novelaction Chapter 1153 Commencement of the Autopsy
Chapter 1153 Commencement of the Autopsy
He covered the tire tread with rubbing paper. "There are two 0.3 cm horizontal cracks on the tire tread, which are consistent with the tire tracks on the gravel road in the northwest corner of the park." Xiao Sun made a discovery in the park's trash can—a torn envelope with the words "Municipal Public Security Bureau" identifiable on the fragments, and the DNA on the edge of the paper matched part of the DNA on the cigarette butt.
As the sun set, Xiao Yang's investigation bag contained 28 physical evidence samples, and Xiao Sun's footprint analysis report was covered with red markings. "To summarize," Xiao Yang said, leaning against a sycamore tree in the park, rubbing his aching back, "there is at least one suspect, male, 175-180 cm tall, wearing size 43 leather shoes, possibly engaged in a police-related profession, and left on a motorcycle after committing the crime." Xiao Sun added, "But key physical evidence is still missing—the handcuff key was not found, no biological samples identifying the suspect were found, and the complete contents of the envelope fragments still need to be pieced together; a complete chain of evidence cannot yet be formed."
As the last rays of sunlight pierced through the bushes in the park, Xiao Yang gazed at the area cordoned off by police tape and suddenly remembered the handcuffs beside the body. "The serial numbers on the standard handcuffs have been ground off," he told Xiao Sun, "but there might still be traces of metal shavings inside the lock cylinder. Have the technical department do a thorough examination when we get back." Xiao Sun packed up his investigation equipment, and Li Ming's voice came through his walkie-talkie: "Any major discoveries?" Xiao Sun glanced at Xiao Yang and replied in a low voice, "I found important traces, but no breakthrough clues yet. Further examination is needed."
In the twilight, their shadows stretched long, the beams of their searchlights flickering along the park paths, as if searching for the truth hidden in the darkness. The discovered footprints, fibers, and buttons, though scattered, were gradually, through their analysis, sketching out the suspect's outline—a tall, strong man familiar with police equipment, possibly a motorcyclist, lurking in some unknown corner, waiting to be identified by these subtle traces.
That afternoon, the criminal investigation team that had transported the body began the autopsy.
In the autopsy room, Zhang Lin's movements as he donned double-layered latex gloves were professionally precise. When his fingertips touched the corpse's ankles, fibers from his gray wool jacket fluttered down, forming a small pile of silvery-gray fluff on the floor. "Male corpse, 178cm tall, apparent age 35-40," his voice was steady through his blue mask. His assistant, Xiao Lin, had already entered the corpse's information into the system. "Clothing integrity 80%, tear on the left chest with fibers turned outwards at the edge, right wrist wearing a standard Type 99 handcuff, lock in the locked position, chain links without deformation."
The post-mortem examination began with the head. Zhang Lin gently ran his fingertips across the deceased's eyelids, the beam of the ophthalmoscopy penetrating the cornea and casting clear spots of light on the fundus. "Grade II corneal opacity," he announced, while Xiao Lin recorded the data. "Pupil diameter 5mm, no light reflex, good lens transparency, no age-related opacity. Pinpoint hemorrhages are visible beneath the conjunctiva, diffusely distributed, totaling more than 30, consistent with the characteristic changes of death by asphyxiation."
He gently pried open the deceased's lips with hemostats, and a putrid odor mixed with stomach acid wafted out. "The oral mucosa is cyanotic, and the tip of the tongue is exposed," Zhang Lin said, his tweezers gripping the edge of the tongue. "Four crescent-shaped teeth marks are visible, 0.1-0.2 cm deep, matching the shape of the deceased's molars, indicating pressure injuries caused by trismus during the dying period. There are multiple pinpoint bleeding points on the gingival mucosa, and a small amount of bloody secretions in the gingival sulcus. Samples will be taken for testing."
“Teacher Zhang, look at the skin on the wrist corresponding to the handcuffs,” Xiao Lin suddenly pointed to the deceased’s right wrist, the ruler stopping at the indentation. “The indentation is 1.2cm wide and 0.3cm deep, with clean edges, and is pale white, contrasting sharply with the surrounding dark purple lividity. The skin temperature below the indentation is 21°C, with a temperature difference of 0.5°C from the surrounding tissue. There is no congestion, edema, or epidermal abrasion—this indicates that the handcuffs were put on after death?”
Zhang Lin examined the indentation closely, gently stroking the skin around the edge with a probe. The tissue was noticeably harder than the surrounding area. "There's no sign of life at the indentation," he stated definitively. "The collagen fibers in the dermis haven't swelled or degenerated, so it's definitely a restraint mark formed after death. But look at this keychain," he said, using tweezers to remove a metal object from the victim's left breast pocket. "It's a standard handcuff key. There are fresh scratches on the chain links, perfectly matching the wear marks on the handcuff lock cylinder, indicating that the murderer attempted to open the handcuffs with this key but failed."
The distribution of livor mortis became the focus of the analysis. Zhang Lin had Xiao Lin turn the body over, revealing diffuse dark purple livor mortis on the back, buttocks, and back of the thighs. A finger pressure test showed that the color did not completely fade after 3 seconds of pressure, and the recovery time after releasing the pressure exceeded 5 seconds. "The livor mortis is in the diffusion stage," he explained. "Hemoglobin has penetrated the blood vessel walls and infiltrated the interstitial spaces; this state usually appears 12-24 hours after death." He measured the densest area of livor mortis with a ruler, which was approximately 25 x 30 cm. "Based on the color depth of the livor mortis, the time of death should be around 18 hours, but this needs to be corrected for the degree of rigor mortis."
The examination of rigor mortis begins with the jaw. Zhang Lin gently supports the deceased's jaw with his fingers, feeling significant resistance when he lifts it upwards. "The temporomandibular joint has a range of motion of 30 degrees," he reports. "The neck muscles are rigid, making it difficult to flex the head forward; the shoulder joint has a range of motion of 25 degrees, the elbow joint 15 degrees, and the wrist joint 10 degrees. This is the development stage of rigor mortis, which takes approximately 8-16 hours to develop." Xiao Lin adds environmental parameters: "The autopsy room temperature is 20°C, and the humidity is 60%. The rate of rigor mortis development is within the normal range, with no obvious factors that accelerate or slow it down."
When measuring the body temperature, the probe of the electronic thermometer was inserted 15cm into the rectum, and the reading stabilized at around 21.5°C. "Rectal temperature 21.5°C, ambient temperature 20°C," Zhang Lin calculated, referring to the post-mortem cooling curve chart. "Based on a rate of decrease of 0.8-1°C per hour at room temperature, the initial estimate of the time of death is 16-18 hours. However, considering that the deceased may have been placed in a low-temperature environment after death," he pointed to the goosebumps on the body's skin, "the arrector pili muscles of the skin showed significant contraction, indicating that the body may have been in a cold state before death, requiring an additional 2 hours of correction time."
Before opening the chest and abdominal cavities, Zhang Lin noticed a 0.5 x 0.3 cm abrasion on the left side of the deceased's chest wall, which had dried and turned brown. "The edges of this abrasion are irregular," he observed with a magnifying glass, "There is a small amount of tissue fluid that has seeped out and crystallized after drying, indicating a pre-mortem injury, but the vital signs are mild, suggesting it may have formed shortly before death." Xiao Lin used a sterile cotton swab to collect the residue from the abrasion: "A sample has been taken and sent for testing, with a focus on checking for any foreign objects remaining."
When the thoracic and abdominal cavities are opened using a Y-shaped incision, the buzzing of the sternal saw echoes in the dissection room, and tiny bone fragments are splashed out the moment the saw blade touches the bone.