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

Chapter 1468 Dissection Discoveries

Zhang Lin nodded, gently pressing his fingertips on the livor mortis area of ​​the corpse: "Good. The fixation and color depth of the livor mortis, combined with the ambient temperature of about 12°C last night, preliminarily confirm the previous time of death estimate. However, the exact time of death still needs to be determined by combining internal organ dissection, corneal opacity, and the digestion of stomach contents. Focus on examining the fatal wound on the neck first; this is the key breakthrough."

He picked up the tweezers and carefully parted the collar and hair around the victim's neck, smoothing out the skin. The ligature marks on the victim's neck were clearly visible, forming a horizontal ring around the neck, slightly overlapping at the center. The marks were approximately 0.3 cm wide, with a uniform depth, reaching a maximum of 0.8 cm. The edges were neat, without any obvious serrated scratches. "Xiao Lin, carefully observe the shape of the ligature marks. The width is uniform, the edges are neat, and there are no signs of shifting or overlapping marks caused by struggle. This matches the characteristics of strangulation with a thin metal wire, and the perpetrator applied force evenly and consistently."

Xiao Lin leaned closer to examine it and gently touched the edge of the ligature groove with a dissecting needle: "Teacher Zhang, there is slight epidermal abrasion and subcutaneous bruising around the ligature groove, but the area is very small. Does this mean that there was no violent struggle when the neck was strangled?"

“Yes.” Zhang Lin took out a magnifying glass and carefully examined the details of the ligature groove. “The peeling of the skin at the edge of the ligature groove was caused by the friction of the metal wire. The subcutaneous bruising is relatively mild, and the shape of the ligature groove is continuous without any interruptions or overlaps. This indicates that the victim may have lost the ability to resist when being strangled, or that the murderer attacked suddenly from behind with rapid and sustained force, leaving the victim no time to struggle. In addition, note the direction of the ligature groove. It is horizontal and circular, without any upward or downward tilt. This indicates that the murderer was of similar height to the victim or at the same level when committing the crime. Considering the environment at the scene, it is highly likely that the crime was committed while the victim was standing.”

He used a ruler to measure various data of the ligament groove and reported them to Xiaolin for recording: "The circumference of the ligament groove is 38 cm, the width is 0.32 cm, the depth is 0.7 to 0.8 cm, the width of the overlapping part of the ligament groove in front of the neck is 0.5 cm, and the subcutaneous bruising at the overlapping area is relatively deep. Skin tissue and subcutaneous tissue samples were extracted from the edge of the ligament groove and sent for pathological analysis to confirm whether there is any metal residue and the degree of tissue damage."

Xiao Lin immediately used sterile scissors to cut off a small amount of skin and subcutaneous tissue, placed it in a pathology sample bottle numbered "JS-001," sealed it, and labeled it. "Teacher Zhang, were there any obvious external injuries found on other parts of the body?" Xiao Lin asked while organizing the samples.

Zhang Lin examined the body in sequence, starting with the head, then the torso, and finally the limbs, carefully touching every inch of skin with his fingertips: "The head showed no external injuries, no depressed skull fractures, and no subcutaneous hematoma; the chest and abdomen were intact, with no puncture or lacerations, and no crepitus was heard upon palpation, indicating no rib fractures; the limbs showed no joint dislocations, no signs of binding or resistance, and no foreign objects were found under the fingernails, consistent with the findings of the crime scene investigation. The deceased's palms were clean, with no signs of gripping, further indicating a rapid death without any effective resistance."

He paused, his gaze falling on the deceased's fingernails: "Extract the residue from under the deceased's fingernails. Although there are no foreign objects visible to the naked eye, we need to conduct trace evidence testing to rule out the possibility of trace fibers or skin tissue residue. In addition, collect hair samples and oral swabs from the deceased to supplement the DNA database comparison materials."

Xiao Lin collected samples one by one as required and recorded them with numbers. Then, Zhang Lin picked up a scalpel and began the autopsy. The scalpel cut along the midline of the sternum from top to bottom. The blade was sharp, and the skin, subcutaneous tissue, and muscle layer were cut open in sequence, exposing the organs inside the chest cavity. "Observe the condition inside the chest cavity carefully, whether there is any blood or fluid accumulation, and whether the organs are damaged."

After opening the chest cavity, the lung tissue was dark red and slightly swollen. Zhang Lin lifted the lung with forceps and gently pressed it, and a small amount of dark red fluid seeped out. "The lungs showed congestion and edema, which are consistent with death by asphyxiation. We will extract lung tissue samples for histopathological examination and check for air embolism in the alveoli to rule out other causes of asphyxiation."

He further examined the heart, trachea, bronchi, and other organs: "The heart is of normal size, with punctate hemorrhages under the epicardium, which is a typical sign of death by mechanical asphyxiation. There are no foreign objects in the trachea and bronchi, the mucosa is smooth, and there is no edema or bleeding, ruling out aspiration asphyxiation. The esophageal mucosa is intact and undamaged, indicating that there was no forced feeding or swallowing of foreign objects."

As Xiaolin took notes, she added, "Teacher Zhang, what other characteristics are there of death from mechanical asphyxiation? Besides pulmonary congestion and subepicardial hemorrhage, are there any other supporting evidence?"

"There's also conjunctival hemorrhage, cerebral congestion and edema," Zhang Lin said, opening the cranial cavity with a scalpel. "We'll examine the brain tissue later. Also, mechanical asphyxiation has several forms. The characteristics of strangulation differ from those of hanging and strangulation. Hanging shows a tilted ligature mark and a feeling of emptiness, while strangulation shows finger marks. The ligature mark on this body is typical of strangulation. Combined with the lung and heart injuries, we can basically pinpoint the cause of death, but a complete autopsy is needed to confirm it and rule out other contributing factors."

After opening the cranial cavity, the brain tissue was dark red, swollen, with shallow sulci and widened gyri, consistent with congestion and edema. Zhang Lin gently separated the brain tissue with forceps and examined the cerebral blood vessels: "The cerebral blood vessels are dilated and congested, there is no subarachnoid hemorrhage, and there is no brain tissue contusion, ruling out death from craniocerebral injury. There are scattered punctate hemorrhages in the conjunctiva of the eyelids, about 20 in number, evenly distributed, further confirming death by asphyxiation."

He extracted a sample of brain tissue and placed it in a pathology bottle, then began examining the abdominal organs. "The abdominal organs were intact. The liver, spleen, kidneys, and other organs were dark red with obvious congestion, but there was no rupture or necrosis. The stomach contents weighed about 150 grams and were in a semi-digested state, with visible rice, vegetable fiber, and a small amount of meat residue, but no unusual odor."

Zhang Lin used a sterile container to extract some stomach contents: "Xiao Lin, record the characteristics and weight of the stomach contents and send them for toxicology testing and digestion analysis. Based on the digestion of the stomach contents and the type of food, determine the time of the last meal, and then accurately estimate the time of death. Generally speaking, rice and vegetables stay in the stomach for about 4 to 6 hours, while meat stays for a little longer, about 6 to 8 hours."

"Understood." Xiaolin quickly took notes. "The stomach contents had no unusual odor, so can we rule out the possibility of poisoning?"

“We can’t completely rule it out.” Zhang Lin shook his head. “Some poisons don’t cause noticeable odors in the stomach contents, and some poisons are metabolized quickly. We need to conduct comprehensive toxicology testing using blood, liver, and kidney samples to rule out the possibility of acute poisoning complicated by suffocation. We will extract blood, liver, and kidney tissue samples from the deceased and send them for toxicology analysis. The testing scope includes common pesticides, sleeping pills, alkaloids, etc.”