CHAPTER 294: CHAPTER 188: SUSPECT CHARACTERISTICS

Jiang An said, "Chief, I’m considering another possibility."

"What possibility?"

"Could it be possible that the deceased was in a very weak state when they were moved to this location?"

"Weak state?"

Those around looked at Jiang An with curiosity.

Jiang An explained, "I remember there was a case before where the murderer didn’t immediately kill the victim but instead caused a coma state."

"However, he later carried out post-mortem actions."

Mr. Zhang nodded.

"I think what Jiang An said makes a lot of sense."

"If the murderer believed the victim was dead during the act, they might proceed with the next part of their plan."

"By common reason, this is not a good site for disposing of a corpse."

"It seems the murderer wanted to disguise the death here as a suicide."

Earlier, they were still struggling with the nature of the death in the case.

Was it suicide, an accident, or murder?

Now, suddenly, everything became clear.

After thinking for a long time, the elder detective opened his mouth to ask, "Chief, this place does have some incomplete footprints."

"However, the area with incomplete footprints is small."

"If we believe these footprints are related to the case, isn’t the evidence insufficient?"

Then, he glanced down at the footprints on the ground.

"Suppose we believe this place is the scene of body disposal, does it mean this series of footprints were left by the suspect?"

The elder detective spoke gently.

But both the Chief and Jiang An understood the implication.

This location as the murder case’s disguise scene isn’t well-supported by analysis.

After all, shoe sole prints aren’t unique.

The patterns on the soles of the same shoe in different sizes vary.

Mr. Zhang thought about it after listening.

At that moment, Jiang An replied solemnly, "Mr. Zhang, besides the fragmented pattern footprints we saw earlier, there’s something very important."

"The deceased Li Lan’s forehead has an abrasion."

"Abrasion?"

Instantly, the inspection photos of the body appeared in Mr. Zhang’s mind.

Although they hadn’t been involved in the entire inspection process, they had a strong impression of the photos in the files.

He asked, "Regarding the abrasion on the forehead, the forensic expert suspects it could be from a fall or traffic accident impact, lacking any definitive conclusions."

Jiang An nodded.

"Mr. Zhang, during both falls and traffic accidents, abrasions can occur all over the body."

"However, this abrasion is quite unique."

"Within the abrasion on the forehead, there are narrow streaks."

"From the perspective of the damage formation, I believe the tool should be tiny granular material."

Then, Jiang An said, "Earlier, during our site inspection starting from the first floor, we found a small amount of river sand on the floor at the stairway entrance."

"River sand?"

"Why is there river sand here?"

The young officer accompanying Mr. Zhang curiously asked.

Jiang An recalled, "At that time, we analyzed the environment around the river sand and deduced it might be leftover river sand from storefront renovations."

"The area of sand on the ground isn’t large, but you can see some footprints with sliding traces."

"Does this have any significance?"

"From my personal perspective, I suspect the murderer might have slipped here while transporting the body."

"Due to this slipping process, the deceased Li Lan’s head came into contact with mud and sand, causing forehead abrasions."

One officer asked, "Can’t such an abrasion occur in traffic accidents or falls?"

After contemplating for a moment, Jiang An replied solemnly, "I can’t say it absolutely can’t happen."

"However, I believe the first-floor platform better fits the conditions."

"That place has conditions for forehead injury, along with slipping marks from a fall."

Upon hearing Jiang An’s explanation, no one objected.

After all, consulting across fields is challenging.

In forensic reasoning, Jiang An, as someone with a forensic background, can be trusted.

Especially Mr. Zhang, who is somewhat familiar with Jiang An.

The Han City case was exceedingly difficult.

When analyzing the case in Han City, Jiang An focused on the body and the scene, eventually pinpointing the breakthrough.

After much thought, Mr. Zhang nodded.

"Makes sense."

"In crime detection and investigation, we have to focus on high-probability events rather than low-probability possibilities."

He then raised his hand and patted Jiang An on the shoulder.

"Thanks to you this time."

"If we had called you earlier, this case probably wouldn’t have been delayed so long."

Jiang An chuckled.

"Chief, you’re too kind."

"It’s just my personal deduction, although I mentioned the footprint match is complete and the damage formation location likelihood is very high."

"But as my senior said, neither of these pieces of evidence is unique."

"There are many shoes with similar patterns."

"Besides, there might be river sand in other places."

Mr. Zhang laughed and said, "That’s okay!"

"With your deduction, I feel we’ve taken a big step closer to the truth."

"Earlier, we inspected that building floor by floor and didn’t see so many footprints on the ground."

"This place has been abandoned for almost a year."

"Generally, people wouldn’t come here, so the value of these footprints is significant."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang An said solemnly, "Chief, I suggest we prioritize investigating those who used to work here."

Zhang Feng nodded.

"Earlier, we were discussing this issue."

"At least for now, it’s a very important direction."

At that moment, Zhang Feng’s phone rang again.

"Hello!"

"Chief, I’m reporting the vehicle inspection situation to you!"

"Go ahead?"

"We’ve conducted an investigation of vehicles within six hours before and after the incident."

"During this period, about 80 large trucks and container vans passed through that road."

"Currently, the list of suspicious vehicles has been confirmed! Waiting for your next instructions."

Mr. Zhang raised his gaze slightly and looked at Jiang An.

He said, "Follow the plan we drafted in the meeting, and proceed to find the vehicles one by one, particularly observe whether the top or body of the vehicles has any deformation traces."

"Roger! I’ll implement it immediately."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang An said solemnly, "Chief, the deceased Li Lan was a student. How are her personal relationships?"

"Regarding her personal relationship, we’ve conducted a thorough investigation."

"However, there hasn’t been any major breakthrough."

Jiang An said solemnly, "For a young student, I believe it’s hard to have significant resentments with others in life."

"The focus should be on investigating romantic relationships."

Mr. Zhang recalled briefly, "Regarding romantic relationships, we’ve looked into this a long time ago."

"Whether in college or high school, we’ve investigated her teachers and classmates."

"We’ve especially checked Li Lan’s boyfriends in high school and university, none of whom are suspect."

Jiang An nodded gently after hearing this.

"The murderer moved from the first to the seventh floor; for this long-distance, high-intensity body transportation, I think the suspect’s physical condition needs thorough consideration."

"In my opinion, it’s challenging for an ordinary person to accomplish this."

"Therefore, I suggest prioritizing investigations around the Sports Academy and fitness centers near Li Lan."

After hearing Jiang An’s analysis, Mr. Zhang nodded.

"That makes sense."

"Next, we’ll focus our investigation on people with excellent physical strength."