SFTD -Chapter 38 Mystery of the Dry Bones (Part 2)

Zhou Hai asked Forensic Doctor Xiao to load and seal the skeletal remains into the vehicle, then turned and walked toward Xu Biao.

“Look, there’s blood everywhere! But the rotten leaves are piled too thick—no footprints were left behind.”

After pushing through a patch of low shrubs, they arrived at a dried pool of blood beneath Xu Biao’s feet. He was snapping photos excitedly.

Bloodstains in the form of splatter, drips, and smears were found on the lilac bushes, shrubs, and blades of grass nearby. Yet despite such a carpet-style search, they still failed to locate the murder weapon.

After photographing, securing evidence, and completing a long series of procedures, everyone was drenched in sweat. Carrying bags full of collected evidence, they headed toward the edge of the greenbelt.

Squad Leader Hu and Forensic Doctor Xiao came over to meet Zhou Hai. Several investigators helped carry the cases as the group climbed over the roadside guardrail.

Squad Leader Hu asked impatiently:

“Forensic Doctor Zhou, how is it? Did you find anything?”

Zhou Hai pulled off his gloves and protective suit.

“We can classify this as homicide. This was the primary crime scene.”

“Homicide? Wasn’t it a body-dumping case?”

Squad Leader Hu froze, then turned toward Xiao and Zhou Hai in surprise.

Zhou Hai didn’t answer. Instead, he frowned at Forensic Doctor Xiao. Apparently, the man had already reported his own speculation as though it were a confirmed conclusion.

Looking embarrassed, Xiao wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“I was only suspicious. I just said earlier that this place was densely covered with bushes and rarely noticed. It’s the perfect place to dump a body when driving past…”

Zhou Hai interrupted him. Arguing over it was meaningless, so he simply ended the topic.

“Squad Leader Hu, we’ll return to the center first for testing and analysis. The deceased has already completely skeletonized, and your Duping autopsy room can’t perform the necessary comparative examinations. We’ll send you the results later tonight.”

“Wait, Forensic Doctor Zhou. Do you have any preliminary leads?”

Zhou Hai took the DSLR camera Xu Biao handed over, found the full-body photo of the skeleton, and zoomed in on several areas.

“The pelvis is short and wide, so the victim was female.
Height: between 160 and 164 centimeters.
Age: between 20 and 30.
The exact age requires detailed analysis and observation. Right now I can only estimate based on tooth wear.

Judging from the weather conditions and the state of the maggot shells, the time of death was between fifteen and thirty days ago.

There are penetrating holes on the right temporal region and the top of the skull.

The atlas vertebra, second and third cervical transverse processes, and the right lateral surfaces all show stab and scratch marks.

Both injuries were fatal. The skull was pierced through completely, and for the neck injuries to leave marks on the cervical vertebrae, the neck must also have been fully penetrated.

As for the remaining details, we’ll need laboratory analysis before drawing conclusions. I can only promise to send you the autopsy report as soon as possible.

Also, based on these findings, my preliminary profile of the killer is as follows:

The killer is male.

Left-handed.

The murder weapon was likely a flat-tipped, non-bladed tool such as a screwdriver.

Extremely strong.

And I don’t mean ordinary strength. He was able to pierce both the skull and neck with a screwdriver, even damaging the cervical vertebrae.

The maximum piercing force of an average man usually does not exceed fifty kilograms. But to penetrate a skull with a blunt screwdriver would require far more force than that.

So I believe the killer is an exceptionally powerful man who habitually carries tools like screwdrivers. Also, he likely does not live far from the crime scene, because someone unfamiliar with the area would have difficulty getting in here.

Therefore, I highly suspect someone in a mechanical trade: a laborer, maintenance worker, auto mechanic, machinist, or similar occupation.

You can begin screening those groups in advance.”

The more Squad Leader Hu listened, the more astonished he became. He nodded vigorously.

“Exactly right! To lure the victim here to commit the crime, the killer was either a nearby resident or someone with transportation. We’ll immediately pull surveillance footage from the surrounding area and investigate nearby repair shops and factories while waiting for your report.”

Zhou Hai agreed strongly with Hu’s reasoning.

“Yes, those are both correct directions to pursue. We’ll take our leave now.”

Forensic Doctor Xiao enthusiastically escorted them out, but Zhou Hai didn’t say another word to him.

A forensic examiner who did not respect the facts of a case was not someone worth exchanging pleasantries with.

Forensic pathology was not merely a profession.

Every testimony from the dead had to be conveyed through the examiner’s careful analysis. If they lacked professionalism or diligence, they could easily create a wrongful conviction.

Not only would the real killer remain free, but innocent people could suffer unjust accusations.

There were many “mid-career transfer” forensic examiners like Xiao within the system. If they studied seriously, their previous investigative experience could greatly aid their autopsy and trace-evidence work.

But Xiao was not one of them.

Fortunately, severe criminal cases were rare in Duping. If there were more, they would probably need daily support from the provincial center.

Judging from Squad Leader Hu’s expression, he had already seen through everything.

An hour and a half later, the four of them arrived back at the center.

The box containing the victim’s skeletal remains was placed in the autopsy room.

Zhou Hai instructed Xiao Liang to clean and rinse the bones thoroughly. Then Zhou Hai and Fengzi reconstructed the skeleton on the autopsy table.

A section of rib cartilage was removed and sent by Xiao Liang for testing in hopes of extracting the victim’s DNA.

Fengzi frowned deeply.

“There’s too little useful information on the victim. No clothing, no personal belongings… relying solely on skeletal examination makes this extremely difficult.”

“There’s difficulty, but not enough to leave us without clues. The evidence I mentioned earlier to Squad Leader Hu—once we verify it further, we’ll uncover even more.”

The two picked up the pubic symphysis and observed that its ridges had become somewhat blunt, ossified nodules had appeared on the symphyseal surface, the pubic tubercles had begun disappearing, and the ventral surface of the dorsal margin had formed.

Working separately, the two began calculating.

Zhou Hai accessed the database for comparison, while Fengzi applied the formula manually.

Fengzi estimated the victim’s age at 20.5 years old, while Zhou Hai arrived at 21 years old. Their results were extremely close.

However, this estimate differed somewhat from the wear observed on the victim’s teeth.

Holding the skull in one hand and the mandible in the other, Zhou Hai compared the victim’s bite alignment.

Sure enough, there was a large gap on the left side of the bite surface, while the right side aligned perfectly. In addition, the victim’s teeth were sparse, and the right side of the mandible protruded slightly outward.

Looking at the unusually sparse teeth, Zhou Hai suddenly paused and quickly counted them.

“The victim only has twenty-four teeth. A normal person has twenty-eight to thirty-two teeth, but she’s missing four. And all four missing teeth are upper teeth.”

Fengzi hurriedly recorded the observation while Xu Biao leaned over to photograph it.

Examining the roots carefully, Zhou Hai saw no obvious signs of damage, suggesting the teeth had likely been congenitally absent.

“It’s precisely because she was missing four teeth that her teeth became so sparse.”

Once the bones were fully cleaned, they could clearly see that the victim’s upper teeth were fitted with a metal brace.

Moreover, between the second and first molars on the lower right side, several loops of steel wire had been wrapped around the teeth. Such a feature was extremely rare.

“With such an unusual case—missing teeth and additional wire reinforcement in the middle—the dentist definitely would have remembered her. The wire was probably added during a follow-up adjustment because the braces didn’t fit properly.”

Fengzi loosened the braces and examined them beneath a magnifying glass, looking puzzled.

“The material used for these braces is extremely crude. They don’t look factory-made. Could the dentist have modified them from scrap material?”

Zhou Hai nodded.

“I suspect the same thing.”

Xu Biao leaned closer, staring first at the skull and then at the braces in Fengzi’s hand.

Muttering in confusion, he asked: ‘Someone in her twenties still wearing braces?’”