After collecting everything, we questioned the eyewitness, a guy who had passed by to relieve himself. He said he'd just come from a bar and felt an urgent need to pee on his way back, so he'd found a secluded spot nearby. To his surprise, he'd seen the body then, which had made him hold it in.
We observed the guy; he didn't seem suspicious, so we let him go.
After we took the body away, everyone else dispersed, and the initial investigation was temporarily concluded.
Once the body was brought back, Liu Yuning and the others would conduct preliminary investigations, including reviewing surveillance footage and the victim's personal relationships. Identifying the victim wouldn't be difficult; although no formal identification had been done yet, a wallet was found on him containing an ID card. The fact that he was wearing pajamas and had a wallet struck me as odd at the time. Upon learning his name was Zhang Yangcheng, Gao Mingqiang first notified his family. We collected blood samples, which would soon be compared to the body.
We confirmed the deceased was Zhang Yangcheng due to DNA matching. The wallet was handed over to the forensics department. I was more interested in the body, so Xie Chuchu, Ling Xiaotao, Zhang Keying, and I headed to the morgue. After positioning the body in a trough, I remembered what Mr. Song had taught me. However, this was a male corpse, not human bones, so the "Baolian Jinggu Shu" (Lotus Bone Cleansing Technique) likely wouldn't work.
Fortunately, I had improved it previously and developed my own "Baolian Xishi Shu" (Lotus Body Cleansing Technique). This method was essentially an upgraded version of simply cleaning with alcohol, but it was quite effective.
I had the lotus flowers, but now I needed white wine. I asked Gao Mingqiang to buy some while I started preparing the lotus.
I placed all the petals into individual glass dishes and also put some on slides for careful dissection. After finishing, I squeezed out the juice and put it into a reagent bottle. When Gao Mingqiang returned, I mixed the white wine. I removed the deceased's clothes and applied the prepared liquid to the body using a dissection pen. Soon, the hidden wounds on the body became very apparent, not to mention those Xie Chuchu had already discovered.
Everyone quickly took photos. I also used the "Mogu Shu" (Bone Palpation Technique) to determine the time of death. However, the moment I lifted the deceased's left shoulder, I immediately let go. The area was covered in ulcerated sores, which immediately put me on alert. I instructed Ling Xiaotao, "Go find me an HIV rapid test kit right away!"
"The deceased's skin has many ulcerated sores. Everyone be careful; this body might have AIDS..." Ling Xiaotao said, already turning to find the test kit. We were all very somber, holding our breath, and could only stare silently at the male corpse before us.
Besides the sores on his shoulder, there were also some on his lower and upper legs, as well as his neck. Under my "Baolian Xishi Shu," these marks became even more visible, but also more gruesome, much like observing capillaries under a microscope.
These areas weren't large, otherwise, we would have easily discovered them.
When Ling Xiaotao returned with the test kit, I directly drew cardiac blood from the deceased and dripped it onto the kit. Soon, two bright red lines appeared: "Strongly positive. Let's put on full protective gear immediately!"
I instructed, and everyone began changing. In addition to two layers of rubber gloves, we now also wore a layer of gauze gloves.
Compared to rubber gloves, gauze gloves are harder to penetrate. You see, during autopsies, forensic pathologists often accidentally injure their own skin. This is especially true when dealing with bodies of individuals with diseases. Forensic pathologists are much safer using gauze gloves.
Blood splatter that contaminates the skin, or mucous membranes with abrasions, can lead to transmission. Previously, some forensic pathologists were not careful and contracted illnesses themselves after examining bodies.
Not every police station has this type of protective clothing. Some more remote ones haven't adopted it yet, as it requires the government to invest more funds for improvements. I truly hope that one day such equipment can be universally implemented, making it much safer for forensic pathologists.
In recent years, the challenges faced by forensic pathologists in China have been increasing, while logistical support has not kept pace, leading to a prolonged state of decline in the profession. If a forensic pathologist takes leave, the workload for others increases tenfold, as there is already a severe shortage of personnel.
After putting on our protective gear, I began examining the surface of the deceased. The body had extensive contusions and subcutaneous bleeding, but no open wounds were found. There were no signs of strangulation, suffocation, or injury to the neck, mouth, or nose. The scalp was also intact, ruling out death by head injury or mechanical asphyxiation.
There were signs of abuse resembling whip and chain marks on various parts of the body. I analyzed and stated, "It's crush syndrome."
Crush syndrome is caused by external pressure on a limb, leading to tissue damage and even necrosis. It further releases inflammatory factors, worsening local swelling and developing into a more severe syndrome. It can manifest as local tissue necrosis, degeneration of nerves and muscles, and the release of toxins causing systemic toxic reactions, such as fever, toxemia, and bacteremia. Tissue compression disrupts cellular or tissue structures, triggering widespread inflammatory responses. Furthermore, due to the restriction of fascia in certain areas of soft tissue and muscles, swelling intensifies, and edema becomes pronounced, further causing tissue damage, including ischemic reactions, inadequate blood circulation, and exacerbation of inflammatory responses, leading to a vicious cycle and crush syndrome.
However, these signs don't necessarily arise from crushing; this situation could also be the result of prolonged abuse and torture.
"There are 30 palm-sized contusions here, which constitutes a Level 2 severe injury. This was caused by countless blows from a cylindrical object, repeatedly struck back and forth. After torturing him to death this way, the body was likely dumped in the ditch..." I said, separating the deceased's skull and abdominal cavity. Then, I moved to the stomach. Based on the stomach contents and food residue, the deceased had not eaten for at least 12 hours. I wasn't sure how the investigators were progressing, but we needed to quickly determine when he left his residence, his last known mobile phone signal location, and his last appearance on surveillance footage.
"The precise time of death is 47 hours and 20 minutes. We'll use this timeframe to review surveillance footage," I noted down the information in a table for the investigators to use later.
Now, our Punishment Group doesn't handle minor tasks ourselves anymore; we assign them to provincial investigators. After all, there are many of them here, so we should make good use of them.
I flipped the deceased's back over and discovered extensive subcutaneous bleeding on his back, of varying depths. Due to repeated impact, the subcutaneous bleeding had merged into large patches, making it impossible to discern the shape of the weapon. Many contusions also had accompanying abrasions of the epidermis.