civil forensic

Chapter 1314 Upstream and Downstream

Chapter 1314 Upstream and Downstream

Changyang Science and Technology Vocational School is located in the southern suburbs of Changyang City. It is neither Changyang, nor science and technology, nor vocational, and it doesn't even look like a school.

The campus management is quite strict; you need facial recognition to enter and exit, and you need to clock in for class. However, the pressure is not as great as in high school, and the student density is also slightly lower.

Cao Chujun specially brought two more policewomen with him to visit the school, and they went through all of Zhang Xianyao's dormitories, classrooms, classmates, friends and teachers.

At the same time, the cyber security team began to examine Zhang Xianyao's mobile phone and laptop, scrutinizing everything from WeChat to browser records. The accompanying image surveillance team, without waiting for Jiang Yuan's instructions, proactively began to collect surveillance footage from the surrounding area. The technical investigation team also became unusually easy to talk to, requiring only a report from the criminal investigation branch before starting work without hesitation, unlike their previous hesitant and reluctant approach.

The intensity of investigation into homicide cases and unnatural deaths can be described as a student taking the Tsinghua University entrance exam without any preparation, or an art student being commissioned to study.

An unnatural death might only require two or three police officers to write a report, but once it's discovered to be a homicide, resources from all sides will converge.

Even in cases of passion-related murders where the suspect surrenders to the police, the amount of evidence and materials that need to be collected is still considerable.

The fact that the suspect has decided to surrender himself due to emotional or other factors does not mean that he will not recant his testimony in court, or even that he will be imprisoned. Inmates can write to the prison prosecutor, which may be two, three, or even ten years from now. By then, let alone whether the police officers who handled the case will remember him, veteran criminal police officers like Cao Chujun may have already retired.

In the end, only paperwork can transcend time.

On the contrary, the problem of solving the case did not seem too difficult to the group.

Even without Dato' Jiang, Cao Chujun believes he is capable of solving this case, let alone with Jiang Yuan around.

Of course, drowning cases are generally more difficult to solve, but Cao Chujun's ability to solve cases is also higher than average.

Previously, the police officers at the local police station believed that the deceased died accidentally while swimming in the wild, so the case was not even formally initiated. Now, the Third Brigade of the Criminal Investigation Detachment has taken over the case. This is an elite team specializing in solving difficult and major cases. Solving a case of intentional injury resulting in drowning is a piece of cake for them...

"I can't handle it." Cao Chujun sighed as he returned from Changyang Vocational School of Science and Technology.

He was a veteran, so he wasn't embarrassed at all when he said this. He just shrugged and said, "He's just an ordinary kid. He doesn't even have a girlfriend, let alone an ex-girlfriend. He doesn't even have a crush! What's wrong with young people these days?"

His deputy added, "The kid didn't have any money, and his relationships with his classmates were neither good nor bad. He didn't seem to have any particularly close friends; at most, he had roommates or classmates with whom he ate in the cafeteria. There was no reason for him to be murdered."

"That's why the police officers who investigated earlier thought it was a case of swimming in the wild." Liu Jinghui, sitting in his office, was not in a hurry and said with a smile, "Now that we have clear evidence that the deceased was beaten before his death, we need to consider what caused the injury. Was it premeditated, caused by circumstances, or... an accident?"

Cao Chujun couldn't help but laugh: "You've said everything. However, the only reason a 17-year-old boy could be murdered is because of love. If we're talking about money, he probably doesn't even have as much money as a food delivery guy."

"Hmm...but random killings or robberies should be considered last." Liu Jinghui ended Cao Chujun's probing with a single sentence.

The task force cannot rely on exhaustive methods forever when investigating an investigation. Whenever possible, everyone should use their intelligence and evidence to eliminate unsuitable approaches and then concentrate resources on the most appropriate ones.

At times like these, investigators also need to understand the thoughts of the person in charge of the special task force.

For example, should we consider the robbery-murder route, or should we give it priority consideration?

Because this route is the most difficult and likely the most costly—of course, different investigation strategies will result in different costs. The common approach to investigating robbery and murder is to consider the case of a prior offender, often involving the use of informants or the search for stolen goods.

For example, the deceased Zhang Xianyao's phone was never found. It's possible it fell into the Taihe River, but if this is linked to someone who sells stolen goods, it could raise suspicion of robbery. Of course, it's also possible that someone else found the phone. In that case, we need to ask why the deceased was separated from his phone, where and when he found it, and especially why the phone was switched off in a certain location.

Liu Jinghui clearly wanted to choose the approach of starting with the easier tasks and then moving on to the more difficult ones.

This is not surprising; most task forces have only this one option.

Simultaneously launching multiple investigations requires resources, not only in terms of investigative resources but also a significant investment of personnel. If these investigations were simple enough—as is the case with most homicide cases today—then investing a massive amount of upfront capital would seem somewhat overly ambitious.

However, Cao Chujun was probably somewhat inclined to robbery and murder, which is why he asked Liu Jinghui such a question.

He was also drawing on his own experience, because apart from robbery and similar accidental conflicts, there was no reason for Zhang Xianyao to be murdered.

On the other hand, it's because the task force led by Jiang Yuan definitely has enough resources to launch a multi-threaded investigation, and no one will fuss over it, whether it's necessary or not.

It's like a child who's the top student in their grade at a top provincial school, and they ask for extra tutoring in several subjects, or even multiple tutors for a particular subject. Would anyone object? Would anyone discuss the waste of tutoring fees?

thump.

Jiang Yuan pushed open the door and entered, looking travel-worn.

"How about it?"

Jiang Yuan and Liu Jinghui asked each other in unison.

"Let me first describe our current progress." Liu Jinghui then gave a brief description of today's investigation, and Cao Chujun added a few words from the side.

Jiang Yuan listened, nodded, and said, "I walked through the section of the river near the deceased's school, and I had the lab take electron microscope images of the diatoms we retrieved. This basically confirmed the location where the deceased fell into the water."

As he spoke, Jiang Yuan looked at the map hanging on the scene and circled it with a red pen.

"Two kilometers downstream from the school," Jiang Yuan said, marking the exact location and distance on the edge of the circle.

The newly acquired skills are very useful. They eliminate the need for the lab to act as an intermediary, and if you do it yourself, you naturally won't have to wait so long.

Cao Chujun immediately turned around, picked up a report, checked it again, and said, "This location doesn't match the phone's location. The last known location of the phone signal was near the school..."

The phone's location was only obtained after the special task force was established. Before that, since it was determined to be an unnatural death rather than a murder, technical investigation resources could not and would not have been used.

Jiang Yuan simply hummed in agreement and said, "The phone and the person were separated, more than 2 kilometers apart, which further proves it wasn't a wild swim. There are no surveillance cameras at the point where the phone fell into the water. Check the surrounding area, and look at the people whose phones were overlapping. Are there any people with criminal records, or anyone the deceased knew... Are there any eyewitnesses?"

“Some people saw Zhang Xianyao leave from the south gate and head towards the river. A couple who were taking a walk near the river also saw him, and then there was no more sighting,” Cao Chujun said.

"Is it going upstream or downstream?" Liu Jinghui interjected.

Cao Chujun hurriedly went to check and then said, "It's going downstream."

“There are conditions for swimming in the wild downstream. Theoretically, if he is going to swim in the wild, he can leave his phone in the dormitory, but to avoid the trouble of entering and leaving the campus, it is also reasonable to leave it in a store outside the campus.” The probability of Liu Jinghui’s suggestion is not high and there are many preconditions, but it is a cost-effective suggestion that can be solved by asking two police officers.

Cao Chujun immediately agreed, saying, "I'll have someone visit these shops to see if they've seen Zhang Xianyao."

"We also need to visit all the students on campus, and ask around among students in surrounding schools and residential areas. Zhang Xianyao's nose was broken, and his brow bone was also fractured. This won't be easy; it will take some strength and courage." Jiang Yuan thought for a moment and then continued to make arrangements.

There's an event this afternoon where China Literature Group and the Pudong Cyber ​​Security Bureau are exchanging ideas. I'll just sit in and listen, maybe I can manage to pick up a few stories.