Tokyo Unnatural Forensics

Chapter 284, Second Verification of the Truth Reversal

Japanese police law stipulates that a police response team generally needs to consist of two or three officers, and a single officer cannot respond to a case alone. Therefore, at least two officers must arrive at the scene after receiving a case. Inspector Sato, who was in charge of the case, has been dismissed and is currently under investigation by the district prosecutor's office. Thus, the remaining officer at the scene is of paramount importance.

The police officer's name is Sonoda, a 32-year-old patrol officer. He and Inspector Sato went to the scene together.

Japanese police have a similar tradition: when responding to a call, the police often pair up an experienced officer with a junior officer. The older officer is experienced, calm, and collected, while the junior officer is passionate, impulsive, and has a strong sense of justice. This model has become a tradition in police dramas, and the clash between the old and the new, the conflict between experience and technical methods, and the differences between youthful passion and mature composure are all major highlights of police dramas, making it easier to create vivid characters.

A typical example is Inspector Megure in "Detective Conan," who often takes action with his younger brother Takagi or Chief Inspector Chiba.

During the meeting, with everyone present, the family members of Nikaido saw Inspector Sonoda's angry and hateful eyes.

Inspector Sonoda looked conflicted and said somewhat unconfidently, "It was me... I went to the scene with Inspector Sato on a supplementary dispatch."

"Where did you find Nikaido Kei's body?" Uesugi Muneyuki asked.

"It is... a reservoir in Yokosuka City."

"When you found the body, was it completely naked or clothed?" Uesugi Muneyuki held up the autopsy report in his hand: "Was it completely naked, like in the photos?"

"Um... let me think..." Inspector Sonoda said with a troubled expression, "It's been five years, and I can't quite remember..."

“You may not remember clearly, but we will never forget that day!” At that moment, the father of the deceased, Nikaido Kei, said, “We remember it very clearly. When Kei was pulled out of the water, he was wearing clothes!”

"Oh, right! Right! I remember now!" Inspector Sonoda finally recalled something: "The deceased was wearing a green suit at the time, I remember now!"

“Very good.” Uesugi Muneyuki nodded, then asked the Kanagawa University representative, “The autopsy report did not mention the issue of vertebral hemorrhage. Can I assume that your autopsy did not find any traces of vertebral hemorrhage on the body?”

"This..." The Kanagawa University representative was completely dumbfounded.

"Yes, or no?" Anyone could hear the anger in Uesugi Muneyuki's voice.

"Gentlemen of Kanagawa University! Answer truthfully whether it is true or not. Headquarters has already requested the Metropolitan Police Department to intervene in this case. If you continue to be vague and unclear, do you really want to be prosecuted and become defendants?" Acting Chief of Kanagawa University, Shoji Kobayashi, said angrily from the head seat.

He was a member of Watanabe Eiji's faction, so naturally he stood on Uesugi Muneyuki's side. Moreover, he wanted to take advantage of this incident to reorganize personnel and gain control of the overall situation.

"Well... no." The representative from Kanagawa University could only lower his head: "Since the report doesn't say anything, then we can say that we didn't find anything."

“Very good.” Uesugi Muneyuki nodded: “So no post-mortem injuries were found on the body, including impact marks on the head and hands? I didn’t see that in the autopsy report. Instead, I saw you repeatedly emphasizing that there were no serious external injuries.”

"Yes……"

"Then this is neither drowning nor suicide!" Uesugi Muneyuki finally gave a definite conclusion: "Kanagawa University is wrong, Kanagawa Police are wrong! You are all wrong. Nikaido Kei died neither from drowning nor suicide, nor from any accident. He was murdered and his body was dumped in the river, and was only discovered after drifting a long distance."

“This is a murder case!” Uesugi Muneyuki said decisively just half an hour into the meeting.

The audience fell silent for a moment, then Ishihara Mikoto went on stage to explain: "Let me explain the reason."

"First of all, there was no issue of internal bleeding within the body..."

The forensic expert began to explain Uesugi Muneyuki's judgment: When a person breathes underwater, water is drawn into the Eustachian tube between the nose and ear, forming a water plug that impacts the eardrum.

When a person rides an elevator or an airplane and ascends rapidly, the eardrum is impacted and may indent inward, causing a sensation of discomfort. Swallowing saliva can help restore the eardrum, as this action "pushes" it back in.

Similarly, when diving, the eardrum may be retracted inward due to water embolism, causing discomfort in the ear. At this time, a person will instinctively close their nose and mouth and "push" the eardrum back by blowing air, so that the eardrum returns to normal and the diving can continue.

However, when drowning, water can rush into the eustachian tube, which is usually not used for water. The eustachian tube is very narrow and is subjected to the impact of water, causing it to move like a piston. This can cause the lining of the bone surrounding the middle and inner ear to detach and bleed, which is called intrapyramidal hemorrhage.

This is a very rare bleeding symptom, almost exclusively found in drowning cases, and it was not found in the autopsy report.

"That road or more~" "Search to death~" "Sukkoi" "Sparashi~" Everyone present understood Ishihara Mikoto's explanation, even Erina sitting next to Uesugi Muneyuki understood it.

This woman does have some real skills, the tall beauty thought resentfully. "Of course, whether there is bleeding inside the cone only indicates whether it was drowning, not suicide," Uesugi Muneyuki continued, describing the events to everyone: "The police previously overlooked a very important point."

"According to the police investigation at the time, Nikaido Kei drifted down from 29 kilometers upstream."

"If a body that has drifted for 29 kilometers had drowned, its lungs should have been filled with fluid. So, before the body became completely edematous and turned into a giant, it should have sunk into the water and slid along the bottom of the river."

"At this point, the posture of sinking to the bottom of the water should be..." Uesugi Muneyuki drew a human figure on the blackboard—an adult on all fours with his butt sticking up and his head on the ground in an "orz" state: "In this situation, rubbing against the underwater current, please tell me, what will happen to the corpse?"

"There will be...a collision!" Inspector Okada reacted quickly: "In that case, won't his head hit the riverbed many times?"

“Correct.” Uesugi Muneyuki nodded. “However, the Kanagawa University School of Medicine clearly stated in its forensic autopsy report that no serious external injuries were found!”

“The impact on the underwater body is very cruel. When the body rubs against the bottom, it will suffer serious damage. Clothing, skin and muscles will be torn and bones will be exposed during the friction, resulting in post-mortem injuries. If it hits a solid rock or encounters complex terrain, the torso may even break apart.”

"Furthermore, due to the long distance underwater and constant bumping, the body would be completely naked unless it was wearing a bodysuit."

"After enough time, as the body decomposes and absorbs water and swells further, it begins to exhibit gigantism and will then surface."

"In this case, the body drifted for nearly 29 kilometers in the river, but when it was found, the body was relatively intact, with no serious external injuries to the head, hands, knees, or feet, and the body was still wearing clothes." Uesugi Muneyuki said sternly, "This is irrefutable evidence that the body was neither drowned nor committed suicide, because Mr. Nikaido was murdered first and then his body was dumped in the river!"

"With air in its lungs, the body did not sink. It floated downstream like a lifebuoy, without touching the riverbed or hitting any rocks. Since the body did not tumble or submerge, its clothes did not fall off."

"In conclusion, on behalf of the Special Missions Unit of the First Investigative Division of the Metropolitan Police Department, I hereby formally determine that this case is a homicide in which the body was dumped in the river. This is absolutely certain, there is no mistake!"

Uesugi Muneyuki's powerful voice resounded throughout the venue.

"It was murder!!!"

"........."

"……………………"

The entire room fell silent. After Uesugi Muneyuki finished speaking, the police, the district prosecutor, the university, and the deceased's family all fell into deep silence.

Then a sob rang out, and Nikaido Kei's wife, 36-year-old Nikaido Misaki, suddenly let out a soft cry, tears streaming down her face: "My dear! Finally, finally, you didn't commit suicide, waaaaah~ Do you know how I've survived these past five years? I was treated like an unlucky wife, we were seen as an unlucky family by everyone around us, Takumi came to me asking for my father, but these policemen, these incompetent policemen, these thieves of the national tax revenue, forced you to commit suicide based on a vague report!"

"So now the matter is clear?!" Nikaido's father also stood up angrily and said, "We reported the case to the police nine times! Nine times! And you refused to file a case! Then we appealed six more times! Six times! For the past five years, we haven't forgotten my son for a single day. Don't you have sons too?"

“Oh, right, you are different from us. You are all civil servants, university lecturers, and noble prosecutors. You are different from us, but you also have sons, right?” Nikaido’s father stared at everyone present with his venomous eyes, as if he wanted to memorize everyone’s face and name tags in front of their seats, which sent chills down everyone’s spine.

Nikaido's mother wiped away her tears: "Five years have passed, and you're finally willing to admit that it was a wrong judgment? If it weren't for Mr. Uesugi's arrival, we don't know how long we would have had to wait."

"Please calm down, everyone." The police officers at the scene quickly surrounded them, fearing that they might do something rash in their excitement.

"Chief Kobayashi, as the person in charge of the second appraisal, I request that the investigation into this case be reopened," Uesugi Muneyuki said.

“Yes, on behalf of the Kanagawa Police Headquarters, I accept your proposal.” Acting Chief Kobayashi said solemnly, “Headquarters will immediately form a special investigation team to reopen the investigation into this case.”

"To the family of Mr. Nikaido who have been constantly reporting and appealing to the police, thank you for your hard work. Please trust the Japanese police; we will definitely give you a satisfactory result, and we will bring the murderer to justice!"

The meeting ended there, and the doors of the county police headquarters were wide open. Reporters who had been waiting at the door immediately swarmed around to inquire about the results.

The deceased's family members cried and laughed, finally nodding slightly at the camera. Five years later, they received a satisfactory answer.

The verdict has been overturned!
The verdict has really been overturned!!!
Reporters at the scene and demonstrators at the entrance erupted in cheers.

He truly deserves the titles of legendary rookie forensic pathologist, the Metropolitan Police Department's last line of defense, Sakikawa Toshi's Sherlock Holmes, and a descendant of Echigo no Tatsu Kenshin!
Is he planning to single-handedly unleash a wave of overturned verdicts within the Japanese police force?

let us wait and see!
(End of this chapter)