The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 1429 Surrounding Investigation Clues

The dismemberment occurred within 2-4 hours of death. The dismemberment tool was a stainless steel kitchen knife retrieved from the scene. The deceased had a ante-mortem resistance wound on his left upper limb and an old, non-fatal injury to the iliac artery. The report also noted that the deceased's identity has not yet been confirmed and requires further confirmation through DNA comparison with missing persons. Suspect leads need to be identified based on trace evidence retrieved from the scene and the results of the investigation.

After the autopsy report was handed over, Zhang Lin and Xiao Lin were finally able to rest a bit. Eighteen consecutive hours of intense autopsy work had left them exhausted, but the sense of accomplishment in determining the cause of death made them forget their fatigue. "Professor Zhang, this case was so unusual; we almost missed a case of concealed asphyxiation," Xiao Lin remarked. Zhang Lin nodded: "That's how autopsies in dismemberment cases are; every detail is crucial. Any oversight could lead the investigation astray. We will continue to monitor the investigation's progress and be ready to provide forensic technical support at any time."

At this time, the Criminal Investigation Division's investigation was in full swing. Investigators intensified their search for missing persons and crime scenes, focusing on clues provided in the autopsy report. Meanwhile, the technical team continued to analyze fingerprints, footprints, and fiber evidence collected at the scene, attempting to find crucial information related to the suspect. Although the victim's identity and the suspect remained uncertain, the improved autopsy report provided a clear direction for solving the case. Everyone in the Criminal Investigation Division firmly believed that as long as they adhered to evidence-based principles and conducted their work meticulously, they would surely uncover the truth and bring the perpetrator to justice.

While forensic pathologist Zhang Lin was performing an autopsy on the body, the work at the scene was also proceeding in an orderly manner.

Upon receiving instructions from Li Ming, Xiao Wang led a special investigation team of five detectives to investigate the area surrounding Nanhu Square. "According to the branch's deployment, our team has three core tasks: First, to comprehensively check all surveillance equipment within a 3-kilometer radius of Nanhu Square, focusing on footage from midnight to 7 a.m. to find the suspect who disposed of the body and any suspicious vehicles; second, to interview nearby residents and businesses to check for recent missing persons and collect any unusual clues before and after the incident; and third, to liaise with the local police station to retrieve recent missing persons registration information and compare it with the preliminary characteristics of the deceased provided by the forensic doctor." Before the investigation team set off, Xiao Wang clearly defined the division of tasks for his team members. "Li and Zhang are responsible for the surveillance investigation, focusing on liaising with the square management office, shops along Hubin Road, and surrounding residential property management companies; Wang and Liu are responsible for interviewing residents and businesses, gradually expanding the scope of the investigation in four directions—east, west, south, and north—centered on Nanhu Square; I am responsible for overall coordination and liaising with the police station to sort out missing persons information. Everyone must be meticulous and rigorous; no clue, however small, can be overlooked."

After deployment, the investigation team split into three groups to begin their work. Xiao Wang first drove to the local police station and found Officer Zhang, who was in charge of household registration: "Brother Zhang, could you please retrieve the missing persons registration information for the past three months in our jurisdiction and surrounding areas, focusing on males aged 35-45 and approximately 175-178 cm tall?" Officer Zhang immediately opened the missing persons information management system and, after more than half an hour of filtering, retrieved 12 missing persons records. Xiao Wang checked the detailed information of each record, including the missing person's name, gender, age, height, physical characteristics, time of disappearance, location of disappearance, and family contact information. He ultimately selected two records that initially matched the deceased's characteristics: "These two records are highlighted. One is for missing person Li Wei, male, 42 years old, 176 cm tall, who disappeared near Hubin Road a month ago; the other is for missing person Zhao Gang, male, 38 years old, 177 cm tall, who disappeared 20 days ago, about 2 kilometers from Nanhu Square."

Xiao Wang immediately sent the two missing persons information to forensic doctor Zhang Lin, requesting a preliminary feature comparison. He then led his team to the Nanhu Square Management Office. Director Chen Jianguo was already waiting in his office. Upon seeing Xiao Wang and his group, he hurriedly greeted them: "Officer Wang, you've finally arrived! We heard about what happened this morning; it was terrifying. We will fully cooperate with the investigation." "Director Chen, could you please show us the distribution of the surveillance equipment in the square, and then copy all the surveillance footage from the past three days for us, focusing on the footage from midnight to 7 a.m.?" Xiao Wang said. Chen Jianguo nodded and led everyone to the square's monitoring room. Pointing to the monitoring distribution map on the wall, he explained, "There are a total of 32 surveillance cameras in Nanhu Square, covering the square entrance, main passages, functional areas, and the area around the central lake. Among them, there are 4 cameras around the waterfront platform on the north side of the central lake, located at the east, west, and north entrances of the platform. However, there is something I need to explain: the fog was too heavy this morning, which may affect the image quality of some cameras. Also, one of the cameras at the north entrance is still under repair due to a wiring fault caused by rain a couple of days ago and is temporarily unavailable."

"Where exactly is the faulty camera located? When did it start malfunctioning?" Xiao Wang immediately pressed. "It's located near the north entrance of the square, close to Hubin Road. The malfunction first appeared the afternoon before yesterday. We contacted maintenance personnel, and they were supposed to repair it this morning, but this incident happened, and they haven't had time to fix it yet," Chen Jianguo explained. Xiao Wang frowned. The camera's malfunction undoubtedly hindered the surveillance investigation, as this location was precisely the route the suspect would have taken from Hubin Road into the square to dispose of the body. "First, copy all the recordings from the other working cameras, and provide the specific parameters and coverage area of ​​the faulty camera," Xiao Wang instructed Xiao Li. "Also, compile a list of surveillance locations for all shops, office buildings, and residential areas around the square; we need to retrieve them one by one."

Xiao Li and Xiao Zhang immediately began copying the square's surveillance footage, compiling 64 copies of the video, totaling nearly 72 hours of footage. Meanwhile, Xiao Wang and Xiao Liu began their door-to-door visits to residents. They first went to the Nanhu Garden residential complex, located south of Nanhu Square, separated from the square by only a wall, making it the closest residential area to the body disposal site. "Auntie, hello, we are police officers from the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment. We'd like to ask if you've noticed any missing persons in the complex recently? Or if you heard or saw any unusual noises in the direction of Nanhu Square in the early morning?" Xiao Wang knocked on the door of a first-floor apartment in Unit 1 of Building 1. A woman in her sixties answered the door.