National Forensic Doctor

"The murderer wielded the knife in his right hand, stabbing the victim’s abdomen and neck consecutively. Judging from the photos and bone fragments, the penetration was deep and forceful. The rib injuries are on the right side, front to back, slightly downward, indicating a frontal stab with the knife tip pointing downward. The cervical spine injuries are at the front, with the stab direction from top to bottom, suggesting the murderer was above the victim, or the victim was lying on his back."

As Jiang Yuan spoke, he moved his fingers, prompting Miao Ruixiang to quickly jot down notes.

Shen Changfeng was momentarily taken aback, realizing only when the captain beside him patted his shoulder again. He took out a notebook and started recording, still somewhat bewildered—how did a simple situation suddenly turn into a verbal autopsy report? Moreover, it was such a professional analysis. Wasn’t it a bit too straightforward? Shouldn’t there be multiple verifications?

Thinking it over, Shen Changfeng wasn’t sure what to record, his eyes inadvertently drifting to the bone fragments in Jiang Yuan’s hand.

These bones emerged from his own care; he had examined many bones several times. To speak truthfully, he could recite Jiang Yuan’s analysis from memory, yet connecting the traces on bone fragments with those described in books posed a challenge. Most people’s bones, like people themselves, were far from pristine.

"Therefore, the murderer likely first stabbed the victim’s abdomen, thrusting downward... The victim fell, and he continued the attack toward the neck, resulting in such marks," Jiang Yuan concluded, demonstrating the positions on-site.

Cui Qishan observed and couldn’t help but say, "So, the murderer is quite tall then? Taller by twenty or thirty centimeters than the victim? How tall was the victim?"

"The victim was approximately 1.72 meters tall," Li Guangnian, the captain of the first squad of the East Birch City Criminal Police Brigade, promptly replied.

Upon hearing this, Cui Qishan’s eyes lit up like Sherlock Holmes: "Given these calculations, the murderer is likely over 1.9 meters tall, possibly a giant two meters tall? If this were the case, those who encountered him might actually remember him, though it’s been a while. With the right guidance... at the very least, he should stand out in surveillance videos."

"It’s also possible that the victim was seated when the murderer killed him," Jiang Yuan interrupted Cui Qishan’s optimistic speculation, adding, "The oblique scratch on the right eighth rib and the front edge of the lumbar vertebrae indicates an angle of about 20 degrees downward. There’s no damage to the xiphoid process of the sternum, suggesting the murderer was standing while the victim was seated."