The cause of death is a very serious topic for forensic experts. Forensic pathology is the main focus of this book. The court also attaches great importance to the cause of death.

For example, if today's case is a death caused by arson, that is, the victim died because of arson but was not the target of the arson, then it is possible to sentence the perpetrator to life imprisonment. But if it is arson after murder, it is considered an aggravated circumstance and is basically a death penalty.

On the other hand, if someone accidentally kills someone in a fire or if someone kills someone and then sets the body on fire, it may result in a life imprisonment sentence. The main autopsy examiner, Niu Tong, also became serious. Arson after murder is relatively common. Perpetrators often use various methods to destroy evidence in order to escape punishment. However, there are multiple stab wounds in the abdomen and a feeling of suffocation in the lungs... These are two completely different causes of death.

A feeling of suffocation or a feeling of holding snow usually indicates suffocation. Niu Tong decisively cut out the lung tissue. Pink foamy liquid flowed out, further proving that death was likely related to suffocation. So, did the victim get stabbed in the abdomen, lose consciousness, and then die from smoke inhalation? Niu Tong's gaze involuntarily turned to the throat of the corpse. It is well known that bodies that die from smoke inhalation have three characteristics.

First, the airway and oral cavity may be burned by high-temperature smoke. Second, the eyes are usually closed. The first point is easy to understand.

The second point is also easy to understand. The irritation of smoke is so strong that when it reaches a lethal level and is surrounded by smoke, one would definitely close their eyes. The third point is that the carboxyhemoglobin saturation is high, which actually represents carbon monoxide poisoning. This indicator is usually negative in normal people, and smokers may have a value of 0.02 to 0.04. However, if carbon monoxide poisoning occurs in smoke, the carboxyhemoglobin saturation can rise to over 20%. However, it is not easy to verify the opening and closing of the eyes.

Because a person's eyelids can also be closed after death, like some men who cry and cover their brother's eyelids in a fire, it would be suspected that they strangled their brother and covered up the cause of death.

Carboxyhemoglobin saturation needs to be tested for toxicology to be proven. Originally, the most direct way for forensic experts was to open the airway and take a look. However, the tissues in the front chest of the deceased, including the throat mentioned earlier, have already been carbonized. Niu Tong took a step forward and made a cut, but couldn't see anything, so he didn't cut further. "Shall we take a sample of the heart blood for testing?" Jiang Yuan politely asked. "Yes, we can."

Niu Tong's reaction was slower than Jiang Yuan's. Taking a sample of the heart blood is for toxicology testing. Jiang Yuan once again volunteered, "Let me do it."

He himself came here to gain experience and couldn't keep hovering on the sidelines. Niu Tong hesitated for a moment and gave way to Jiang Yuan. Jiang Yuan took the heart blood sample and also took a sample of the stomach contents. Toxicology testing mainly involves these two areas.

One represents what is in your blood, and the other represents what is in your stomach. After collecting the samples, Jiang Yuan lightly tapped the abdominal cavity with a knife and asked, "Should we search for something?" Wang Lan and Niu Tong hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Let's search."

They didn't need him to say what to search for. The three forensic experts all leaned in to search. There were no blood clots.

"The stomach is ruptured, but there are no blood clots, no carbonization." The lower abdomen is the same, no carbonization. Everyone tacitly stated their findings.

If blood vessels are severed before death, there will be bleeding because the heart is still pumping blood. If blood vessels are severed after death, there will be no bleeding because the heart has stopped beating. The reason why bloodletting pork is not available in European and American countries, in addition to economic factors and habits, is that bloodletting pork requires the pig to bleed while it is still alive, which is not in line with European customs.

The absence of blood clots in the abdomen indicates that the blood vessels were severed after death, or theoretically, the blood clots may have been burned by the flames. Stating that there is no carbonization in the stomach and lower abdomen is to reduce the possibilities for further investigation. From this perspective, the possibility of toxic asphyxia and mechanical asphyxia is greater, and the fact that so many stab wounds were made after death... Niu Tong couldn't help shaking his head.

Jiang Yuan gestured to the location of the stab wounds and said, "It is possible that the perpetrator was an acquaintance and was afraid of being recognized, so they made additional stabs."

"Very likely." Niu Tong became excited and said, "Let me make a phone call first. The cause of death has basically been determined.

The specific details still depend on the toxicology report, but the fact that the stab wounds in the abdomen were made after death has a significant impact on the investigation of the case. It is necessary to inform the frontline investigators first.

While Niu Tong cleaned his hands, made the phone call, and put on gloves again, Jiang Yuan and Wang Lan were digging out the heart and carefully examining it."Any findings?" Niu Tong quickly stepped onto his stool. "There's some petechial hemorrhage," Jiang Yuan replied. "Asystole as a side evidence," Niu Tong nodded.

Asystole can lead to hypoxia, which can cause petechial hemorrhage on the surface of multiple organs. The victim's heart was just like that.

However, noticing petechial hemorrhage given the state of the body today was not easy. The chest was almost burnt through.

"If the fire had been extinguished a bit slower and the house was completely burnt down, the heart would probably have been burnt through as well," Jiang Yuan said. "Jiang Yuan has good eyesight," Niu Tong praised. Wang Lan raised his head, shaking it to relieve his neck discomfort, and said, "Jiang Yuan is not just good at observing, he went for the hemorrhage on the organ surfaces. He carefully examined the liver and kidneys. The one on the heart can also be found, even though the blood was almost dried up."

"Forensic Jiang is capable," Niu Tong nodded.

Knowledge is written in books, but being able to apply it at the right time is not simple. Niu Tong's evaluation of Jiang Yuan, who was still a young newcomer, had slightly improved.

"Let's finish the rest. Captain Lei will come over later," Niu Tong said, and continued to work hard.

The trace examiner Cao Keyang on the side was so tired that he almost vomited. He sighed and said, "Is your Captain Lei coming over in the middle of the night?"

"He doesn't sleep at night, it's fine. Niu doesn't have any consideration for the leader's feelings at all." Jiang Yuan, Wang, Cao Keyang, and the forensic assistant all nodded in agreement. The atmosphere in the autopsy room became warm.

An hour later, Lei Xin, the captain of the criminal police team in Qianjin District of Qinghe City, rushed over. "Forensic Jiang, thank you for your hard work."

Qinghe City has three districts in total, and Qianjin District is an old urban area. The district's criminal police team is at the same level as the criminal police team in Ningtai County.

This was a slightly thin policeman, with yellow hands and teeth, who seemed to be more of a thinker than a doer. Upon entering, Lei Xin first politely greeted Jiang Yuan, then distributed cigarettes to others. Jiang Yuan said, "It's fine," and accepted the cigarette. If someone is being overly friendly, it's definitely for a reason.

Taking advantage of the case to get to know each other, Lei Xin said, "Forensic Jiang, Forensic Wang, Niu Tong, let me brief you on the case.

Alright."

Lei Xin began, "In short, today... or rather, yesterday afternoon, a self-built house in our Qianjin District caught fire. After the fire was extinguished, we found this female body. We've done a DNA comparison, and I just got the results.

The victim's name was Zhang Yin, 22 years old, unmarried.

She rented the place. The situation at the scene suggests that the victim was lying on the bed in the house without clothes, so there is a possibility of rape." The self-built houses in the city village have complex traffic and few cameras.

"We are currently investigating Zhang's social relations. The victim worked in a mall, as a salesperson at the L'Oreal counter, and it seems she didn't have particularly close colleagues. Her parents also didn't know much about her social relations," Lei Xin said, then added, "Forensic Jiang, if you have time, please take a look at the scene."

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Jiang Yuan didn't object, but scratched his head and said, "There should be few pieces of evidence left at the scene after the arson. I've done fingerprinting for arson cases before, and it's like plastering the ceiling."

Lei Xin didn't hide anything and said, "The scene investigators basically didn't find any evidence. Now, if no evidence like semen is found on the body, even if we find the person, we will probably lack physical evidence."

"The murder weapon was thrown near the ignition point, it's a chef's knife, the kind used in Western kitchens, like the ones in a five-piece kitchen set, comes in a wooden box, the knife inside. The exterior is also burnt out.

To be honest, Lei Xin was trying to get close, but the problem he was facing was indeed difficult. Lei Xin pretended to complain, "We are still investigating and haven't found any results yet. Even if we do, I still have to worry about the physical evidence. The requirements for homicide cases are getting higher and higher. Without DNA evidence, without solid physical evidence, the prosecutor will complain." Wang Lan nodded in agreement, "CSI effect."

The CSI effect refers to the fact that people have watched too many TV shows, movies, and variety shows related to forensic science, which has raised their expectations for forensic science.

In Western countries, the CSI effect is reflected in the jurors' demands and expectations for physical evidence, such as more DNA testing and the most advanced technology. In China, the CSI effect is more reflected in the leaders, especially those who are not professionally trained or higher-level leaders. When they ask about the "physical evidence" of a case, it's impossible for the criminal investigators not to feel pressured.

In a way, this is actually progress, after all, leaders who demand "physical evidence" seem more scientific than those who demand "confessions."

For people like Lei Xin who are responsible at the grassroots level, they have to consider all aspects.