frightfiction Chapter 1409 Barehanded Neck Strikes
Chapter 1409 Barehanded Neck Strikes
Xiaolin examined the area closely with a magnifying glass and indeed found patchy bleeding in the sternocleidomastoid muscle and a slight tear in the carotid intima: "Teacher Zhang, is this neck compression caused by external force? For example, strangling with bare hands? But we didn't find any fractures in the hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage during our previous examinations."
“Strangling someone by the neck doesn’t always lead to fractures of the hyoid bone or thyroid cartilage, especially with less force and shorter duration of compression. It might only cause bleeding in the neck muscles and damage to the vascular endothelium, leading to asphyxiation,” Zhang Lin explained. “The deceased’s asphyxiation symptoms were not obvious, possibly because the compression time was short, resulting in incomplete asphyxiation, which ultimately led to respiratory and cardiac arrest. We extracted samples of neck muscle tissue and carotid artery tissue for pathological examination to confirm the nature and extent of the injury, and also examined the lungs for asphyxiation-related changes.”
He used tweezers to extract a small amount of tissue from the bleeding site of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and the carotid intima, placing them in a sampling box. He then examined the lung tissue again: "A small amount of dark red blood oozed from the cut surface of the lungs, and the alveolar wall capillaries were dilated and congested, consistent with the lung changes characteristic of death by asphyxiation. Combined with the bleeding in the neck muscles, the tear in the carotid intima, and the asphyxiating changes in the lungs, it can be preliminarily inferred that the cause of death was mechanical asphyxiation due to external pressure on the neck."
Xiao Lin noted, "Teacher Zhang, what about the weapon? Was it a hand-to-hand strangulation, or was another tool used?" Zhang Lin shook his head: "Judging from the shape of the neck injury, there were no obvious cord-like or band-like marks, nor were there any marks from a sharp object. The initial assumption is that it was a hand-to-hand strangulation. However, we cannot completely rule out the use of soft, band-like objects, such as towels or clothing. The marks caused by these types of tools are not obvious and are easily overlooked. We can combine the fiber samples collected from the scene to see if there are any relevant clues."
The autopsy continued until 8:30 PM. Zhang Lin and Xiao Lin completed all the autopsy procedures, collecting a total of 32 tissue samples, including those from the heart, liver, kidneys, brain tissue, neck muscles, carotid intima, blood, urine, and stomach contents. All samples were sent to the technical department for further pathological and toxicological examinations. "Xiao Lin, organize the autopsy records and clarify two key conclusions: First, the time of death is estimated to be between midnight last night and 2 AM this morning. Using multiple methods for cross-verification, we pinpointed it precisely to around 1 AM. Second, the preliminary cause of death is mechanical asphyxiation due to external pressure on the neck; the specific murder weapon needs further confirmation based on the evidence found at the scene."
"What about the deceased's identity? Did we find any clues during the autopsy that could identify the deceased?" Xiao Lin asked. Zhang Lin sighed, "The deceased had no identification items on him, was dressed plainly with no obvious features, and had moderately worn teeth, consistent with a 30-40 year old adult, but we can't deduce his specific identity from his teeth. We extracted the deceased's fingerprints and DNA samples and sent them to fingerprint and DNA databases for comparison, hoping to find a match. But so far, we haven't found any clues that can directly confirm the deceased's identity."
"Any new leads regarding the suspect?" Xiao Lin added. Zhang Lin shook his head: "During the autopsy, we didn't find any direct traces on the deceased that could be linked to the suspect, such as hair, fibers, or fingerprints. The footprints, fibers, cigarette butts, and other physical evidence collected at the scene need to be compared with the deceased's tissue samples by the technical department to determine if they are related to the suspect. Currently, while the autopsy has clarified the time and cause of death, we haven't made any breakthroughs in identifying the deceased or tracking down the suspect."
At 9 p.m., Zhang Lin and Xiao Lin emerged from the autopsy room, their faces visibly weary. They submitted the first draft of the autopsy report to Li Ming, detailing the autopsy process and key conclusions. After reviewing the report, Li Ming said, “Thank you for your hard work. Your autopsy results are extremely important, clarifying the time and cause of death and providing crucial direction for the investigation. The technical department must expedite the pathological and toxicological examinations of the tissue samples, and simultaneously compare the deceased's fingerprints and DNA information as soon as possible to confirm the victim's identity. The investigation team should expand their search area based on the time of death, focusing on suspicious individuals who entered or exited the north gate of the West Suburbs Park between midnight last night and 2 a.m. this morning, in order to find traces of the suspect.”
As night deepened, the lights in the forensic identification center remained bright, and skilled staff worked overtime to examine the extracted tissue samples and on-site evidence. Zhang Lin stood by the window of the autopsy room, gazing at the night sky outside, his brow furrowed. Although the autopsy work had made some progress, the unidentified victim and lack of clues about suspects still made solving this murder case extremely difficult. He knew that as forensic doctors, their job was to provide scientific evidence for solving cases, and every detail could be key to solving them. He was prepared to immediately devote himself to further analysis as soon as the technical department had new test results, contributing his efforts to uncovering the truth of this murder case.
Meanwhile, the criminal investigation team members didn't stop. Based on the forensic examination's estimate of the time of death, they re-examined the leads from their initial inquiries around the West Suburbs Park, conducting secondary interviews with park management, cleaning staff, and nearby residents, focusing on whether any suspicious individuals had entered or left the park between midnight and 2 AM. However, due to the late hour, most residents were already asleep, and the interviews yielded no new breakthroughs. The case investigation once again reached a stalemate.
However, the investigators did not give up. They knew that solving homicide cases often required patience and perseverance, and that every seemingly unrelated detail might hide important clues. They firmly believed that as long as they focused on the crime scene, relied on physical evidence, and combined it with the forensic autopsy results, they would surely find a breakthrough, identify the victim, apprehend the suspect, and bring justice to the deceased. The lights in the criminal investigation team shone brightly throughout the night, and the team members performed their duties diligently and systematically, awaiting the results of the technical examination and the dawn of a new case.
As forensic pathologist Zhang Lin submitted his autopsy report, Xiao Wang was leading the third investigation team, following Li Ming's instructions, to conduct a comprehensive review of surveillance footage in the surrounding area, with the West Suburbs Park as the core. "Team Leader Li clearly instructed us to focus on reviewing surveillance footage from midnight last night to 2 a.m. this morning, which is the time period the forensic pathologist deduced as the time of the victim's death."