latelenovela Chapter 931 Clues from the Scene Investigation
Chapter 931 Clues from the Scene Investigation
"Pay attention to the deceased's fingernails." Old Zhou carefully scraped tissue samples with tweezers. "This may be crucial biological evidence left during the struggle with the murderer." He placed the samples into vacuum blood collection tubes labeled "left hand" and "right hand." "Send them for testing immediately for DNA typing, focusing on comparison with the database of criminal records." At the same time, another forensic doctor was collecting biological samples such as vaginal swabs and oral saliva from the deceased. The sealed bags were clearly marked with the extraction time and location.
In the kitchen, technician Xiao Chen was spraying luminol on the floor. As the purple-blue fluorescence appeared in the tile grout, a cleaned-up bloodstain gradually became clear. "The murderer tried to clean the scene, but luminol reacts with the iron ions in hemoglobin, so even the faintest bloodstain has nowhere to hide." Xiao Chen adjusted the camera settings, using long exposure to capture the fluorescence reaction. "The bloodstain points towards the living room, likely left by the victim struggling after being injured."
Forensic investigators meticulously examined all items at the scene. On the deceased's dressing table, a broken gold ring caught their attention. "The ring is engraved with the letters 'LY'," a technician observed, using a macro lens to capture the details, "possibly initials." They also found half a torn delivery slip in a trash can, piecing together some information: "The recipient's name is unclear, but the address shows a gym near the Beizhou residential area."
The investigation continued late into the night. Every corner of the scene was repeatedly examined: signs of rummaging through the underwear in the wardrobe, the distribution of dust under the bed, the status of electrical plugs, and even the trash in the bins was emptied and sorted for inspection. Qin Chuan stood at the door, watching the busy investigators, his mind constantly piecing together the details of the case.
Meanwhile, the identity of the deceased was finally confirmed. Through investigation by the police station, it was determined that the deceased's name was Wang Xiaoyu.
Inside the property management office of Beizhou Residential Complex, Qin Chuan and Li Ming were verifying information with the property manager. The property manager pulled out the owner's file, his hands trembling slightly: "The deceased was named Wang Xiaoyu, 28 years old, an accountant at Haitian Trading Company. She bought this house two years ago. She was usually a loner, paid her property fees on time, and was not very noticeable."
Qin Chuan quickly deployed police forces to conduct investigations in multiple groups. One group of officers went straight to Haitian Trading Company. In the financial director's office, supervisor Liu Fang looked at Wang Xiaoyu's photo with a shocked expression: "Xiaoyu is a very hardworking person. She arrives and leaves work on time every day, never late or leaving early. She is introverted and rarely participates in company gatherings. Her colleagues don't interact with her much." The officers carefully reviewed Wang Xiaoyu's attendance records and work handover documents. Indeed, as Liu Fang said, Wang Xiaoyu's work performance had been stable for the past three months, with no unusual leave requests or disputes.
Another group of officers conducted door-to-door inquiries in the neighborhood. The convenience store owner scratched his head, recalling, "This girl always came to buy yogurt and bread. She didn't talk much, just nodded to everyone she saw. I never saw her bring any friends home, but a deliveryman often came to deliver packages." The officers, armed with their records, quickly followed up and found Li Qiang, the deliveryman responsible for the area. Li Qiang flipped through the delivery records: "Wang Xiaoyu does frequently shop online, mostly clothes and cosmetics. She's very polite when receiving packages, but the last delivery was last week; I haven't seen her since she signed for it."
While checking Wang Xiaoyu's communication records, the police found that the number she called most frequently belonged to Chen Juan, a colleague at Haitian Trading Company. At Chen Juan's home, the young woman, with tears in her eyes, said, "Xiaoyu and I live close by, and we sometimes take the subway together after get off work. She never mentioned anything about her family, nor did she say she had any conflicts with anyone. However, last month she said she met a nice online friend, and she seemed quite happy about it."
As the investigation deepened, police obtained Wang Xiaoyu's bank statements. The statements showed that her monthly salary arrived on time, and aside from daily expenses and mortgage payments, she had no large expenditures. However, three months prior, a 5000 yuan transfer caught her attention; the recipient was an account belonging to a bar called "Dark Night Bar." Officers immediately went to the bar, where the owner, flipping through the ledgers, explained, "We held a raffle; Wang Xiaoyu might have won." However, further investigation revealed that the bar had never held any such event.
Police found frequent online chat logs on Wang Xiaoyu's social media accounts. By recovering deleted conversations using technical means, a user with the online name "Deep Sea Fish" appeared with extremely high frequency. The two chatted about everything from daily life to hobbies; Wang Xiaoyu even shared her address and photos. However, when police tried to trace "Deep Sea Fish's" IP address, they discovered that the user was using a virtual proxy, making them difficult to track.
Meanwhile, the results of the physical evidence tests came back one after another. The DNA extracted from the skin tissue under the victim's fingernails did not match any records in the database; the dark blue fibers found at the scene were identified as common denim fabric; and the shoe prints on the windowsill, although of a unique style, were still in circulation in small quantities. These clues, though seemingly abundant, could not form a complete chain of evidence.
Qin Chuan returned to Wang Xiaoyu's home and stood in the center of the messy living room, trying to reconstruct the murderer's actions. The bedroom wardrobe was ransacked, but the jewelry and cash in the drawers were still there; a wet bath towel hung on the bathroom towel rack, indicating that the murderer may have washed himself after committing the crime; and two unfinished cups of coffee were on the dining table, one of which tested positive for sleeping pills.
“The murderer and Wang Xiaoyu must know each other, and their relationship might even be unusual,” Qin Chuan analyzed to Li Ming. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t have let her drink coffee at home and then let her relax her guard by giving her sleeping pills.” But as the investigation’s network of relationships continued to expand, no suspicious individuals were found. Wang Xiaoyu’s parents lived far away in their hometown, and apart from monthly phone calls, they had no financial dealings; her university classmates were scattered all over the country, and she had not been in contact with them recently.
Just as the investigation reached a stalemate, a police officer noticed something unusual in the surveillance footage outside the residential area. At 8 PM on the night of the incident, a black sedan lingered outside the area for nearly half an hour, its license plate deliberately obscured. However, analysis of the vehicle's characteristics and driving trajectory revealed that the car ultimately headed towards the southern suburbs of the city. This clue revitalized the task force, and Qin Chuan immediately ordered: "Check all surveillance footage in the southern suburbs, track the vehicle's movements, and focus on investigating whether Wang Xiaoyu had been active in the southern suburbs before her death."
As night deepened, the lights remained on in the Criminal Investigation Division's office. The whiteboard was covered with photos of Wang Xiaoyu, relationship charts, and physical evidence, yet the complete truth could not be pieced together.
Three hours after the incident, the body had been transported to the forensic autopsy room, where the smell of disinfectant mingled with the cold air. Forensic pathologist Zhang Lin, dressed in a dark green autopsy gown, protective mask, and double-layered latex gloves, gently tapped his scalpel on the instrument tray, producing a crisp sound. His assistant, Xiao Wu, set up a 4K camera and adjusted the recording equipment, ensuring every detail was fully captured.