I'm not a genius detective

Chapter 86: Was it most likely murder?

As the questioning continued, Wei Tianyong gradually relaxed, and the question-and-answer session turned into a conversation.

On the afternoon of April 17, he saw Cao Kexuan once at the entrance of the village and then went home to play games. He did not come out again. When he saw Cao Kexuan again the next day, Cao Kexuan had become a corpse.

When asked about his hobby of fishing, Wei Tianyong said he doesn't like fishing. His biggest hobby is playing computer games, especially Fantasy Westward Journey, on which he has already spent six figures.

The fact that a member of the Wei family spent six figures playing games raised Han Ling's assessment of the Wei family's wealth to a new level; they were indeed rich.

"Do you have any conflicts with the Cao family?" Han Ling asked this question.

Wei Tianyong: "What conflict could there be between us and the Cao family? The two families have a very good relationship."

Han Ling: "What about conflicts between individuals?"

Wei Tianyong: "No, our village is very harmonious. I admit that minor disputes exist, but they would never escalate to murder."

You guys are really overthinking it.

At this point, Tong Feng spoke up: "Are we overthinking things or are you doing too much? Is it really necessary to make a normal police report so complicated? As long as the forensic doctor performs an autopsy on Cao Kexuan's body and finds no problems, a death certificate can be issued quickly."

Illegal cremations have raised the workload of the criminal investigation team to an all-time high, indirectly wasting a lot of police resources. Any criminal investigator would be furious in this situation.

No wonder Ji Bowen kicked open the Cao family's door earlier; he was clearly very dissatisfied.

Wei Tianyong thought to himself, "What else can we do after cremation?" but he didn't dare.

The criminal investigation team continued their investigation until 8 p.m. Everyone was starving after missing two meals, and it was not appropriate to continue disturbing the villagers in Weijiazhuang Village at night, so Ji Bowei ordered the team to call it a day.

Let's eat first, then have a meeting. We'll discuss how to investigate tomorrow during the meeting.

At present, there seems to be no problem with Cao Kexuan's accidental death, but an investigation is definitely necessary. It requires time and effort; this is the job of criminal police officers and cannot be taken lightly.

The group drove away from Weijiazhuang Village and returned to the branch office.

The distance isn't particularly far, so there's no need to stay in Huaiyan Town permanently; you can just drive there and back.

After a quick and simple meal, the technical squadron began examining Cao Kexuan's belongings to determine if there were any clues pointing to his murder.

Ji Bowei gathered everyone for a meeting to exchange the results of their visits and investigations.

Hu Lihui was handling other cases and did not participate.

Han Ling explained Wei Tianyong's situation; the two were indeed childhood friends with a very good relationship.

Although Wei Tianyong did not appear to be particularly saddened by Cao Kexuan's death, it was understandable since Cao was not a close relative.

Moreover, Han Ling could tell from the other party's tone and expression that Wei Tianyong was quite saddened by Cao Kexuan's death.

Therefore, he did not find any problems with Wei Tianyong for the time being.

The first person to discover Cao Kexuan was his cousin. He was passing by the lake when he saw something floating on the surface. After careful examination, he confirmed that it was a body and quickly called for people to retrieve it.

At the time, the Cao and Wei families, along with other villagers, numbered over a hundred people. There was no problem with this matter unless they were all lying.

One person might be able to lie and get away with it, but so many villagers, including women and even older children, couldn't possibly escape the keen eyes of the detectives.

Cao Kexuan was pulled out of the lake.

Based on other corroborating clues, the criminal investigation team now only needs to figure out one thing: whether Cao Kexuan jumped into the lake by himself.

The person definitely entered the lake, that's for sure. But did they jump in themselves? We don't know.

The villagers' speculation about him jumping into the lake to chase a fishing rod is just that—a very high possibility.

Everyone knows the gist of this case. Even if the investigation is completed and everything is clear, the accuracy rate will probably only be 99.99%.

There was nothing that could be done; the body had already been cremated, and the most important investigative evidence for an unnatural death had disappeared.

One o'clock.

The forensic results are in: Cao Kexuan's other belongings are fine, but his clothes have some issues.

First, the knee area was damaged, and a certain amount of soil was extracted from the fibers.

The clothes were washed, but since there was still quite a bit left after washing, it means there was even more before washing. This would require Cao Kexuan to kneel on the mud for a long time to get the clothes dirty and to apply considerable pressure.

Secondly, the sleeves of the shirt have slight tear marks, but are not damaged; they are just torn, and both sleeves have these marks.

This is the result of the forensic examination. Whether the clues can be used depends on the investigator's judgment.

"What do you think?"

In the conference room, Ji Bowei, having received the appraisal report, asked for everyone's opinions.

Fangzhou thought for a moment and then said, "The lakeside is very muddy, so the fishermen are bound to be dirty. It's normal for them to have mud on their knees, for example, when they're kneeling to get water or doing other things."

The tear marks on his sleeves are a bit odd; normally there shouldn't be any. Did he have a physical altercation with someone?

Ji Bowei shifted his gaze to Han Ling, who was sitting there in silence. Seeing that Han Ling's expression was becoming increasingly serious, he asked, "Han Ling, what do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Han Ling looked up, his eyes sharpening considerably: "Most likely, it was murder."

Ji Bowei was taken aback.

The others also looked at Han Ling, wondering why he had suddenly uttered the words "murder".

“Continue,” Ji Bowen said, looking at him. Han Ling: “The mud on the knees is direct evidence of the intense, directional struggle during the near-death period.”

When a person's upper body is in the water, they will instinctively try to stick their head out. The simplest way is to use their legs to push off the ground and try to stand up. At this time, the knees are the fulcrum.

With each attempt, more mud and more damage are added.

The twisting and struggling motions make a drowning person's body posture extremely unstable, and the knees are the most commonly used part of the body for support and stability.

Ji Bowen understood: "You mean, someone forcibly held Cao Kexuan underwater and drowned him?"

Han Ling nodded: "Yes."

Fang Zhou looked over: "Han Ling, Cao Kexuan is an adult male. This method of killing seems difficult to carry out?"

Since the Hou Jiarou case, his evaluation of Han Ling has changed from that of a new police officer, so he doesn't question her rashly, but rather approaches the matter with a discussion.

Han Ling: "As long as there are enough people, it's fine."

Fangzhou: "Uh."

That's true. It's true that more people can do it. One person can't, but it's not difficult for two or three people to drown an adult male with several times the force.

Ji Bowen was somewhat surprised: "How did you analyze it so quickly? Based solely on the mud and damage to the knees of the clothes, you quickly concluded that it was drowning caused by external force. Have you read any relevant cases? Are you sure the characteristics match?"

To his recollection, he had never seen a similar method of murder.

It's feasible, but it's too niche and difficult to implement; as mentioned earlier, it requires multiple people.

Han Ling opened his mouth, but he couldn't say: "I've been pushed into the water before, and I've also pushed others into the water before. Practice makes perfect."

"I've seen the case, but I forgot exactly where I saw it," he replied.

Ji Bowei nodded without asking further questions: "What you said earlier makes sense. The damage to the knee and the dirt residue could be from daily use or from the struggle before death."

However, saying it was most likely a homicide is a bit too hasty.

Han Ling: "Captain Ji, don't forget there are still tear marks; those are from the struggle."

Besides, everything from the funeral text message to the illegal cremation, to the villagers refusing Zhu Yuntang's request to call the police, and concealing the true cause of death, all of these are indirect clues.

Ji Bowei fell into deep thought.

Upon closer examination of the entire case, the probability of homicide does indeed seem higher than that of an accident.

But a possibility is just a possibility; there must be direct clues to prove that there is a problem somewhere.

Take Hou Jiarou's case as an example. Han Ling found out that Hou Jiarou couldn't possibly be divorced, which contradicted the suspect's confession. This is the point of inconsistency, and this is the direct clue.

Han Ling said no more, took out a cigarette and lit it. He was just trying to offer his personal opinion based on theory.

In his past life, he would have simply said: "I smelled the scent of murder."

It's that simple.

Intuition comes from a wealth of experience, and Han Ling has great faith in his intuition, which has always been highly accurate.

After a long silence, Ji Bowei spoke up: "There are some problems with this case. We need to be more thorough and investigate it carefully. Zhang Yandong, your investigation team will go to Qingchang University tomorrow to find out about the deceased Cao Kexuan's interpersonal relationships at the university."

Also, bring back all his personal belongings, including his computer; the Cao family hasn't had time to pack them yet.

Zhang Yandong nodded: "Yes, Captain Ji."

Cao Kexuan's interpersonal relationships are not limited to Weijiazhuang Village; Qingchang University is also very important to him.

If Cao Kexuan's death was a homicide, is it possible that the murderer came from Qingchang University? It is entirely possible. Killing someone off-campus is far safer than killing someone on campus. In fact, Cao Kexuan's death was indeed determined to be an accident.

College students are in a state between adulthood and maturity. You could say they are children, since they are over eighteen years old; you could say they are mature, since they have not yet been exposed to society and their thinking is still relatively immature.

This age group is quite dangerous; people are prone to impulsiveness and don't consider the consequences.

“Yang Hui.” Ji Bowei turned his head. “Your investigation team should go and get Cao Kexuan’s detailed personal information tomorrow. If you find any problems, investigate directly.”

Bank statements, call records, and other personal data of those who died under abnormal circumstances, including computer and online traces, are all considered personal information.

In short: anything related to Cao Kexuan must be investigated and thoroughly investigated.

Cao Kexuan is already dead, so even if there are any secrets, there's no reason for him to worry about the issue of social death.

"The technical squadron will continue to inspect Cao Kexuan's fishing gear. Check it carefully. The rest of you will come with me tomorrow to Huaiyan Town," Ji Bowen concluded.

Everyone: "Yes!"

After the meeting, Han Ling and Tong Feng returned to the case-handling hall of the First Squadron.

"See? You have to leave a clean reputation in the world." Tong Feng was organizing the information from his visits on the computer, digitizing the text so he could use it when organizing the case files later. He was chatting with Han Ling while typing.

Han Ling leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes to rest: "You mean the privacy of the deceased?"

Tong Feng: "That's right. In the eyes of the police, there are no secrets about the deceased if it is not a natural death. They can find out everything."

Han Ling: "The person is dead, so we can't see them anymore."

(End of this chapter)