Diary of a Criminal Investigator-Chapter 298: Drowning

In a drowning case, the first step is to determine the nature of the incident.

If the deceased jumped into the river to commit suicide, there’s nothing more to say; it’s just an accidental death.

But determining its nature is currently proving to be difficult.

"Any identification documents?"

"No, there are no documents on the deceased to prove their identity, nor was a phone found."

"Of course, it’s possible they were lost in the river."

Without identification, it means temporarily unable to contact the family.

In this case, verifying the deceased’s state through the family is unlikely anytime soon.

"In that case, first check if there are any tall buildings nearby; if the deceased fell from a height into the water, we need to know the specific location."

"Yes!"

"The body should also be transported back to the team for further examination by Forensic Doctor Wang."

The on-site work was completed quickly.

Sitting in the crime scene investigation vehicle, Lu Chuan remained silent.

"Lu, what’s up?"

"Oh, nothing, just thinking about the case just now."

"What’s there to think about?" Old Bai waved his hand, "If it’s suicide, it’s no concern of ours; if it’s murder... that’s troublesome."

Lu Chuan nodded, based on current circumstances, it’s still unclear if it’s murder or suicide.

However, based on past experience, such cases are more likely treated as suicides.

The main thing is to first identify the deceased, then contact their family.

Suicide generally shows signs beforehand.

Maybe a phone call to the family or a farewell note.

In this season, the flow rate of the Bailan River is constant; if the deceased died within an hour, calculate roughly, the location of death should be within a five-kilometer radius of the crime scene.

Because the time the deceased was hooked on the branches by the bank is uncertain, but ultimately cannot exceed an hour.

Therefore, the furthest drowning distance is within a five-kilometer range.

Following the river upstream five kilometers from the crime scene, there aren’t too many buildings along the riverbank.

Especially tall buildings matching the characteristics of a fall, only three, all high-end river-view residences.

Many people die in the Bailan River every year.

Just the drownings, there are usually two or three cases every month in summer.

So Qin Yong didn’t take this case too seriously.

"Divide into three groups, search the three residential buildings separately, especially the rooftops, pay more attention."

While Ren Qiang’s second action group was busy, the body continued to undergo further examination.

An autopsy in such a case has no actual significance.

Wang Changjiang only conducted an external examination of the body.

No external injuries, the face shows typical signs of a fall into the water.

Liu Guodong’s on-site judgment was correct, and Wang Changjiang provided a confirmed forensic judgment.

This is experience; after seeing many, you naturally know what’s going on.

Lu Chuan over there was also busy, examining the deceased’s clothing.

Apart from the damage caused by getting caught on the branches by the bank and hooked by an iron hook, there were no other visible suspicious damages on the clothes.

However, the leather shoes on the deceased’s feet puzzled Lu Chuan.

With his skills in footprint identification and analysis, Lu Chuan observed the shoes very carefully.

"The wear on the heel... something’s off."

The shoes are obviously old, worn for a period, with the pattern on the sole worn by about one-third.

Moreover, the deceased walked with a slight outward posture, and both shoe’s heels showed equal external wear.

This unique wear was caused by the person’s walking characteristics.

Everyone has slight differences in their walking due to different bone development and postural habits.

Some walk by landing on their tiptoes first, others the ball of the foot, others still, the heel.

Based on the wear position of the deceased’s shoes, the deceased walked heel first, with a slight outward posture.

But why are there fresh wear marks on the inside of the heels of these two shoes?

This... isn’t logical.

Meanwhile, Liu Guodong was comparing fingerprints collected from the body.

The body had died just an hour ago, and the fingers weren’t particularly soaked, so clear fingerprints could be collected without special treatment.

Liu Guodong was currently identifying the fingerprints.

"How is it, any information?"

Old Bai, having just changed his clothes, approached the computer.

"The system is still running..."

Ding!

The system notification sounded, and the match success message appeared on the screen.

"Got it!"

Liu Guodong quickly opened the matched information.

"Zhou Yang..."

The deceased was a local in Haizhou City. The fingerprints were collected late, last month Zhou Yang had an altercation while drunk and during mediation at the police station, the fingerprints were collected.

This is the wonder of fingerprint collection; sometimes they get collected because of unexpected events.

"I’ll report this to Captain Qin."

In Qin Yong’s office, Liu Guodong quickly reported the basic information about the deceased.

"This is from the household registration system, the information on the deceased’s family."

"Good, thank you for your hard work."

With the identity of the deceased confirmed, it’s natural to have family come to claim the body.

At twelve eighteen noon.

Crying and wailing were heard from the forensic autopsy room.

Zhou Yang was the family’s only son, his parents are in their fifties, primary school teachers, and not yet retired. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Officer, how did my son die?"

Ren Qiang was responsible for contacting the parents of the deceased: "This morning, someone found your son’s body under the Bailan River Bridge."

"We initially judged that Zhou Yang’s cause of death was drowning."

"Drowning?"

Zhou Yang’s mother’s eyes were bloodshot: "He couldn’t swim, how did he drown?"

"The investigation is ongoing, we cannot yet determine if Zhou Yang committed suicide or was murdered."

"Murder!"

"My son must have been killed, he was so obedient, he mentioned coming home for dinner next weekend how could he commit suicide!"

"Please accept our condolences, the specific circumstances are still under investigation, and we hope you can cooperate with us."

Zhou Yang’s mother was already wailing uncontrollably, and his father’s body was trembling, as if he’d aged a dozen years in an instant.

Quickly, Ren Qiang had someone take statements from the two of them.

At noon, without a break for meals, Qin Yong organized a case analysis meeting.

"Let me start first."

Ren Qiang stood up and began introducing the general situation: "From the crime scene identification analysis, fingerprints have confirmed the deceased’s identity."

"Zhou Yang, male, twenty-three years old, a local of Haizhou City, with a height of 1.76 meters and a weight of seventy kilograms."

"Time of death is between seven thirty and eight thirty this morning."

"Based on currently discovered information, Zhou Yang died by drowning after a high fall into the water."

"Checked the rental information, Zhou Yang rented a single apartment at the Haizhou International Apartments, but his parents were unaware of this place, indicating poor relations."

"Group Leader Sun is conducting interviews with related personnel at the apartments."

As he spoke, Ren Qiang sketched a general schematic on the whiteboard.