The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

"These tissue samples need to be sent to a DNA laboratory to be compared with human tissue samples extracted from the kitchen knife at the scene to confirm whether they came from the same body. Although a preliminary judgment was made during the previous on-site investigation, confirmation at the autopsy stage is essential."

After completing the external examination of all the body parts, it was already past 2 a.m. The next crucial step was determining the time of death. Determining the time of death is extremely difficult in dismemberment cases because the body parts were scattered and disposed of in different environments with varying temperatures, humidity, and levels of decomposition. Zhang Lin understood this and decided to use multiple methods to cross-reference the findings, aiming to improve the accuracy of the estimated time of death.

"Xiao Lin, let's use the degree of rigor mortis to make a preliminary judgment on the time of death," Zhang Lin said. "Check the rigor mortis of each body part and record it." Xiao Lin immediately followed Zhang Lin's instructions and checked the rigor mortis of each body part one by one: "Head: The jaw joint is stiff, the neck muscles are stiff, but can move slightly; Trunk: The chest and abdominal muscles are stiff, the limb joints are stiff, and cannot move freely; Limbs: The stiffness of the upper limb joints is slightly less than that of the lower limbs, and the finger and toe joints have slight mobility."

Zhang Lin nodded: "Based on the degree of rigor mortis, combined with the current ambient temperature (25°C in the autopsy room and 15-18°C at the scene), the preliminary judgment is that the time of death is between 24 and 48 hours. But this is only a rough range; we need to use other methods to further narrow it down." He took out a thermometer, inserted it into the rectum of the torso, and measured the body temperature: "The body temperature is 30.5°C. Considering the ambient temperature and the degree of rigor mortis, the time of death should be around 36 hours."

“Next, we’ll examine the livor mortis,” Zhang Lin continued. “Observing livor mortis in dismemberment cases is more difficult because the body parts have been moved, which may affect the shape and distribution of the livor mortis. We’ll focus on observing the livor mortis on the torso and head.” After careful observation, Xiao Lin noted: “There are dark purplish-red livor mortises on the back of the torso, distributed in patches, which do not fade when pressed; there are dark purplish-red livor mortises on the occiput and neck of the head, with irregular shapes.”

“These livor mortises have reached a stable stage, indicating that the time of death was at least 12 hours ago. Combining the results of rigor mortis and body temperature, the time of death should be between 36 and 48 hours,” Zhang Lin said. “But we need a more precise method. Xiao Lin, prepare the stomach contents sample and send it to the toxicology lab first thing tomorrow morning. Also, have them analyze the degree of food digestion. In addition, we need to observe the degree of decomposition of the body parts and combine this with entomological examination to infer the time of death.”

At three in the morning, the work in the autopsy room temporarily came to an end. Zhang Lin and Xiao Lin carefully placed all the body parts into the refrigerator to preserve them and prevent further decomposition. "Professor Zhang, the autopsy of this dismemberment case was extremely difficult. Just determining the time of death required so many methods to corroborate each other," Xiao Lin said, rubbing his tired eyes. Zhang Lin sighed, "Dismemberment cases are among the most difficult types of homicides to solve. The killer is very aware of counter-investigation, trying to cover up the crime by dismembering and disposing of the body parts. As forensic doctors, all we can do is provide accurate evidence for the investigation through rigorous autopsies and scientific examinations."

The next morning, Zhang Lin and Xiao Lin returned to the autopsy room to continue the autopsy. First, they conducted a detailed observation of the degree of decomposition of the body parts: "There are a few green spots of putrefaction on the surface of the body parts, mainly distributed in the skin folds of the abdomen and limbs. There are few putrefactive gases. Combined with the ambient temperature and humidity, the degree of decomposition is consistent with the characteristics of death 36-48 hours ago," Zhang Lin said.

Subsequently, they extracted insect samples from the body parts: "There were a small number of blowfly larvae on the body parts, about 0.5 cm in length. Blowflies are common carrion-feeding insects, and they usually lay eggs on the body within 1-2 hours after death. The growth rate of the larvae is closely related to the ambient temperature. Based on the length of the blowfly larvae and the current ambient temperature, the time of death was initially estimated to be between 38 and 42 hours."

At this moment, the toxicology laboratory sent a message: "Professor Zhang, no common poisons such as organophosphates, cyanides, or sleeping pills were detected in the stomach contents, ruling out the possibility of death by poisoning. In addition, the rice and meat in the stomach contents had been partially digested, and the food residue was about 60% intact. Considering the normal digestion rate of the human body, the food was eaten about 3-4 hours before death."

"Very good!" Zhang Lin's face showed a hint of relief upon hearing the news. "Now, we have the test results from six methods: rigor mortis, body temperature, livor mortis, degree of putrefaction, entomological examination, and the degree of digestion of stomach contents. We will combine these results for analysis." He took out a piece of white paper and listed the time ranges of death estimated by the six methods: "rigor mortis: 24-48 hours; body temperature: around 36 hours; livor mortis: more than 12 hours; degree of putrefaction: 36-48 hours; entomological examination: 38-42 hours; degree of digestion of stomach contents: combined with the time of feeding, the time of death is between 36-44 hours."

Zhang Lin pointed to the area on the paper and said to Xiao Lin, "If we take the intersection of these areas, the time of death should be between 38 and 42 hours. Combining this with the time of ingestion of the stomach contents, the deceased died 3 to 4 hours after eating. Assuming the deceased ate at dinner time, then the time of death should be between 10 pm the night before the incident and 2 am this morning. This time range basically matches the time inferred from the scene investigation that the murderer disposed of the body parts between 11 pm last night and 2 am this morning, indicating that the murderer dismembered and disposed of the body shortly after killing the victim."

"Teacher Zhang, is the time of death estimation pretty accurate now?" Xiao Lin asked. Zhang Lin nodded: "The six methods corroborate each other, and the resulting time of death range is quite concentrated, so the accuracy should be very high. Next, we still need to determine the deceased's age, height, weight, and other basic information to provide more clues for the investigation."

The two began to estimate the deceased's age. Zhang Lin took out dental measuring tools and conducted a detailed examination of the deceased's teeth: "The deceased's teeth are well-developed, without cavities or periodontal disease. The occlusal surfaces of the molars show moderate wear, and there is significant cementum hyperplasia in the first and second molars. Based on the degree of tooth wear and the extent of cementum hyperplasia, the preliminary assessment is that the deceased was around 40 years old."

They then deduced the deceased's height and weight. Because the body was dismembered, height and weight could not be directly measured; they could only estimate them based on the length and weight of the body parts.