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

Chapter 1204 Death Detailed Analysis

Determining the time of death requires cross-verification from multiple dimensions. Zhang Lin first examined the rigor mortis of the body: "The jaw joint is completely stiff, unable to open the mouth; the neck muscles are stiff, and the head can not turn more than 10 degrees; the elbow and wrist joints of the upper limbs are stiff to level 3, with the fingers in a semi-flexed position; the knee and ankle joints of the lower limbs are stiff, and the toes are rigid." He compared the results with the rigor mortis development scale, "Based on the location and intensity of the rigor mortis, the preliminary judgment is that the time of death was between 18 and 22 hours, which is around 6 pm to 10 pm on August 18th."

Xiao Lin raised a question: "Professor Zhang, the temperature is low at night in Beishan, and the body was in an abandoned brick kiln with poor ventilation. Could this affect the rate of rigor mortis? Also, the soil covering might slow down decomposition, which could lead to an inaccurate assessment of the time of death?" Zhang Lin nodded, turned the body over, and examined the skin on the back: "No obvious livor mortis was found on the back, only light purplish-red patchy indentations on the shoulder blades, which faded when pressed and had blurred edges," he explained. "Livor mortis usually begins to appear 2-4 hours after death, enters the diffusion phase at 6-12 hours, and becomes fixed after 24 hours. Currently, the livor mortis has not yet become fixed. Combined with the degree of rigor mortis, this indicates that the time of death was indeed 18-22 hours ago. The low temperature environment only slightly slowed down the development of rigor mortis, and the soil covering did not have a significant impact on the decomposition of the body. The overall assessment error can be controlled within 1 hour."

The subsequent corneal opacity examination further narrowed down the time of death. Zhang Lin shone a flashlight into the corpse's eyes: "Moderate corneal opacity, blurred pupils, complete loss of light reflex, and reduced lens transparency," he recorded the data. "Corneal opacity is divided into three grades. Moderate opacity corresponds to a time of death of 12-20 hours, which is basically consistent with the results of rigor mortis and livor mortis. Combined with scattered punctate hemorrhages in the conjunctiva, it is speculated that the deceased may have been in a state of hypoxia before death, and an internal autopsy is needed to confirm whether it is related to the cause of death."

Analysis of the stomach contents provided a more precise basis for the time of death. Zhang Lin carefully dissected the stomach wall tissue by making an incision along the midline of the abdomen with a scalpel: "The stomach was empty, with only a small amount of semi-digested rice, vegetable scraps, and meat fibers remaining, about 10ml." He placed the stomach contents sample into a test tube. "The edges of the rice grains dissolved, the muscle fibers of the meat scraps were broken, and the vegetable fibers softened. Based on the degree of food digestion, it is estimated that the last meal was 3-5 hours before death, which is between 3-7 pm on August 18th." Xiao Lin immediately retrieved the previous visit records: "There are two small restaurants in the village near the brick kiln. Around 5 pm is the peak dinner time. The deceased may have eaten there, but no witnesses have been found yet."

Determining the cause of death is the core of the autopsy. Zhang Lin first examined the neck of the corpse: "There is a 5x6cm subcutaneous hemorrhage on the left side of the neck. The center of the bleeding area is dark purplish-red, and the edge gradually fades to light red." He used hemostatic forceps to separate the subcutaneous tissue. "The bleeding depth reaches the sternocleidomastoid muscle layer. The muscle fibers are broken in an irregular shape, which is consistent with the characteristics of a contusion caused by a blunt object. The contact surface of a blunt object should be an irregular plane with raised edges, such as a brick or stone. The force of the blow is relatively large, causing local tissue bleeding and swelling, compressing the trachea, and causing temporary hypoxia."

Xiao Lin suddenly pointed to the corpse's head: "There is a 3x4cm scalp hematoma on the right temporal region, with epidermal abrasions in the center of the hematoma, reaching the dermis, and a clear area of ​​swelling around it." Zhang Lin carefully opened the skull with a skull saw to examine the intracranial condition: "No obvious bleeding or fractures were found in the intracranial cavity, and the brain tissue morphology is normal, ruling out the possibility of death due to craniocerebral injury." He added, "The scalp hematoma and neck contusion are both non-fatal injuries, indicating that the suspect had beaten the deceased beforehand, but this was not the direct cause of death."

The thoracic autopsy revealed crucial fatal injuries. Zhang Lin used dissecting scissors to open the chest cavity, exposing the heart and lungs: "The heart was of normal size, with diffuse petechial hemorrhages under the epicardium; there was a 7x8cm contusion in the lower lobe of the right lung, with hemorrhage and swelling of the lung tissue, blurred edges, some alveoli ruptured, and a small amount of pleural effusion." He used forceps to pick up the lung tissue, "The severe lung contusion led to pulmonary dysfunction and respiratory failure—this was the main cause of death." He further explained, "Lung contusions are usually caused by blunt force trauma to the chest or violent concussion. Combined with the injuries to the neck and head, it is speculated that the suspect first beat the victim to incapacitate him, then struck his chest with a blunt object, causing lung contusion, ultimately leading to death from respiratory failure."

"What about the rope clutched by the deceased's fingertips and the tear in the work jacket? Was it caused by a struggle before death, or by handling it after death?" Xiao Lin asked, puzzled. Zhang Lin pointed to the fibers on the rope: "There are obvious pulling marks at the break in the rope, the fibers are irregularly broken, and there are fresh skin abrasions on the deceased's fingertips with rope fibers stuck to them, indicating that the rope was pulled forcefully during a struggle before death, and the deceased tried to break free from the restraints; there are obvious sharp object cutting marks at the edge of the tear in the work jacket, and the tear in the left chest pocket is neat, not formed by natural pulling, suggesting that the suspect used a knife to cut the jacket, possibly to search for items on the deceased's body, or that the knife snagged the jacket during the struggle." He examined the tear with a magnifying glass: "There are metal fragments remaining at the tear, which preliminary tests indicate are carbon steel, consistent with the material of discarded knives found in the brick kiln, suggesting that the suspect used a discarded knife from the brick kiln to cut the jacket."

Other details about the body also provided clues to the case. Zhang Lin found a small amount of reddish-brown soil and brick fragments in the palm of the body's right hand: "The soil composition is consistent with the soil found on the sweatpants during the previous on-site investigation, containing a lot of brick fragments and dry grass fibers, which is completely consistent with the soil composition around the abandoned brick kiln in Beishan," he said. He put the soil sample into an evidence bag, "which indicates that the deceased had stayed in the brick kiln for a long time before his death, and may have had a fierce struggle with the suspect there, or been controlled by the suspect in the brick kiln for a period of time." He added, "The shoelace of the deceased's right sneaker was broken, and there were fresh wear marks at the break. The end of the shoelace was stuck with black fibers, which are consistent with the fiber composition of the abandoned canvas in the brick kiln. It is speculated that the shoelace was caught on the canvas and torn when the deceased struggled."

To further confirm the time of death, Zhang Lin tested the body's blood biochemical indicators: "The potassium ion concentration in the blood is 16 mmol/L, and the sodium ion concentration is 130 mmol/L." He compared the values ​​with the standard values, "After death, the blood potassium ion concentration will gradually increase over time, increasing by about 2 mmol/L every 10 hours. Based on the current values, the time of death can be estimated to be about 20 hours, which is completely consistent with the previous judgment, that is, around 8 pm on August 18."