Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 250 The Cry of the Dead (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Xu Nian's words instantly revitalized Zhou Yi's exhausted spirit.

All told, the autopsy took more than eight hours from morning until now.
Zhou Yi notified Shi Tao, and everyone rushed back to the bureau.

When I saw Qin Beihai again, he was obviously very tired. He was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, rubbing his brow with his right index finger and thumb to relieve his fatigue.

Zhou Yi didn't dare to make a sound, but exchanged a glance with Xu Nian beside him.

But it was obvious that Xu Nian's expression was very serious.

Soon, all the key personnel involved in the case investigation arrived.

Shi Tao wanted to go up and greet Qin Beihai, but Zhou Yi shook his head at him.

"Zhou Yi, has everyone arrived?" Qin Beihai asked, opening his eyes.

Zhou Yi nodded: "Old Qin, you've gone to a lot of trouble. The people mainly in charge of this case are all here."

Qin Beihai nodded. "Then let me first tell you the results of the autopsy, and then I'll go over the specific details. The full autopsy report will be given to you later after Zhaoxing and Xiao Song have finished compiling it."

Zhou Yi and the others immediately sat up straight and listened attentively.

Qin Beihai said, "The autopsy results finally confirmed that among the total of 56 body parts recovered, only one was from another deceased person."

"What?" Everyone was shocked. There was only one piece?
But Qin Beihai's next sentence was even more shocking.

"And this other deceased person can be almost certainly identified as a newborn baby who was less than a month old."

These words struck like a bolt from the blue, stunning everyone, even Zhou Yi hadn't expected this possibility.

Shi Tao couldn't help but ask, "Old Qin, is this... not a mistake?"

"Zhaoxing, show the photos to everyone."

“Okay, teacher.” Shen Zhaoxing placed several photos in front of everyone, showing a highly decomposed human intestine and detailed slices of the intestine from different locations.

Then, Qin Beihai explained the specific details of the autopsy.

First, let's look at the thickness of the human intestines.

成年人大肠的直径约为5到8厘米左右，而小肠直径为2.5到3.5厘米，其中回肠末端的直径可以到2至2.5厘米。

The main part of a newborn's large intestine, with a diameter of about 1.5 to 2 centimeters, is closer in thickness to the small intestine of an adult.

Of the body parts recovered, only one section was human intestinal tissue; the rest were not found.

Therefore, based solely on the diameter, it would be easy to mistake this section of intestine, which is nearly two centimeters in diameter, for part of the deceased's small intestine.

However, the large intestine and small intestine in the human body are actually quite different in terms of their morphological characteristics.

Laymen may not know how to distinguish them, but professional forensic experts can easily tell the difference.

Thus, a second interfering factor emerged: decay.

Besides their thickness, the large intestine and small intestine also have several significant differences in shape.

First, there's the color: the large intestine is lighter in color, while the small intestine is darker.

Secondly, in terms of surface characteristics, the surface of the small intestine is smoother, and the muscular layer of the intestinal wall is more evenly distributed.

Thirdly, in terms of internal structure, the large intestine has dense circular folds and villi, while the small intestine has a smooth inner wall without villi, and occasionally crescent-shaped folds.

These are all very distinctive features. Even if the amount of intestinal tissue found is limited and there are no features like the taenia coli, which are unique to the large intestine, these points can still be used to distinguish it.

But the problem lies in the discovery of the decay of this section of intestinal tissue.

The advanced decay has almost destroyed the three characteristics mentioned above, making it virtually impossible to distinguish between them.

In particular, this section of intestinal tissue is highly rotten, having turned dark green and black overall, with some areas even beginning to partially liquefy.

Even though only one part showed relatively low levels of decay, it still provided incorrect information for the autopsy.

Because a newborn's large intestine is still developing and growing, it is somewhat different from that of an adult. The surface of the intestinal wall is smoother and has a certain degree of permeability.

Qin Beihai said that based on this point alone, 99% of forensic doctors would make a wrong judgment if they did not know any of the deceased's identity information.

Although Zhou Yi lacked professional knowledge in forensic medicine, Qin Lao's expression was quite concise and clear. This matter cannot be blamed on Song Yiming's lack of expertise, but rather because Song Yiming was led by the preconceived notion that "the deceased was Zhang Hui." Without discovering other intestinal tissue, he would never have been able to associate this intestinal tissue with the large intestine of a newborn.

Qin Beihai then explained how he determined that the intestinal tissue came from a newborn. He mainly made the judgment by repeatedly performing section staining experiments and observing the remaining muscle layer structure under a microscope.

Zhou Yi didn't understand this, but he completely trusted Qin Beihai's autopsy results. If Qin Beihai couldn't find it, then probably very few people in the whole country could. Qin Beihai said that he had actually examined the intestinal tissue as soon as the autopsy began that morning.

Because the slides submitted for testing had been marked with corresponding body parts, he, like Song Yiming, knew from the beginning through DNA testing that this intestinal tissue came from another deceased person.

But what forensic experts need to do is not just confirm the established facts, but to discover useful clues and provide strong assistance to criminal police.

This is the real reason why Song Yiming was tormented for a whole day and a half.

To ensure a more rigorous and comprehensive autopsy result, Qin Beihai examined all the body parts before instructing Xu Nian to notify Zhou Yi and the others to return.

"Comrades in Hongcheng, in my forty years of professional experience, this is the first time I've encountered a case like this," Qin Beihai said earnestly. "Under the same conditions, the decomposition rate of a newborn's body is much faster than that of an adult. So theoretically speaking, it's impossible for this highly decomposed intestinal tissue to remain in the septic tank after all the other human tissues of the newborn have decomposed and been expelled."

This was also what shocked Zhou Yi the most. They retrieved more than fifty pieces of human tissue, but most of Zhang Hui's body parts had been washed into the city's sewage system due to decomposition and could no longer be found.

Surprisingly, there is also a single segment of a newborn's intestinal tissue in the middle.

This is absolutely unimaginable.

Qin Beihai slapped the table, deeply moved, and said, "Comrades, this piece of intestinal tissue is this child shouting to us!"

These words struck everyone present like a heavy blow.

Zhou Yi, in particular, was the one who discovered the Zhang Hui case, suggested sending the DNA samples for testing, and even uttered the casual, jinxed comment.

Looking at the thin, rotten human tissue in the photo, he felt as if something was tangled in his throat.

He encountered a probability of one in a million, or even lower.

He must solve this case!

Qin Beihai's words were a wake-up call, but they silenced everyone present.

"Do you have any further questions? If so, please feel free to ask," Qin Beihai said.

Zhou Yi spoke up: "Elder Qin, I would like to ask if newborns' bones are much more fragile than adults', especially their skulls?"

Qin Beihai nodded: "That's right. The overall bone hardness of newborns is quite fragile, much lower than that of adults. Take the skull for example. First, the bone plates are not yet fully closed, which is what people call the fontanelle not being fully formed. Second, the skull of newborns is not fully calcified, and the bone plates are thin and flexible, so the overall hardness is much lower than that of adults."

Qin Beihai paused for a moment and then said, "Therefore, the bones of newborns are entirely capable of being destroyed and disposed of through sewage pipes."

As the saying goes, experience is the best teacher. With just one sentence from Zhou Yi, Qin Beihai knew exactly what the real question was.

Zhou Yi nodded heavily.

Shi Tao couldn't help but ask, "Zhou Yi, what are your thoughts?"

Zhou Yi stood up, took a deep breath, and said, "Yes!"

"From Mr. Qin's autopsy results, we can confirm one thing: the other victim in the Donghai Community double dismemberment case was a newborn baby who was less than a month old."

"This is crucial. Once we identify the victim, we can determine a precise investigative approach. Undoubtedly, where there is a newborn, there will be a mother. The mother may or may not be the murderer, but she is definitely a key figure in this case. So our next focus is to find this mother."

"The search for pregnant women can be divided into two dimensions: adult women and underage women."

"Adult women include married and unmarried women, with a focus on unmarried women living alone. We can confirm whether they have ever been pregnant but whose child is now missing through their social relationships such as family and colleagues."

"In addition, married women should not be completely ignored. They can confirm their pregnancy information by registering at the hospital. Pregnant women who meet the due date and those who may have premature births are all targets for screening."

"But I personally lean more towards underage girls, because most adult women, regardless of marital status, will go to the hospital for further examination to confirm, since adults have full capacity for civil conduct. But underage girls, junior high school students or high school students, do not have this capacity for civil conduct, and may even lack knowledge of some of the most basic physiological common sense, leading to some tragedies."

"Furthermore, I believe there is a high probability that the child was murdered and dismembered shortly after birth. Because a newborn child would normally easily attract the attention of their social network, it's impossible for them to have been missing for so long without anyone noticing."

Zhou Yi's words were not alarmist; he had actually witnessed them in his previous life, as well as seen them extensively in online information.

From junior high school students to college students, similar news stories appear every now and then.

Having tasted forbidden fruit, and not even knowing about contraception, some women unknowingly became pregnant for ten months, and some even gave birth in the toilet or in their dormitory.

Some were lost and survived after being found, while others froze to death in the snow and ice.

Some were even killed by their own mothers shortly after birth.

But the idea of ​​dismembering a body and flushing it down the drain is truly shocking, and Zhou Yi had never heard of it before.

"Therefore, the junior and senior high school girls in Donghai Community are the focus of our next investigation."

Shi Tao clapped his hands and shouted, "The mother and daughter in Building Twelve!"

(End of this chapter)