming: "Luo Zhiyong said he knelt down and begged the deceased not to leave. During this time, Wang Yong also chased after him and tried to persuade her a couple of times. They almost got into a fight, but Luo Zhiyong said that seeing the deceased's lack of mercy, he stopped trying to persuade her. Wang Yong saw his cowardly behavior and left. The two went home one after the other. It was still dark at the time, and many people saw them return."

So far, the investigation has made no further progress unless Liu Guanhua is found, or the victim's cell phone and the original crime scene are found, or even just a bloodstained piece of clothing is found in a trash can. Only then can there be any breakthrough.

Just as they were feeling down, someone called with good news—the police had discovered what appeared to be the primary crime scene.

Nearly a kilometer from the site where the body was dumped, there was a wasteland with an abandoned open-air parking lot nearby, the toll booths of which were covered in rust.

Behind the toll booth was a patch of collapsed grass, where dark bloodstains were faintly visible.

The cordon cordoned off another area. Tan Jia looked at it from afar in the crowd, comparing it with the grass in her dream. The unease in her heart turned into the strength to knead dough.

Unfortunately, it was nighttime in the dream, and many things were not clear. She was also so far away, making the contrast very blurry.

Two days passed without any news of finding the murderer or closing the case. She wondered what was holding up the criminal investigation team. She only hoped that this time they had found the right place and could directly detect evidence pointing to the murderer. However, things didn't go as planned. The bloodstains found in the bushes were all identified as belonging to the deceased, Mi Junfang, and no other biological materials were found.

Fortunately, the deceased's phone was found.

Technicians can finally put their skills to good use, working overtime to crack all the secrets inside the phone.

Then some unusual chat logs were found.

"The deceased met Liu Guanhua online four months ago. At first, they just liked each other's short videos, then they added each other on WeChat and chatted frequently. Sometimes they would confide in each other in the middle of the night, and there were also records of multiple video calls. It was too explicit. Liu Guanhua's mouth was like it had been soaked in lard. He was full of sweet words and tenderness. I wouldn't even dare to read what he sent... The deceased even called him Brother Hua in voice messages."

Zheng Yan wanted to slap him: "Can you get to the point? Did Liu Guanhua talk to her about where they were going to elope? Did it involve any financial transactions like money transfers?"

"Yes. A month ago, Liu Guanhua advised the deceased not to stay with Luo Zhiyong anymore. He said that if she was willing, he would come and take her away to Guangdong to be a landlady... Wow, he even sent photos, photoshopped to make her look 15 years younger. The deceased was immediately tempted... They met once half a month ago, and then a week ago the deceased said she still wanted a divorce, but Liu Guanhua persuaded her to stay."

Xiao Chen scoffed: "Of course he would try to persuade him. I reckon Liu Guanhua never really wanted to elope. He just wanted to swindle money and rob people. What landlady? He's never even been to Guangdong."

No wonder he became rich and wasn't caught again just two years after being released from prison; he changed his robbery methods.

"Why did Liu Guanhua kill the victim, and even smash the victim's face in a fit of rage? Does he kill every time he robs someone?" Zheng Yan asked gravely.

"So he's a serial killer?" Xiao Chen was shocked. "Then it makes sense that he's so experienced in hiding."

The situation appeared to be escalating, so they immediately intensified their search for Liu Guanhua, involving more police officers and auxiliary police.

The case is turbulent, and Tan Jia's perception is more pronounced.

The fact that Tan Ming hasn't been home for two days indicates that the case has definitely encountered difficulties.

But she wasn't involved and had no idea what had happened.

That night, she dreamed again of the scene where Mi Junfang was murdered. On that bloodied and mangled face, the bulging eyeballs were moving, staring at her as if desperately trying to convey something.

It seems that relying on others is not an option.

The next day, the city's criminal investigation team received a special visitor.

When Tan Ming arrived at the interrogation room, Tan Jia had just sat down. He glanced up at the people at the door, then lowered his eyes and repeated—

“I’m turning myself in. I may be the murderer of Mi Junfang.”

(End of this chapter)