Forensic Doctor 2003: I Became a Legend on the Front Lines of Criminal Investigation

This was Jiang Chen's first time examining a hanged corpse.

However, the forensic knowledge he acquired through the system was considerable.

The most important aspect of his cheat is the ability to distinguish between suicide by hanging and strangulation by others.

Because hanging is a cause of death that does not leave obvious traces of injury from another person.

For example, if you stab someone with a knife, the damage to some parts of the body will be very obvious.

Of course, there are many possibilities for a stab wound to the heart. It could be that the deceased stabbed himself to commit suicide, or it could be that someone else stabbed him and then faked it as suicide.

According to conventional forensic methods, Jiang Chen could also make an identification during the loading process of his system in this case.

First, were there any of the victim's fingerprints on the dagger?

Furthermore, given that the victim had their own fingerprints, is it possible that the act of the victim gripping the knife with their arm was made in an irrational or unconscious state?

For example, it's possible that he fell into a coma and someone held a knife in his hand and stabbed him.

Similarly, regarding this hanged corpse, was it suicide or homicide?

Judging solely from the shape of the rope trench, it was definitely suicide, since there was only one rope trench.

The ropeway where he was murdered was a horizontal one, followed by a U-shaped one that jutted upwards.

However, the livid state of the body made Jiang Chen suddenly realize that this case was not simple.

Jiang Chen stared at the lividity on the deceased's back for a long time, then pressed it with his fingernail.

In examining livor mortis, in addition to observing the condition of the livor mortis, it is also necessary to determine the time of death.

Lividity is divided into three stages: the early settling stage, the infiltration stage, and the diffusion stage. Each cycle of change represents a different time of death.

When the body is in the settling phase of livor mortis, as the name suggests, the blood in the blood vessels of the corpse gradually settles downwards under the influence of gravity.

So after sedimentation, the parts that fall to the bottom of the body are called the settling period.

The formation of livor mortis during the settling period usually occurs within six hours.

The infiltration period lasts six to twelve hours. During this time, blood gradually flows out of the blood vessels due to increased vascular permeability, causing capillary hemoglobin to migrate out into the surrounding tissue spaces, thus forming patchy livor mortis around the blood vessels.

The final stage is the diffusion stage, which occurs 24 hours later, when the blood has spread to the surrounding subcutaneous tissue, forming a large area of ​​livor mortis.

At this moment, Jiang Chen pressed down with two fingers until the color faded, indicating that the time of death was more than 12 hours but less than 24 hours.

If we calculate based on this time, then his time of death should be around noon.

However, Jiang Chen clearly remembered that the family reported the elderly person missing at 5 p.m.

There's clearly something wrong with this timeframe, indicating that the family is lying.

Thinking about this, he suddenly fell into deep thought for a while.

Wang Hui, who was standing nearby, walked over with a camera and said in a deep voice, "Brother, is there something wrong with these lividity lesions?"

Forensic pathologist Jiang Chen nodded slightly: "There's a problem. Take another careful pat of this livor mortis."

"The livor mortis looks dark red, there's nothing wrong with it."

"The color of the livor mortis is fine, but the location of the livor mortis is problematic."

Upon hearing this, Wang Hui did not understand, because he was not a forensic scientist by training and had not been working for very long.

His research on the phenomenon of corpses was not in-depth.

However, he didn't think too much about it, leaving the professional work to the professionals, and just snapped photos.

Two minutes later, Jiang Chen got up and stood up.

At this moment, Li Jian also came over from the perimeter of the investigation.

"How is it? There shouldn't be any external injuries on the body, right?"

Jiang Chen glanced at the corpse: "There are indeed no obvious signs of a struggle on the corpse."

"That's good."

"In that case, the deceased also had cancer and was nearing the end of his life. It's understandable that the cancer had caused him great harm to his body."

As he was speaking, he was about to turn around and explain to the family members, telling them to handle the matter themselves.

However, just as he was about to state that the case was a suicide, Jiang Chen suddenly said, "Captain Li, this body is not simple."

Upon hearing this, forensic doctor Li Jian was suddenly stunned.

The words that were about to come out were instantly swallowed back down.

He glanced back at Jiang Chen, then at the corpse, seemingly unsure whether to comment.

At this moment, the corpse lay on the ground, its body already stiff, its arms and legs stretched out straight, the whole posture was vertically downward.

Although Li Jian was not a senior forensic doctor, he had seen quite a few hanging corpses.

Therefore, the final posture is this state where the hands and feet hang down at the same time.

"Is there a problem?"

"I don't see any external injuries on this body."

Jiang Chen analyzed, "There were no external injuries, but I think the deceased was hung up after death."

Upon hearing this, Li Jian immediately became alert.

Although Jiang Chen was just a newcomer in his mind, the foundation of the previous case made him feel that Jiang Chen's forensic skills were very strong, and he was definitely not a novice.

"Did you see anything unusual?"

After saying that, he immediately turned to the police officer next to him and said, "Quickly pull the family members aside, let's discuss this privately first."

After the family members had walked away, Jiang Chen squatted down again, pointed to the back of the body, and said, "Captain Li, look, the livor mortis of this deceased person is on their back."

"But lividity shouldn't be present on a hanged corpse."

"Huh?" Li Jian thought for a moment and then suddenly asked, "But I remember sometimes seeing lividity on the backs of hanged people when I was dealing with them."

Hearing this, Jiang Chen nodded: "Captain Li, you're right."

"If the body is found within six hours of death, then the livor mortis is just in the settling phase, and the blood is still in the blood vessels and has not yet entered the interstitial spaces. At that time, when the body moves from an upright position to lying flat on the ground, it is entirely possible for livor mortis to form on the back."

"This is metastatic livor mortis, which has a specific explanation in forensic medicine. The original livor mortis disappears, and new livor mortis forms on a new part of the body."

"Isn't that a perfect explanation?" Li Jian said.

After a brief pause, Jiang Chen raised his hand to press down on the lividity and said, "It can be explained from the shape and location, but there is one thing that cannot be explained."

"That means the livor mortis is not in the settling stage, but in the diffusion stage."

"The deceased had been dead for more than 12 hours."