flstandardbreds Chapter 1405 Murder Scene at the West Suburbs Park
Chapter 1405 Murder Scene at the West Suburbs Park
Less than a week after the Luo Baojun case was closed, the Criminal Investigation Division received another report.
At 6:15 a.m., the emergency call from the Municipal Criminal Investigation Detachment suddenly rang, breaking the morning's tranquility. On the other end of the line, the caller, Xu Hongli, spoke in a trembling, incoherent voice: "Officer... come quickly! I found a body in the grass at Xijiao Park, I'm terrified!" The dispatcher calmed Xu Hongli down while quickly recording key information: the crime scene was a grassy area about 300 meters inside the north gate of Xijiao Park; the caller, Xu Hongli, was a 62-year-old woman who exercised in the park that morning.
Five minutes later, Captain Li Ming led his investigation team on a whirlwind trip, accompanied by technicians Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun, who were in charge of the on-site investigation, and 10 other investigators. The investigation vehicle and police cars sped towards the West Suburbs Park. Li Ming quickly deployed the work in the car: "The first group, upon arrival, will immediately set up a cordon, sealing off the north gate of the park and the surrounding area, prohibiting unauthorized personnel from entering; the second group will be responsible for comforting the complainant, Xu Hongli, and obtaining detailed information about the time, circumstances, and original state of the scene when the body was discovered; Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun, carrying a full set of investigation equipment, will strictly follow the principle of 'from near to far, then from far to near' to conduct the on-site investigation, focusing on extracting footprints, fibers, hair, and other trace evidence, ensuring a comprehensive, meticulous, and thorough examination."
At 6:40 a.m., the team arrived at the north gate of Xijiao Park. Many citizens who were already exercising in the park gathered outside the cordon after learning of the discovery of the body, discussing the incident. Li Ming got out of the vehicle and immediately assessed the scene: Xijiao Park is one of the city's larger urban parks. The north gate is adjacent to a residential area, with an open lawn to the west, dense shrubs to the west, an artificial lake to the east, and access to the park's central square to the south. The surrounding vegetation is lush, and the terrain is relatively complex. "Immediately expand the cordon, block all access routes from the north gate to the lawn area, and arrange for patrols to prevent unauthorized personnel from disturbing the scene," Li Ming ordered.
Xiao Yang and Xiao Sun quickly donned their surveying suits, shoe covers, gloves, and masks, slung their heavy survey kits over their shoulders, and strode towards the core of the crime scene. The kits were neatly arranged with specialized equipment including fingerprint scanners, magnetic powder, fluorescent powder, tweezers, evidence bags, measuring tape, trace extraction tape, fiber adhesive, multi-band light source, electrostatic adsorption device, crime scene investigation light, footprint plaster casting kit, compass, and crime scene drawing board. The two first conducted an overall observation of the scene, determined the survey benchmark, and prepared to conduct the investigation according to the principle of "from near to far."
"The core crime scene is located on a lawn 300 meters inside the north gate of the West Suburbs Park. The lawn vegetation is Zoysia japonica, about 8 centimeters high. The body is in a prone position, with the head facing northwest and the feet facing southeast. The upper body is buried in the grass, while the lower body is exposed." Xiao Yang explained the basic situation of the scene to Xiao Sun while shining an investigation light on the body and the surrounding area. "Preliminary observation shows that the body is fully clothed, and no obvious drag marks were found. The surrounding lawn has slight flattening, suggesting that this may be the primary crime scene." Xiao Sun then drew a location map of the scene, accurately marking the position of the body, the extent of the cordon, the distribution of surrounding vegetation, and the location of key landmarks.
The two first conducted a detailed examination of the area within one meter of the body. This was the first step in the "from near to far" investigation and a key area for extracting core trace evidence. Xiao Yang squatted down and used an investigation light to illuminate the ground from different angles, carefully observing the traces on the lawn: "Two clear footprints were found, located about 50 centimeters northwest of the body's head, parallel to each other, initially identified as male footprints." He immediately measured the footprints with a tape measure: "Shoe size 42, athletic casual shoes, diamond-pattern tread, less wear on the forefoot tread, more wear on the heel, suggesting the footprint owner was between 25 and 35 years old, 175-180 centimeters tall, and weighed 70-75 kilograms."
Xiao Sun then took out his footprint plaster casting kit and began extracting the footprint: "The site is a soft lawn, and the footprint is about 1.2 centimeters deep, which is suitable for plaster casting." He first surrounded the footprint with cardboard to prevent plaster from overflowing during the casting process. Then, he mixed plaster in a 1:1 ratio and slowly poured it into the footprint, ensuring that the plaster filled every detail of the footprint. "After the plaster is cast, it needs to be allowed to solidify for 30 minutes, during which time the surrounding area will continue to be surveyed," Xiao Sun said.
About 30 centimeters to the right of the body, Xiao Yang found a small amount of scattered clothing fibers: "The fibers are white, about 0.5-1 centimeters long, and are initially identified as nylon. Whether they match the material of the deceased's clothing needs further testing." He immediately used a fiber extractor to extract the fiber sample and placed it in an evidence bag labeled "Fiber Sample No. 1 at the Scene." At the same time, he carefully combed through the grass around the body with tweezers and found a black hair about 8 centimeters long below the waist of the body. After sealing it in an evidence bag, he labeled it "Hair Sample No. 1 at the Scene."
Subsequently, the two conducted a preliminary examination of the body's clothing, performing an illegal autopsy. They only recorded the condition of the clothing and surface traces: the deceased was wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and white sneakers. The clothing showed no obvious damage, but there was a small amount of soil attached to the collar of the T-shirt and the knees of the jeans. The soil color matched that of the grass at the scene. "No obvious bloodstains, oil stains, or other abnormal traces were found on the surface of the clothing. The soil adhesion is consistent with the characteristics of a body lying down naturally," Xiao Yang recorded. At the same time, they used trace extraction tape to extract a trace substance sample from the surface of the clothing, marking it as "Sample No. 1 at the Scene."
After completing the investigation within a 1-meter radius of the body, the two expanded the investigation area to 5 meters, 10 meters, and 20 meters, gradually extending outwards, following the principle of "from near to far." About 3 meters northwest of the body, on the lawn, Xiao Sun discovered a third footprint, consistent with the two previously extracted footprints in shoe size, type, and tread pattern: "This footprint was located between the body and the bushes, in a walking posture, with a stride of about 75 centimeters and a step angle of about 15 degrees, further confirming that the footprint's owner had been active at the scene." He also extracted this footprint using plaster casting and labeled it "Footprint Sample No. 2 at the Scene."
About 5 meters east of the body, on the edge of the lawn, Xiao Yang found a slight patch of fallen grass, about 1 square meter in area, with the grass falling towards the body: "The edge of the fallen grass patch is irregular and fan-shaped, which is speculated to have been formed when the suspect had a brief contact or dispute with the deceased, but no obvious signs of a struggle were found." He shone a multi-band light source on the area and found no bloodstains, hair or other suspicious traces, but extracted a few white fibers, which were similar in characteristics to the fibers extracted around the body, and marked them as "Fiber Sample No. 2 at the Scene".