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

Chapter 1463 Surrounding Area Investigation

The two continued their investigation, reaching the end of the alley where it connected to a relatively wide street. Sun shone his investigation light on the ground on both sides of the street. "There's a lot of foot traffic on the street, and the footprints and traces have been destroyed, making it impossible to extract any valuable clues," he said. "Let's go back to the crime scene and examine it carefully again to see if we've missed any details."

Back at the crime scene, the forensic doctor had completed the preliminary on-site autopsy and was compiling the autopsy report. "Captain Li, the preliminary autopsy results are in." The forensic doctor approached Li Ming and handed him the autopsy report. "The deceased died from mechanical asphyxiation caused by strangulation with a thin metal wire. The time of death was approximately between 11 PM last night and 1 AM this morning. There were no other obvious external injuries on the deceased's body, no signs of poisoning, and obvious pressure marks on the neck, consistent with homicide."

Li Ming took the autopsy report, quickly glanced through it, and his brows furrowed even more. "Has the deceased's identity been confirmed?"

"Not yet." Xiao Yang stepped forward and reported, "The deceased had no identification documents in his pockets, no obvious facial features, and no markings on his clothing. We have already extracted the deceased's DNA sample and are preparing to compare it with the database. We have also extracted the deceased's fingerprints to see if there are any criminal records or missing persons reports."

"How is the on-site investigation going?" Li Ming asked.

Xiao Sun replied, "We collected multiple footprints at the scene, preliminarily identified as male, size 42, with fine patterns on the soles of the shoes; we also collected a fragmented fingerprint of the right index finger; and we found a thin wire, about 0.3 cm in diameter and 20 cm in length, with wear marks on the surface, preliminarily identified as the murder weapon, which has been sent to the technical department for testing to see if any related traces remain on it. No other items left by the murderer were found at the scene, indicating that the murderer had strong counter-surveillance capabilities, and the scene was simply cleaned up."

Li Ming nodded, his gaze sweeping across the scene: "Xiao Yang, Xiao Sun, you two take the collected evidence back to the branch's technical section immediately and complete the trace evidence examination and comparison as soon as possible. At the same time, retrieve the surveillance footage from the urban village and surrounding streets, focusing on people who entered and exited the alley between 10 PM last night and 2 AM this morning. In addition, in conjunction with the local police station, conduct a comprehensive investigation of all residents in the urban village and surrounding shops, asking if any suspicious persons have been seen or if they know the deceased."

"Yes, sir!" The two immediately packed up their investigation equipment and evidence, preparing to return to the detachment.

Sitting in the police car returning to the branch station, Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun didn't rest but began to sort out the details of the scene investigation. "Judging from the footprints extracted from the scene, the perpetrator's height should be between 175 and 180 centimeters, and his weight is of medium, because the depth and pressure of the footprints are relatively uniform," Xiao Yang said. "The pattern on the soles of the shoes is a common pattern for casual sports shoes. Many brands on the market have similar styles, making the investigation quite difficult."

Xiao Sun leaned back in his chair, his fingers lightly tapping his knees. "That incomplete fingerprint is key. If it can be matched in the database, we can quickly identify the suspect. But if the suspect has no criminal record and the fingerprint isn't in the database, this lead might go cold." He paused, then continued, "And that thin wire. We need to determine its material and origin—whether it's industrial wire or ordinary civilian wire. This might give us clues about the suspect's profession or area of ​​activity."

“The identity of the deceased is also crucial,” Xiao Yang said. “If the deceased is a local, the investigation will be relatively easy; if the deceased is an outsider who is not registered locally, the investigation will be much more difficult. When we get back, we will first enter the deceased’s DNA and fingerprints into the national database, compare them with missing persons information and criminal records, and at the same time check recent missing persons reports to see if there are any that match the criteria.”

"Furthermore, no personal belongings of the deceased were found at the scene, which is very likely that the murderer took them," Xiao Sun analyzed. "The murderer took the deceased's phone, wallet, and other items, possibly to rob them, or perhaps to conceal their identity. If it was robbery, the murderer may be in poor financial condition and have a prior record of theft or robbery; if it was to conceal their identity, it means that the murderer and the deceased knew each other and had a personal grudge, and the motive may have been revenge killing or a crime of passion."

Xiao Yang nodded: "That's possible. Judging from the deceased's clothing, he didn't seem to be a wealthy person, so robbery is relatively unlikely, but it can't be completely ruled out. Revenge killing is more likely, because the murderer used a wire to strangle the victim, which is quite cruel, and didn't leave many traces, so he was obviously prepared."

The police car quickly arrived at the Criminal Investigation Division of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, and Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun immediately took the evidence to the Technical Section. The staff in the Technical Section were already prepared and immediately began the examination of the evidence.

Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun first arrived at the fingerprint examination room. The staff entered the extracted incomplete fingerprint into the fingerprint comparison system and began comparing it with the national fingerprint database. "This fingerprint is quite incomplete, with only six core feature points, making the comparison very difficult," the staff member said while operating the system. "We are currently conducting a comprehensive comparison, which will take some time. Please be patient."

The two nodded and went to the trace evidence examination room to examine the thin iron wire. Staff were using a microscope to observe the surface of the wire and conducting material analysis. "This wire is made of ordinary low-carbon steel, which is readily available on the market and mainly used for binding and securing; it's common in both industrial and civilian applications," the staff member said. "The wire surface has slight wear marks and a few minor scratches, likely caused by long-term use. We extracted a small amount of skin tissue and blood from the wire surface and are conducting DNA testing to see if it belongs to the deceased."

"Have you obtained the killer's fingerprints or skin tissue?" Xiao Sun asked.

"The surface of the wire is relatively smooth, making it difficult for fingerprints to adhere. Currently, no clear fingerprints have been extracted," the staff member replied. "Besides the deceased, no other skin tissue has been found. It is possible that the murderer wore gloves during the crime or cleaned the wire afterward."

Xiao Yang frowned: "In this way, the clues that the wire can provide are relatively limited. We can only confirm that it was a tool used in the crime, but we cannot determine the identity and origin of the murderer."

"Not necessarily," the staff member said. "We found a tiny mark at one end of the wire, like some kind of marking, but it's so worn that we can't make out the details. We'll process it further to see if we can restore the mark to its original state, which might give us some clues."