Diary of a Criminal Investigator

Crime Scene Investigation Office.

Qin Yong personally came to listen to the report.

"We have currently confirmed the identities of three of the seven bodies found under the bridge at Stone Lion Mountain."

Liu Guodong handed over the relevant identification documents of the bodies to Qin Yong.

"The identification of the skeletal remains went relatively smoothly, and we discovered the body of the police officer who went missing five years ago."

Police officer?

"Wang Hao from the Songbei Police Station?"

"Yes, that’s right, Wang Hao. Back then, Wang Mingshan went to Songbei Mining to investigate Wang Hao’s disappearance case, and after leaving Songbei Mining, he was never seen again."

Had Qin Yong not come to the Crime Scene Investigation Office, Liu Guodong would have gone to Qin Yong’s office to report personally.

Just after Liu Guodong confirmed with Qin Yong over the phone that the second body discovered was Zhang Chi, the DNA database matched Wang Hao’s DNA.

"That Wang Hao? You found him?"

Chen Wu was a bit surprised by Wang Hao’s case.

In the early years, Chen Wu worked at the Songbei Police Station, rising step by step from the grassroots level.

When Chen Wu worked at the Songbei Police Station, Wang Hao hadn’t joined the police force yet, but Chen Wu always kept in touch with the Songbei Police Station, often going back to visit, so he knew Wang Hao from those days.

After Wang Hao disappeared, someone had asked Chen Wu for help with the case.

This case was initially handled by Action Group Two, but after two months of no progress, it was deemed a cold case.

Later the case was assigned to Wang Mingshan, who was closely watching it.

"It has been confirmed that it is Wang Hao, and his cause of death is rather unusual. Wang Hao died from a high fall."

"A high fall death?"

"Yes, Wang Hao’s remains have undergone skeleton identification analysis by Lu Chuan, showing that the third and fourth vertebrae of Wang Hao’s spine were fractured and twisted, there were cracks in the pelvic bone, a fracture in the skull, and fractures in the neck vertebrae, arm bones, and leg bones, with compressive damage to the sternum."

"Lu Chuan’s analysis suggests that Wang Hao died after a free fall from a height of between 15 and 20 meters."

The difference between a high fall death and other types of death is that high fall deaths typically result in greater skeletal damage.

There are impact fractures on one side of Wang Hao’s skull.

Among all human bones, teeth are the hardest, and besides teeth, the skull is the hardest bone.

The skull is not only incredibly hard, but every piece of it has sutures that provide some elasticity when pieced together.

This so-called elasticity is very minimal, but during a strong impact, it provides some cushioning, thereby protecting the brain inside.

In most cases, the fractures formed on a skull after different kinds of impact aren’t the same.

Theoretically speaking, fractures occur when the external impact force on the bone exceeds its elastic range, causing mechanical damage and fracture.

If a fracture occurs without the bone being completely broken, a linear fracture line appears on the bone’s surface, known as a fracture line.

Whether in crime scene investigations or forensic analysis, the length and size of a fracture line help determine the level of external impact experienced at the time of fracture.

The longer and wider the fracture line, the greater the external impact on the bone.

All of Wang Hao’s skull fracture lines are concentrated on the right side, indicating that during the fall, Wang Hao’s skull hit the ground on the right side first.

Furthermore, the fracture lines show signs of lateral breakage, indicating a second impact after the initial fracture.

Using bone density and fracture line measurements with certain equations and formulas, you can calculate the magnitude of the impact force.

Factoring in Wang Hao’s weight when alive and Lu Chuan’s skeletal analysis, a rough estimate of the fall height leading to his death can be made.

Lu Chuan did not know initially that these skeletal remains were Wang Hao’s, so he couldn’t have known his details; he deduced Wang Hao’s weight from bone structure and height.

People of the same height may have subtle differences in bone structure, bone density, and the lengths of leg and arm bones due to differences in weight.

Even the shape of the hip bone can have subtle variations.

"Should we inform... Wang Hao’s family?"

Last night, the discovery of Mingshan’s body was reported to Wang Mingshan’s widow.

Five years have passed.

Wang Mingshan went missing, neither dead nor alive, which severely impacted his family.

Back then, it wasn’t just Wang Mingshan who went missing, but also Wang Hao. Why did Wang Hao vanish? It’s because he had a younger brother who once worked at Songbei Mining as a team leader in an underground coal mining team.

Wang Hao’s family only had two brothers. First, the younger brother disappeared; then the elder brother vanished too.

Qin Yong was aware of the case details, knowing the impact at that time, and this was the reason.

"Yes, notify them... Let Wang Hao’s captain personally report it."

Just like how the Criminal Investigation Team has cared for Wang Mingshan’s family over the years, the same care has been extended to Wang Hao’s situation. Wang Hao went missing, and people from the Songbei Police Station took care of his family, including Xiaoqing.

With both individuals confirmed as murder victims, the case likely has eliminated the possibility of a personal vendetta, achieving martyr status and a first-class merit award, albeit delayed by five years.

Five years...

Out of the eight skeletal remains found beneath Lion Mountain Bridge, four identities have been verified.

Wang Mingshan, a member of the Haizhou City’s Criminal Investigation Team’s Action Group Two, Wang Hao, a police officer from Songbei Police Station, Wang Yajuan, an auditor from Tianhe Audit Firm, and Zhang Chi, a partner at Green Rattan Jewelry.

Four individuals!

Currently, the case line most easily investigated is Zhang Chi’s murder case.

Zhang Chi’s murder arose from a Tianhe Audit Firm audit on Green Rattan Jewelry.

The current whereabouts of Green Rattan Jewelry’s legal person, Song Junwu, place him as the general manager of Songbei Mining Transport Company.

It’s not definite that Zhang Chi’s murder is related to Song Junwu, but finding Wang Yajuan’s audit documents for Green Rattan Jewelry from that year would change things.

The current situation suggests that Wang Yajuan found something in the audit that led to her being killed to prevent exposure.

But with Wang Yajuan’s murder happening eight years ago, no records of her audit at Green Rattan Jewelry remain at Tianhe Audit Firm.

Where do you even start looking now?