National Forensic Doctor-Chapter 905 - 843: Determining Time of Death

Liu Jinghui also came over and asked, "What do you mean?"

"The victim was injected with a large amount of antibiotics, cefoperazone sodium and tazobactam sodium, which are types of third-generation cephalosporin mostly used in hospitals and less often in small clinics," Jiang Yuan explained to Liu Jinghui before adding, "But the management of antibiotics in the country is not strict, making it easy to purchase cefoperazone." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

Liu Jinghui was surprised, "Was it administered after death?"

"How could that be possible," Jiang Yuan shook his head, "Once a person is dead, normal fluid injections are not feasible. Moreover, the marks left by the needles would be different. If the needle had been inserted post-mortem, it would have been discovered. This victim, Li Yanmin, was injected with fluids before death, and likely over several days. After death, as metabolism stops, large amounts of antibiotics would spread throughout the body tissues, acting as an antibacterial agent. Looking at this physical and chemical report, the last samples used were extracted on the first day..."

Liu Jinghui then slightly understood and asked, "So, you mean, Li Yanmin was receiving fluid injections for several days before death? Was he really sick, or was he forced to be on drip?"

"It appears he was really sick; indications of an infection were found in his lungs during the autopsy, though it was mild. Moreover, the needle marks on the back of his hand were also confirmed during the first autopsy, but at that time, we didn’t consider this angle and didn’t screen for his medication use," Jiang Yuan said as he shook his head, adding that ordinary cold medicine would have been metabolized in a few days, so there wasn’t a need to screen for it.

Units like the Physical and Chemical Laboratory are always extremely busy; it’s not like detectives can just bring a bunch of stuff over and expect them to check everything. It’s more likely they’d get scolded terribly.

Demanding detailed investigations of criminal cases and even homicides by police is ultimately a result of the "CSI effect," reflecting public’s excessive expectations of forensic science, whereas real criminal cases can’t possibly get the level of technical resources seen on TV shows, and some techniques aren’t even feasible.

Similarly, when something like needle marks are found, forensic doctors will certainly give them attention, but the first thought is usually drug use. Once the samples are sent to the Toxicology Laboratory for routine drug testing, that’s basically the conclusion. Unless the special team has additional evidence or demands, for example, indications that the deceased was using some new type of drug, only then would comparative tests be conducted. Otherwise, the investigation into evidence provided by needle marks would end there.

A corpse can provide plenty of evidence, but most of it won’t help in solving the case.

In this case, during the second autopsy Jiang Yuan conducted, the skin on the back of the hand was already deteriorated, making it pointless to worry about the needle marks. Additionally, the lungs had already been removed. Even if it was his first autopsy, the needle marks and minor lung infection might not mean much and could coincidentally explain each other.

Though an ordinary person might get an upper respiratory tract infection when having a cold, it’s also common nowadays for a cold to develop into mild pneumonia. Li Yanmin closed his clinic that day, likely because he felt unwell and, believing he had a lung infection, administered fluids and strong antibiotics to himself.

Or perhaps, he initially used ordinary antibiotics, felt they were ineffective, and switched to cefoperazone. In that case, his choice wasn’t wrong, and without additional support like CT scans or blood tests, he probably felt quite uncomfortable; using cefoperazone injections was also appropriate. Given that he had worked in a clinic for many years, he might have grown less sensitive to the second-generation cephalosporins...

"Li Yanmin administering fluids to himself, including using cefoperazone sodium and tazobactam sodium, is likely unrelated to his death and the murderer," Jiang Yuan thought it over, put down the physical and chemical report, and came to this conclusion: "It’s probably a coincidence that because he was sick and administering fluids, he was in a state with high drug concentration when he was murdered, which resulted in the preservation effect on his body."

Even Liu Jinghui, who was widely experienced, was a bit speechless at this time.

All this effort, and the result is a conclusion unrelated to the case!

Liu Jinghui took a deep breath and silently reminded himself: Any evidence is useful.

Muttering to himself, Liu Jinghui slowly said, "If Li Yanmin was still in need of IV drips when he died, then his physical condition must not have been good and he should have been resting at home. So, either there was something urgent that made him leave the house, or he must have been at the clinic."

Li Yanmin usually lived in a bedroom above the clinic and also owned a small rental property in a town near Changyang City; it was unlikely he would have stayed there.

Jiang Yuan nodded, agreeing with Liu Jinghui’s reasoning.

Wan Baoming, a bit anxious on the side, asked, "We’ve been to the clinic twice, there were no signs of forced entry, nor did we find any evidence that it was the primary crime scene. In this case, was it still someone familiar who committed the crime? If it was someone familiar, and the crime scene was not at the clinic, then where was it?"

"Could it be possible that someone came to visit Li Yanmin if he was sick?" Liu Jinghui took out his notebook and began to write things down, then he instructed Wang Chuanxing, "How many mobile phones did Li Yanmin have? Sort out his call logs, as well as WeChat and text messages, especially those from the 5th to the 8th; focus on analyzing these."

"Okay." Wang Chuanxing also began to write diligently. These were tasks Jiang Yuan’s Accumulated Case Team were skilled at, no need for Yu Wenshu’s team to intervene.

"The death occurred on the 7th." Jiang Yuan also calculated and looked up, saying, "Now that we’ve identified the reason why the degree of body decomposition doesn’t match our expectations, it’s relatively easier to determine the time of death. It can be basically confirmed as the 7th."

The determination of the time of death by Level 6 was now in full swing.

"This is good news." Liu Jinghui nodded repeatedly, "Finally, we have some gains. From this it seems that on the night of the 4th, the victim Li Yanmin closed his clinic because he was feeling unwell and began medicating himself. After going through the 5th and 6th, by the 7th, the concentration of drugs in his body was very high, which unfortunately led to his misfortune."

"On the 8th, Li Yanmin’s mobile phone still sent messages to others." Wan Baoming spoke in a low voice, "If he died on the 7th, then the messages on the 8th were sent by the killer."

"Were they sent from the village?" Liu Jinghui asked.

"Yes, they were sent from the village. He turned off his phone on the evening of the 7th, turned it on the next morning and sent a few messages, then turned it off again and it disappeared after that." Wan Baoming reiterated the previous information, then said, "We’ve traced the mobile phone before, but we don’t have good leads to follow."

"Now that we have confirmed the time of death, we can conclusively determine that the killer was in the village for at least two days, likely staying there." Liu Jinghui’s conclusion was not unusual; due to the presence of factory dorms and rented houses, the village had a long-standing population of over ten thousand people, making it difficult to find the killer under such bustling conditions.

Despite this, Liu Jinghui’s mood started to rise as he spoke, "To further elaborate, there are quite a few surveillance cameras in the village. At least the central area and several major thoroughfares are monitored, and some factory entrances also have cameras. If the time of death is confirmed as the 7th, the killer likely appeared in the village on that day. Most importantly, the killer wasn’t alone; at least it’s unlikely that a single person could dispose of the body, right?"

"Uh-huh, the victim weighed about 180 pounds, not dismembered, and had no bumps or bruises on his body. If it was one person moving the body, they would have to be very strong." Jiang Yuan also hadn’t completely ruled out the possibility of a single person committing the crime, but such strength would usually be apparent.

"The crime scene and village surveillance footage, I think can be further studied." Liu Jinghui brought up the surveillance footage once again.