56: The case gradually became clear, Gao Ze's judgment

"What important clue is it?"

Liu Wenzhong and several Criminal Police in the living room all looked at Gao Ze.

Forensic examination is an extremely important procedure in criminal investigations, as it can uncover many clues that ordinary eyes cannot perceive.

Originally, they planned to send the body to the Forensic Appraisal Center for a detailed examination after the on-site investigation was completed, but if Gao Ze could find something during the on-site autopsy, that would be even better.

"I have already determined the time of victim Feng Changlin's death."

Gao Ze said, "He was likely killed about three hours ago, around 4:30 PM, with a margin of error of half an hour either way."

"Why do you say that?"

Liu Wenzhong asked curiously, as forensic doctors always provide evidence when giving their findings.

Gao Ze did not feel questioned and patiently explained:

"I examined Feng Changlin's body's muscle response to stimulation; it has gone from relaxed and elastic to rigid. For example, his lower limbs are straight, and his hands are in a half-clenched state, not easily returning to their original shape. This is an early sign of rigor mortis.

It usually appears 1-3 hours after death."

"After the human body dies, due to the obstruction of corneal glycosaminoglycan and water molecule interaction, the water molecules in the pupil increase and sugar decreases, causing the human corneal to become cloudy."

"Typically, after five hours of death, the body's pupils will show crystal-like white specks, and as time progresses, they become more turbid and spread.

However, Feng Changlin's eyes are still like a normal person's; corneal opacity has not appeared yet."

"Additionally, there's the body temperature. After a person dies, in a room temperature environment, the body temperature will decrease by 0.5°C every hour. I felt Feng Changlin's body, and it was just over 35°C."

"Brother Gao are truly professional!"

After listening, Liu Wenzhong gave a thumbs-up and smiled apologetically, saying,

"I wasn't questioning you just now, our Criminal Police need to record the investigation basis!"

Gao Ze didn't mind: "Of course I understand, I am a Police!"

Liu Wenzhong hesitated, wanting to ask Gao Ze why he was a Traffic Police. With such professional and strong criminal investigation skills, wouldn't he be able to utilize his talents better as a Criminal Police?

However, the case was of utmost importance now, and it was not the time to discuss personal matters.

"Any other findings?" Liu Wenzhong continued to ask.

"Yes!" Gao Ze said:

"Based on the shape, number, and depth of the stab wounds on the victim's body, the weapon used to kill Feng Changlin was likely a sharp short knife or dagger about thirty-five centimeters long."

"Additionally, the deceased Feng Changlin had five stab wounds on his body, with the fatal wound being on his neck.

The others were scattered on his arms, thighs, and chest, mostly irregular and random in shape, with the cuts sometimes deeper on the left and sometimes deeper on the right. This suggests the killer intentionally used both their left and right hands, aiming to confuse the Police's judgment of their methods."

Liu Wenzhong's gaze was solemn, and he said in surprise:

"It seems the killer also possesses certain anti-reconnaissance methods, trying to evade our Police's criminal profiling."

"Yes!"

Gao Ze nodded and said, "The killer indeed has anti-reconnaissance methods, striking with precision and ruthlessness, and being careful to avoid revealing their behavioral habits."

"This must be a premeditated crime, perhaps even rehearsed!"

"I understand, Brother Gao, have you found any other clues?"

"These are all the clues from Feng Changlin's body. The killer's method was very clean, leaving no obvious clues or exposing behavioral habits."

Gao Ze shook his head and said, "If you want to search for more detailed clues on the body, you can send it to the Forensic Appraisal Center for a deeper autopsy or pathological analysis."

"I'll go to the scene and see if there are any other discoveries."

"You all go find the maid from Feng Changlin's villa and question her."

"Okay, then we'll trouble Brother Gao to help us check for omissions and see if any other clues can be found."

Liu Wenzhong was both hopeful and felt there wasn't much hope.

Gao Ze's forensic skills were professional, but that didn't mean he was strong at on-site investigation and evidence collection.

That was their Criminal Police's specialty, and Feng Changlin's villa had been jointly inspected and investigated by more than ten of their Criminal Police, who had reached a unanimous judgment.

"Xiao Huang, accompany Brother Gao and take a look together."

Gao Ze didn't know Liu Wenzhong's thoughts, and if he did, he would only smile.

When it came to criminal case skills and criminal investigation experience, these were the renowned skills that made him a criminal investigation expert in his previous life.

Forensic medicine and various other knowledge and skills were all things he learned and mastered later on.

"Brother Gao, this is the room of the victim Feng Changlin's wife, Ye Ping. She was killed in the bathroom inside the master bedroom, with the fatal wound being in her heart."

"Also, many cabinets in the master bedroom were rummaged through, so the killer likely saw an opportunity for wealth and stole valuables."

Liu Wenzhong instructed a squadron leader, Huang Xun, to lead Gao Ze in examining each victim and conducting on-site investigation and evidence collection, checking for any omissions.

Gao Ze glanced at the deceased Ye Ping in the master bedroom's bathroom. She was also lying in a pool of blood, her upper body exposed. She was likely killed while bathing and getting dressed, her face filled with terror.

It was clear that the victim Ye Ping was caught off guard and shocked by the sudden intrusion of the killer.

However, Gao Ze did not immediately perform an autopsy on the victim Ye Ping.

Instead, he carefully examined the layout of the master bedroom and the randomly rummaged cabinets and drawers in the room.

Feng Changlin's autopsy was already complete, and the results of victim Ye Ping's autopsy would likely be similar, not revealing many clues.

Instead, the traces of the cabinets and drawers being rummaged through in the room were glaringly obvious clues.

Gao Ze looked at the mahogany bedside cabinet in the master bedroom, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Because this bedside cabinet had five drawers, only the top two were pulled out, while the bottom three were closed.

This was a very unprofessional action.

If it were a home invasion or an attempt to steal valuables, robbers would usually pull out the drawers one by one from the bottom, not from the top down. If they pulled out the top drawers, it would block the lower drawers from opening, wasting time and effort.

"The killer deliberately did this, probably to mislead the Police into thinking it was a home invasion and murder!"

"This is definitely a crime committed by an acquaintance!"

Gao Ze was already certain in his mind. Only then did he walk to the master bedroom bathroom to perform an autopsy on the victim Ye Ping.

The autopsy results were the same as Feng Changlin's, with no other findings.

"Let's go to the other victim's room!"

After the on-site investigation and autopsy were completed, Gao Ze successively went to the rooms of the other victims, Feng Jiansen, Feng Xue, and Feng Yushuang, to conduct a detailed search for evidence and perform preliminary autopsies.

In these rooms, drawers and cabinets were also pulled open.

But they were all like Ye Ping's room, just for show, to mislead towards a home invasion and robbery.

The autopsy results of their respective victims also didn't show much difference; the time of death was similar, and the killing method was clean and swift.

However, after the overall investigation,

Gao Ze still had two findings.

Firstly, among the five deceased, the victims Feng Changlin and his son Feng Jiansen were male, with fatal wounds on their necks.

The victims Ye Ping, Feng Xue, and Feng Yushuang were female, with fatal wounds in their hearts.

Additionally, Feng Changlin's daughter, Feng Yushuang, was a girl of fifteen or sixteen, and she also had a knife wound on the inner side of her thigh, which was different from the knife wound locations of the other four victims.

"Team Leader Huang, where is the display wall with photos of Feng Changlin's family?"

Gao Ze remembered the family photo of Feng Changlin and the old lady Ye Qian that Liu Wenzhong showed him. There was also a special family member, Feng Yu, in the photo.

"The display wall is on the second floor, and there are still quite a few photos there."

Huang Xun led Gao Ze to the display wall on the second floor. This wall displayed many honor certificates and trophies, all won by Feng Yushuang. Additionally, there were many group photos.

Besides the one Liu Wenzhong showed Gao Ze.

There were also wedding photos, individual photos, and landscape photos, all of Feng Jiansen, Feng Xue, and Feng Yushuang.

In the center of the display wall, there was also a photo with more people, with text recording [Congratulations to Mother Ye Qian on her sixty-fifth birthday, Date November 2023....]

Gao Ze picked up this photo and carefully examined the seventeen people in it.

"Brother Gao, this is Feng Changlin's older sister, Feng Yu, and this is the victim Feng Changlin's maid, Sister Jiang Meifang. She was the one who reported it to our Huangpu District Criminal Police Brigade."

Huang Xun pointed out the two individuals to Gao Ze.

Gao Ze followed the direction of his finger, looked for a while, then took out his phone and took a picture of the photo.

"Brother Gao, did you find anything?"

Looking at Gao Ze's actions, Huang Xun's expression was strange.

"Yes, I found something. Let's go see Team Leader Liu, he should have also gotten some information from the maid Jiang Meifang."

Gao Ze walked down from the villa to the courtyard and found Liu Wenzhong and several Criminal Police questioning the woman, who was around fifty years old and had a simple appearance. She was the maid Jiang Meifang.

On the swing in the courtyard sat an old lady, drooling, who was the victim Feng Changlin's mother, Ye Qian.

She was the only survivor of the murder case, but the Criminal Police's attempts to question her were completely futile.

"Brother Gao, did you find anything?"

Liu Wenzhong saw Gao Ze and asked with a smile.

"Of course I won't disappoint Team Leader Liu!"

Liu Wenzhong: "???"

He really hadn't put much hope in Gao Ze.

..........................................