A white detective in his forties walked over and greeted proactively, "Captain Lee, I'm Karen Ray from the Canyon Precinct's Detective Division. We've spoken on the phone before."
Luke shook hands with him, "Captain Ray, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Karen Ray looked Luke up and down, "Captain Lee, I often see your news and photos on the police department's website. I've heard so much about you.
It's a pleasure to be working with you."
"Looking forward to our cooperation."
After a brief introduction, Karen Ray led Luke to the Team 2 of the Canyon Precinct's Detective Division.
Inside the conference room.
Luke symbolically sipped a bit of coffee, "Captain Ray, is there any progress on the Highway 1 body disposal case?"
"We had arrested a suspect before, but due to lack of evidence, he was released on bail." Karen Ray sighed and then began to introduce the case, "We received the report on October 20th; someone claimed that the deceased, Kilo Jones, was missing.
Afterwards, the police began investigating Kilo Jones's whereabouts and found that he hadn't returned home since the 18th, so the police launched an investigation.
Through his communication records, we tracked down his last contact before disappearing, Darwin Morrison.
There was a phone call between them on the night of December 17th.
Afterwards, the deceased sent a message to Darwin Morrison, arranging to meet near Highway 1, and then Kilo Jones's phone was turned off; this was Kilo Jones's last text message during his lifetime.
It was precisely through this message that we found the deceased's body down a slope of Highway 1.
According to the forensic autopsy, the time of death was between midnight and 3 AM on the 18th."
Karen Ray took out some documents and handed them to Luke, "These are the photos of the crime scene, the deceased was shot in the chest, had no items on him, nor was he dressed, and there was nothing to prove his identity."
While looking at the photos, Luke asked, "Was the deceased's body not buried?"
"No, just covered with some vegetation on the surface of the body. The handling at the scene was quite careless, suggesting the perpetrator was very panicked at the time and left a set of footprints at the scene." Karen Ray flipped through some footprint photos, introducing them,
"Judging from the pattern, they should be dress shoes, about size 43.
Based on the size of the shoes, we inferred that the shoe owner's height is between 175CM to 185CM, and suspect Darwin Morrison's height is 183CM, making him likely the owner of the footprints.
We brought Darwin Morrison to the police station for questioning, and he denied seeing Kilo Jones that night or being at Highway 1.
However, when we checked the surveillance near Highway 1, we found that his car was near the crime scene early on the 18th, exposing his lie.
This is also why we have him as a main suspect."
Luke put down the documents and asked, "Why is there no record of the informant?"
Karen Ray shook his head, "The caller used a public phone for anonymous reporting, did not disclose their identity, but from the voice, it sounded like a woman.
The caller could immediately notice Kilo Jones's disappearance, suggesting they had a close relationship with him. I am currently having someone investigate the informant's identity, and I believe there will be news soon."
Luke suggested, "Where is suspect Darwin Morrison now? I'd like to meet him."
Karen Ray nodded, "We arrested him on October 21st. He has refused to confess. We applied for a search warrant and searched his car and house, but found no murder weapon, biological material of the deceased, or the shoes that left footprints at the scene.
Due to insufficient evidence for conviction, he was released on bail on December 24th.
It was said that the officer was killed on the night of December 25th?"
Karen Ray slapped his thigh, annoyed, "We shouldn't have let him go.
It must have been that bastard; we still haven't found the murder weapon. He must have hidden that gun."
Luke was not hasty in making judgments. According to the female suspect Salma Gonzalez's description, the one who killed the officer could possibly be an African American woman.
Under Karen Ray's guidance, Luke and his team arrived at the community where suspect Darwin Morrison stayed.
The car parked by the roadside, and both Luke and Karen Ray got out of the car one after the other.
Karen Ray pointed to the white two-story house next to them, "That's Darwin Morrison's house."
Luke asked the others to stay in the car as he and Karen Ray entered the yard and rang the doorbell.
Moments later, the door opened, and a Black man in his thirties stood at the entrance, looking somewhat grim, his forehead furrowed, staring at Karen Ray, he asked, "Captain Ray, what's the matter again?"
"Darwin Morrison, how was your Christmas? Don't be nervous; we're here just to have a chat." Karen Ray pointed to Luke beside him, "More specifically, Captain Lee wants to ask you a few questions."
"Mr. Morrison, hello, I'm Captain Luke Lee from the robbery and murder department's first team. We've found some new clues regarding Kilo Jones's murder case, and we want to talk to you."
"Come in." Darwin Morrison reluctantly let the two into the house.
Darwin Morrison sat on the sofa, rubbing his face with his hands, "Listen, I'll reiterate, Kilo Jones's death has nothing to do with me. You've caught the wrong person.