flstandardbreds Chapter 1421 Dismembered Corpse in Nanhu Park
Chapter 1421 Dismembered Corpse in Nanhu Park
As the sun set, its afterglow bathed the Criminal Investigation Division's office building, casting a warm and dazzling golden light. Xiao Zhou stood by the window, gazing at the scenery outside, his heart filled with emotion. He knew that solving this case was just a microcosm of criminal investigation work; many more cases awaited their investigation, and many more cases awaited their defense of justice. But he firmly believed that as long as they remained true to their original aspirations and kept their mission in mind, there was no case they couldn't solve, and no criminal they couldn't apprehend.
Just one week after the murder case at Xijiao Park was solved, the Criminal Investigation Division received another report.
A firsthand account of the on-site investigation of the dismemberment case involving a floating suitcase at Nanhu Square.
At 7:15 a.m., the phone at the city's Criminal Investigation Detachment command center rang suddenly, shattering the morning's tranquility. The caller was Zhou Guiying, a sanitation worker at Nanhu Square. Her voice trembled violently, almost incoherent: "Police officers, come to Nanhu Square quickly! While I was retrieving fallen leaves and branches from the lake, I pulled up a black leather suitcase. When I opened it, inside... inside was a human body, dismembered into several pieces! It's terrifying!"
While calming Zhou Guiying down, the dispatcher quickly recorded key information: the incident occurred near the north-facing waterfront platform in the central lake area of Nanhu Square; the complainant, Zhou Guiying, female, 58 years old, is a sanitation worker at the square; the suitcase was discovered at 7:12 AM; the scene has been secured, and the contents of the suitcase have not been touched. The command center immediately activated the emergency response mechanism for major criminal cases, reporting the case to the branch captain, Li Ming, and dispatching nearby police forces to the scene for cordon and security.
At 7:32 AM, Li Ming led his investigation team to Nanhu Square. A small number of residents were already exercising at the square. Upon learning of the discovery of a body by the lake, they gathered outside the police cordon, their voices rising and falling in a cacophony of exclamations and gasps. After getting out of the car, Li Ming first observed the overall environment: Nanhu Square is the city's core leisure square, with an oval-shaped central lake covering approximately 8000 square meters. It is bordered by the main urban road, "Hubin Road," to the north, a green landscape belt to the south, a children's playground to the east, and a fitness equipment area to the west. The suitcase was found in the water below the waterfront platform on the north side of the central lake. The water was about 1.5 meters deep, with steps extending from the shore to the surface, a common area for citizens to enjoy the water and feed the fish.
"Immediately expand the cordon!" Li Ming made a decisive decision and gave orders to the investigation team members around him. "Using the waterfront platform where the suitcase was found as the core, extend northward to the north side of the lakeside road pedestrian walkway, southward to cover the central lake area and the surrounding 50-meter green area, and eastward and westward 100 meters to the boundary of the square's functional area. Set up a double-layered cordon, assign 8 team members to guard in four directions, strictly prohibit any unauthorized personnel from entering the cordon area, and at the same time evacuate the onlookers, protect the safety of the person who reported the case, and prevent the scene from being damaged."
The investigation team acted swiftly, setting up yellow warning tape. Uniformed officers formed a human wall around the tape and orderly dispersed the onlookers. Li Ming then found Zhou Guiying, the person who reported the incident, who was still trembling, and conducted an initial questioning at the temporary office of the square management office: "Aunt Zhou, please tell me slowly, how exactly did you find this suitcase? What was the condition of the suitcase when you found it?"
Zhou Guiying took a sip of hot water, her emotions calming slightly. She choked back tears as she recalled, “I arrive at my post at 6 a.m. every morning, responsible for dredging fallen leaves and trash from the central lake. Today, around 7 a.m., I was pushing the dredging boat along the north bank when I saw a large black leather suitcase in the water below the waterfront platform. Half of it was floating on the surface, and the other half was submerged, tangled in some water plants. I thought it was an old suitcase someone had discarded, so I tried to use a dredging net to pull it up and throw it into the garbage truck. But when I pulled it up, I saw that the suitcase was zipped up, but not completely locked, leaving a gap. I peeked through the gap and saw something fleshy inside. I thought it was pork, so I tried to open it to see what it was. But when I opened it, I found human arms and legs inside! I was terrified and immediately threw away the net and called the police.”
"Before you found the suitcase, did you see any suspicious people around the lake? Or did you see anyone throwing things into the lake?" Li Ming pressed. Zhou Guiying shook her head: "When I arrived at my post at 6 o'clock, there were only a few elderly people doing their morning exercises by the lake, all in the fitness area in the distance. I didn't see anyone lingering on the waterfront platform. Also, the fog was a bit thick this morning, so visibility was poor, and I couldn't see the situation in the distance very clearly."
After the initial questioning, Li Ming arrived at the entrance to the cordoned-off area. There, technicians Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun, responsible for the on-site investigation, were already fully equipped with their investigation gear—dark blue investigation suits, puncture-resistant waterproof shoe covers, double-layered latex gloves, protective masks, and goggles—and were waiting for instructions with investigation kits filled with professional equipment. Inside the investigation kits, dozens of professional instruments, including multi-band light sources, electrostatic adsorbers, fingerprint brushes, boar bristle brushes, wool brushes, fiber brushes, magnetic powder in black, silver, red, and fluorescent powders, trace extraction tape, fiber adhesive, footprint plaster injection kits, measuring tapes, compasses, on-site drawing boards, high-resolution digital cameras, full-frame video recording equipment, sealed evidence bags, evidence tags of various sizes, and underwater detectors, were neatly arranged.
"Xiao Yang, Xiao Sun, the on-site investigation is assigned to you. Strictly adhere to the principles of 'from far to near, from static to dynamic, from overall to specific, from ground to water' in your work," Li Ming solemnly instructed. "The core investigation area is divided into three levels: Level 1 is the area where the suitcase floated and the surrounding 5 meters of water, including the waterfront platform; Level 2 is the land area extending 20 meters from the north bank of the central lake, including steps, sidewalks, and green belts; Level 3 is the passageway from the north entrance of the plaza to the lakeside road. Focus on examining traces on the suitcase and body parts, extracting physical evidence such as fibers, footprints, and trace substances from the scene. Also, investigate any possible traces left by the person who disposed of the body. Be meticulous and don't overlook any clues."
"Understood!" Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun responded in unison. They then first divided and marked the survey area, drawing the boundaries on the ground with white chalk. They then entered the third-level survey area to begin the peripheral survey. Xiao Sun carried the video recording equipment and started recording the entire third-level area from the north entrance of the square, focusing on capturing the original state of the ground, green belts, lampposts, and other parts. Xiao Yang, on the other hand, held a high-resolution camera, taking location and overview photos from different angles to ensure a complete record of the relative positions of the site and its surrounding environment.
The ground in the Level 3 exploration area was paved with granite, and it was slightly damp due to the morning fog. Xiao Yang slowly moved his exploration lamp along the ground, carefully observing for any fresh footprints, drag marks, or drip marks.