Chapter 824: Chapter 437: Joint Case Investigation
After the meeting concluded, the entire criminal investigation team swiftly got to work, each taking on their assignments.
At 8:40 in the morning, Jiang An packed up his notebook and had just pushed open the conference room door to step out.
He saw Mr Li walking slowly from the other end of the corridor.
They met in the middle of the corridor, and Mr Li stopped in his tracks, his first words carrying a touch of concern: "Why did you call everyone in for a meeting this early?"
Jiang An smiled slightly and stepped forward: "Mr Li, why did you specifically come to find me today? Is there any directive?"
"Not anything special."
Mr Li’s gaze went past Jiang An’s shoulder, "Just now I noticed the conference room lights were on while passing by, having a meeting with the entire team at this hour is indeed unusual."
"I came by to see if there’s a significant case at hand."
Upon hearing this, the smile on Jiang An’s face deepened a bit: "You really can’t be fooled."
"As a ’native teacher’ in the criminal investigation team, you know every move within the team like the back of your hand."
"A body was discovered last night in an abandoned well in the western part of the city, preliminary autopsy results are out, the case is rather complicated."
"Today was supposed to be everyone’s day off, but considering the urgency of the case, we had to gather everyone."
"A body in the abandoned well?"
Mr Li’s brow furrowed slightly, his tone becoming serious, "Has the identity been confirmed?"
Jiang An shook his head slightly: "The lack of identification makes the case particularly tricky."
"According to the preliminary examination yesterday, the deceased was a female, around twenty-four years old, approximately 1.6 meters tall, and the time of death was at least more than six months ago."
"There were no identification documents when the body was found, making the evidence collection extremely challenging."
"Where exactly was it discovered?"
Mr Li asked further.
"It was in the demolition area within our jurisdiction, that old urban area that had been idle for a long time."
"I know the place,"
Mr Li said thoughtfully, "Although the buildings haven’t been completely demolished, there’s been no one living there for ages, seldom anyone goes there."
"How could someone discover a body there? And even report it at night?"
"Actually, it was discovered during the day," Jiang An explained, "Some kids found it while playing over there, possibly got scared, and only told their parents later, who then reported it."
"By the time we were notified and arrived at the scene, it was already evening."
Mr Li listened, furrowing his brows even tighter: "That’s indeed unusual."
"That place is way off the beaten path, normally no one would venture there."
"Even though we’ve discovered the body, subsequent investigations will face considerable challenges."
"The site environment is complex, evidence collection is difficult, and with so much time passed, many clues might have vanished."
"Yes,"
Jiang An nodded in agreement, "Preliminary judgment suggests the body was tossed into the abandoned well, cause of death is mechanical asphyxia, with noticeable compression marks on the neck."
"But specific details still need further examination."
"Today’s meeting was to deploy two key work aspects: first is to comb through missing persons reports across the city within the past year, searching for clues possibly matching the deceased’s identity."
"Second is to organize manpower for a thorough search around the discovery site, looking for potential witnesses or suspicious individuals."
Mr Li quietly listened to the end, his gaze showing understanding and support: "Thank you for your hard work."
"The work of the criminal investigation team always seems like this, facing sites of erratic deaths within limited time."
"This case sounds complex, you all will have to put in extra effort."
Jiang An nodded solemnly: "That’s our duty."
"Though the case is difficult, we will give it our all."
However, just as he turned to leave, a vague memory abruptly flashed through his mind, causing him to pause.
He turned back pensively, speaking with a hint of hesitation: "Oh, by the way, before you were transferred here, we also had a case involving a body hidden in an abandoned well, it’s still unsolved."
"That case occurred about five years ago, similarly in an old town area slated for demolition, where a body was found in a long-abandoned well—though the location of this well is not the same as the one you found yesterday, it’s about ten kilometers away."
"Oh? What was the situation at the time?"
Jiang An’s interest was piqued.
He was especially sensitive to serial cases or old cases with similar methods.
He couldn’t help but ask: "Was there any critical clue left? How was the condition of the body?"
Mr Li sighed lightly, his tone also grew more somber: "When discovered, the body had already advanced to a highly decomposed state, very limited physical evidence could be extracted."
"We conducted an autopsy at the time, only skeletal remains and tattered clothing were found."
"Although the deceased’s clothing was still present, it had decayed beyond recognition."
"However, forensic analyst Mr. Wu noticed during the examination that there were fracture marks on the deceased’s hyoid bone, leading to the assumption that the cause of death might have been mechanical asphyxia, followed by body disposal into the well."
He paused for a moment, his voice carrying a trace of helplessness: "There was no form of identification on the deceased, nor any items at the scene that could point to the perpetrator."
"So many years have passed, not only have we failed to capture the killer, but we haven’t even identified the victim."
"That case has been shelved in the archives, becoming a cold case."
Jiang An listened intently, and pursued: "Was there any judgment on the age of the deceased at the time?"
"Based on the bone characteristics, forensic analyst Mr. Wu estimated the deceased was about twenty-two years old at the time of death."
