The first step in crime scene investigation, crime scene photography.
In the northeast corner of the police cordon, Lu Chuan set up a tripod to take panoramic photos.
Since it was not yet confirmed as the primary crime scene, Lu Chuan needed to go through the entire process of crime scene photography.
This set of procedures was already ingrained in Lu Chuan’s mind, and could be completed in a matter of minutes.
While the crime scene investigation continued, Qin Yong and others were also learning about the details of the case.
The person reporting was Wang Jian, the police chief of the West Suburb police station.
"Captain Qin, we received the report at ten-thirty in the morning."
Wang Jian pointed to a middle-aged man in a white Jetta police car who was giving a statement.
"The vineyard here has contracted purchase agreements with Lexiang Biological Technology Co., Ltd. and local farmers, primarily planting grapes for wine production."
"Every spring, they hire a well-maintenance team from the village to inspect and repair over thirty wells in the vineyard."
"When inspecting Well No. 3, they found the water output to be low. Based on their experience, something was probably stuck, so they conducted a retrieval operation."
"As a result, they retrieved a body."
"What’s the situation with the deceased?"
Qin Yong’s face turned pale. It had been a long time since a minor victim case had occurred; the last was three years ago.
A primary school student was strangled by a drunkard while on the way home from school.
"The deceased’s name was Wang Zihan, a sixth-grade student at West Suburb Farm Primary School."
"Reported missing two days ago, unexpectedly..."
The disappearance of a child is a major case anywhere, requiring immediate filing and thorough search efforts.
Wang Jian continued to report the circumstances of the case initiation.
Two days ago, Wang Zihan left home at seven-thirty in the morning, walking to school.
"Wang Zihan’s home is approximately three kilometers from the school; he has walked to school since the first grade."
"Did he always walk to school alone?"
Wang Jian shook his head, "Wang Zihan’s family’s vineyard is far from the village. After winter, they live by the vineyard, and they are the only family there."
"On his way to school, the child would walk nearly two kilometers by himself and then join other students from the Natural Village, where most children walk together."
"Can we pinpoint when the child went missing?"
Qin Yong inquired while Sun Jun took notes on the side.
"The school teacher first noticed the child’s absence. The school ends at four-thirty in the afternoon; Wang Zihan’s homeroom teacher called his parents at four, asking why the child wasn’t at school."
"The mother said he had gone to school in the morning, and only then did they realize the child was neither at school nor at home. The mother then dialed the police."
Wang Jian detailed the entire disappearance process thoroughly.
"We received the missing report at four-oh-eight p.m. two days ago."
"Afterwards, we organized manpower to search along the child’s route to school."
"But two days have passed without any valuable leads."
"Are there surveillance cameras along the route?"
Wang Jian shook his head, "The West Suburb is full of expansive vineyards. Besides key intersections and some vineyards with home-installed surveillance, most of the routes lack surveillance."
"Have we identified the general area where the child went missing?"
Wang Jian nodded affirmatively, "He went missing on the road between home and the Natural Village."
"Because his deskmate lives in the Natural Village and usually waits for him each morning, but on the day of the incident, the deskmate didn’t see him."
"Additionally, there’s a surveillance camera at the east end of the Natural Village. Although it’s not high-definition, it was functioning. We checked, and it didn’t capture Wang Zihan passing on the day of the incident."
"Is that a necessary route to school?"
"Yes, all the children pass through there. Although they could cut through the vineyards on either side of the village, the fields are wet with melting snow; the child likely wouldn’t take such a detour."
Wang Jian’s detailed report gave Qin Yong a comprehensive understanding of the case’s background.
After pondering for a moment, Qin Yong pointed to the well where the body was found, "How far is Well No. 3 from the route where the child went missing?"
"About three kilometers."
The likelihood of the child walking such a distance alone is slim.
"Any suspicious individuals?"
"Not currently, as our main focus these past two days was searching for the child. We haven’t had time to investigate the child’s parents’ background."
Wang Jian understood Qin Yong’s implication; if the crime wasn’t random, it might be related to the child’s parents.
Perhaps the parents had offended someone, leading to a retaliatory crime.
But as Wang Jian said, the priority is finding the child when they go missing.
But unexpectedly, what was found was a dead body.
Lu Chuan had completed photographing the surrounding area and was examining the body.
"Left ear missing, with bite mark indentations."
This was the most noticeable damage on the body: "Distinct strangle marks on the neck, lips and face showing a purplish hue, likely indicating death by asphyxiation."
"Advanced task: Find the primary crime scene, use crime scene evidence to identify the suspect."
While Lu Chuan was making crime scene records, a task was issued by the system.
"This is probably not the primary crime scene."
Old Bai pointed to the edge of the well, "Look here."
Lu Chuan and Liu Guodong leaned in, observing where Old Bai was pointing on the well’s edge.
There were some slight scuff marks.
"There are friction marks and abrasions on the body’s right leg and ankle, but there’s no activated reaction in the wound characteristics. Combined with the marks on the well edge, these were likely left as the perpetrator disposed of the body."
Old Bai implied that if this were the primary scene, the suspect would dispose of the body immediately after killing the child.
A freshly dead body with uncongealed blood would bleed, yet there were rather noticeable tissue marks on the scuffs, but no bloodstains.
The absence of activated response in the child’s leg wounds indicated that the child was dumped into the well some time after death.
"The child was killed after disappearing. We should ask later if they can confirm the area where the child went missing, and then conduct an investigation."
Liu Guodong’s opinion aligned with Lu Chuan’s; this wasn’t the primary crime scene, and with the disturbance caused by the well maintenance team retrieving the body, there was little investigative value left.
"The child’s left ear has a partial loss. Based on the markings, they’re bite marks. I’d like to perform trace evidence collection to see if we can find anything."
Liu Guodong and Old Bai had also examined the missing ear wound on the body.
It was certain that the bite marks were human, highly likely left by the suspect.
In fact, in forensic technology, there’s a specialized field studying bite marks.
Because each person’s bite mark is unique due to different tooth alignments and wear levels, bite marks can serve as forensic evidence.
However, there are very few experts in this skill.
At least, there was no such talent in Haizhou City.
Lu Chuan was not proficient in this either. Bite mark identification and analysis was a skill available in the system, but one Lu Chuan hadn’t chosen.
He intended to perform trace evidence analysis to see if he could extract any of the suspect’s saliva from the wound.
Thus determining the suspect’s DNA information.
Liu Guodong understood Lu Chuan’s intention; Lu Chuan had previously solved cases using trace evidence analysis.
Moreover, a newly convenient factor was that the crime scene office’s own trace evidence lab had just been approved, ready for use without needing to request assistance from the provincial department.
However, the problem was that the body had been soaked in the well.
"Can we still extract the perpetrator’s saliva from the wound?"
"The chances are indeed slim," Lu Chuan acknowledged the difficulty of extracting DNA materials from a soaked wound, "But it’s worth a try, nonetheless."