Animal Detective

Chapter 166 A Cold Case with Suspects

Well, at least there's no danger in unsolved cases.

Shen Xin told Sun Zhao about the case of the Sand Gold Farm.

“I know about this case.”

Sun Zhao immediately remembered it, thought for a moment, and said, "This case is good. It hasn't been long. If you examine it from a new perspective, you might make some discoveries. Let's go with this one."

If you get a positive answer, then as always, first understand the details of the case.

In the small conference room.

Looking at the beef strips in front of him, Zhou Zhongyi asked warily, "What are you two planning to do? Let me make it clear first. I can be very difficult to handle difficult matters."

"Old Zhou, what are you thinking? I need to talk to you about the case."

Shen Xin pushed the case file of the Shajin Farm case in front of him.

Upon seeing the name of the file, Zhou Zhongyi's expression changed slightly.

"Are you planning to investigate this case?"

He knew that the bureau had asked Shen Xin to solve the cold case.

But I never expected to be chosen for my case.

I didn’t think much about it.

If Shen Xin can solve the case, he'll have to thank Shen Xin.

"What do you think?"

He didn't open the file to look at it; he remembered its contents perfectly.

I opened a package of beef jerky, eating it as I asked questions.

Shen Xin and Ding Yuwei exchanged a glance, then said, "Old Zhou, the investigation into this case was suspended in March 2016, and it's been over a year now."

"Now that time has passed, do you still think Yang Huixia was the murderer?"

In the case file, after Zhou Zhongyi took over the case, he initially investigated it as a case of burglary and murder.

But this investigative approach was quickly overturned.

First, if what Yang Huixia said is true, and the farm's surveillance was accidentally turned off, then the incident should have occurred between the 13th and the 15th.

This matches the food scraps in the sink.

The lack of surveillance cameras created the conditions for burglary.

Zhou Zhongyi initially even suspected four employees because they knew there was money in the safe to pay severance pay.

Moreover, the safe showed no obvious signs of forced entry, indicating that it could only be opened if the combination was known.

It's possible that the employee saw the safe's combination.

Of course, 30,000 yuan doesn't seem worth killing someone for.

But the suspect might not know that there were only 30,000.

Or, to put it another way, the suspect's initial intention was simply theft, but after being discovered by Zhu Guishen, it escalated into an accidental homicide.

However, after investigation, it was quickly ruled out.

First, none of the four employees had prior convictions for theft or similar offenses; they were all ordinary people, and their movements since the 13th have been traced. At least on the surface, they did not have the opportunity to commit the crime.

Secondly, there were signs of vandalism at the scene, but no murder weapon, suspicious bloodstains, or DNA were found.

They did indeed collect DNA and fingerprints from four employees.

But that was an office; they came and went frequently, so it's normal for them to leave traces.

Third, the missing 30,000 yuan has been found.

While investigating Zhu Guishen's social connections, it was learned that the 30,000 yuan in the safe had been given to the animal feed supplier who came to collect the debt on the morning of the 13th.

So the money wasn't lost, it was returned.

This also proves that Zhu Guishen was still alive before 10 a.m. on the 13th.

If no money or other valuables were lost, then the possibility of a home invasion robbery and murder can be largely ruled out.

It's also unlikely to be a revenge killing.

An investigation into his social relationships revealed that Zhu Guishen had no enemies, but he did have quite a few creditors.

These creditors are counting on him to live and pay off his debts; how could they possibly murder him?

Only then did Zhou Zhongyi shift the focus of his investigation back to Yang Huixia.

In his experience, if robbery-murder or revenge killing were ruled out, such cases were almost always committed by the victim's spouse. And as the investigation into Yang Huixia unfolded, quite a few suspicious points were indeed discovered.

Several employees said that since last year, business at the farm has been bad, and the two have been arguing frequently.

One employee said that she once saw bruises on Yang Huixia's arm and asked her what happened. She said she had fallen.

But she suspected that Zhu Guishen was the one who hit her.

It can be inferred that the couple's relationship broke down due to trivial matters in life, and Zhu Guishen may have also been abusive.

Under these circumstances, Yang Huixia already had a motive to kill.

Finally, the investigation revealed that on February 26, 2015, the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, Zhu Guishen purchased a term life insurance policy with a coverage of 2 million yuan.

The beneficiary was listed as Yang Huixia.

The 60-day waiting period ended in May, and the policy officially took effect.

That's something to ponder.

Yang Huixia may have long harbored murderous intentions towards Zhu Guishen, and then, in order to maximize her husband's value, she purchased a life insurance policy in Zhu Guishen's name in advance, hoping to receive compensation after killing him.

Secondly, Yang Huixia had the opportunity to commit the crime.

Based on the analysis of creditors and kitchen utensils, it is speculated that Zhu Guishen may have died on the 13th.

Then, on this day, Yang Huixia was at her hometown in the morning. Around lunchtime, she returned to Nanjiang and went to her parents-in-law's house, saying that she missed her son and wanted to see him when he came home from school in the afternoon.

As a result, after having lunch at my father-in-law's house, I argued with my parents-in-law for a bit during the meal, and then I left in a huff.

According to Yang Huixia, she went to climb Dingshan Mountain and stayed there until dark before returning to Pingyu.

She said she took a taxi to Dingshan, and Zhou Zhongyi actually found the taxi driver and confirmed that it was true, but where she went afterward, no one knew.

There were no witnesses; it was all her own account.

Going hiking for no apparent reason is clearly suspicious.

According to Zhou Zhongyi's calculations in the case file, from the entrance to Dingshan Temple where Yang Huixia got off the bus, it would only take 40 minutes to walk across the mountain road, over Dingshan Mountain, and then along a small path to their farm on the other side.

Therefore, Yang Huixia had ample time to complete the murder that afternoon and then leave.

The only problem is the corpse.

Zhou Zhongyi looked somewhat dazed. After pondering for a while, he said, "I still believe that Yang Huixia is the murderer."

"As for the body, I still believe that Yang Huixia used those two saltwater crocodiles to dispose of it."

Zhu Guishen's gold-producing farm was originally a farm that raised pigs.

Later, the pigs got sick, and we lost a lot of money.

He then switched to raising cattle, but earned less.

Later, I got the idea and started this farm, which is like a small zoo in the city, a family-friendly amusement park.

He raised cattle, sheep, poultry, cats, dogs, and the like.

But business wasn't good, so they tried to acquire some rare animals.

For example, alpacas, peacocks, monkeys, and miniature horses.

They also took over a pair of adult saltwater crocodiles from someone else and set up a crocodile viewing park.

Yang Huixia insists that her husband has disappeared.

However, Zhou Zhongyi believed she was a suspect and investigated it as a murder case.

And in investigating a murder case, the body is indispensable.

He speculated that Yang Huixia used the farm's natural conditions to feed Zhu Guishen's carcass to two saltwater crocodiles.

Crocodiles have an amazing digestive ability; they can even digest bones.

However, they digest slowly, and if this had been discovered earlier, human remains might have been found in the stomachs of crocodiles.

However, it is speculated that the crime was committed on the 13th, and the case was transferred to the branch office on the 17th.

Initially misled by Yang Huixia, the investigation was conducted as a burglary.

It wasn't until around the 25th that the investigation confirmed Yang Huixia was a strong suspect.

It's been more than ten days since then.

If Zhu Guishen really was fed to crocodiles by Yang Huixia, he would have turned into crocodile dung long ago.

(End of this chapter)