The Forensic Doctor Better Than a Detective

"Could there have been another form of attack? Like someone quietly approached him, and he suddenly fell to the ground?"

"But then again, there were so many pebbles scattered on the ground around the scene, if there had been a fight, the victim would naturally have resisted, right?"

"And in the process of resisting, it’s hard for the body to be completely uninjured—yet we see that the dirt under the victim’s fingernails is very clean, with no mud or ground dust."

"How do we explain this?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang An nodded slightly and didn’t immediately refute.

"The points you’ve raised indeed accord with general logic, but in some cases, it might just be a matter of probability."

"The absence of obvious injuries on the body surface does not mean there was no harm at all—especially concerning deaths involving special postures, we must pay extra attention to those unusual death poses."

"You mean... the two of them might not have been simply out for a walk that night?"

"Yes."

Jiang An continued, "Just now, I carefully looked at the photos from your Scene Investigation and noticed a detail: there are slight faint red changes on the skin of the victim’s neck."

"This phenomenon is strange; it only appears in one of the photos taken at the scene and was documented during the initial investigation."

"But in the subsequent official autopsy photos, this mark is no longer visible."

"What? No way, I was also at the scene at the time, and I didn’t notice this change."

"Moreover, the autopsy was conducted by a famous forensic professor from Guangning City Medical University, and the conclusion shouldn’t be wrong."

"The conclusion itself might not be wrong," Jiang An said calmly, "However, after the body is frozen for preservation and then re-examined, such red changes on the skin might naturally fade away, which is why later autopsy records don’t show it."

"What change?"

Qin Feng’s heart suddenly tightened, and his heartbeat unconsciously sped up.

Could it be that this time the judgment was indeed mistaken, leading them to a dead end?

He instinctively looked around, all was pitch black, and in the silence, an indescribable tension gradually filled his heart.

Jiang An slowly spoke: "While going through the case materials, there was one photo that particularly caught my attention—that was a preliminary scene photo of the victim lying on the ground."

"According to the records, this photo must have been the first picture taken from a standing position by Scene Investigation personnel during the initial examination."

"Due to the relatively far shooting distance and dim lighting conditions at the scene, any subtle changes in the victim’s neck weren’t easily noticed right away, especially the not-so-obvious red swelling marks on the neck."

He paused slightly and continued explaining: "This swelling is essentially a congestion phenomenon of local skin dermal blood vessels."

"We can make a simple analogy: it’s like when you rub vigorously on a part of your skin where capillaries are densely distributed—like the buttocks, neck, or earlobe—the skin surface will temporarily appear red due to increased blood flow."

"This is caused by external force stimulating local blood vessels to dilate and accumulate blood, forming a physiological reaction."

"However, it’s important to note that this type of reaction typically lasts a limited time, usually dissipating within a few to tens of minutes, and if not observed or recorded promptly, it may disappear."

Jiang An spoke steadily and clearly: "Therefore, when the case entered the later stage of forensic examination, this phenomenon could no longer be observed."

"This doesn’t mean the forensic doctor missed it; it’s because by the time of dissection, this physiological congestion mark would have disappeared naturally and wasn’t present on the body."

At this point, Qin Feng suddenly asked: "So what is the significance of this congestion mark on the victim’s neck in the case?"

Hearing this, Jiang An’s eyes brightened instantly, and he immediately picked up on the topic: "Your question indeed touches the key point."

"As I mentioned earlier, skin congestion or bleeding usually means the area has been subjected to external force—this external force can be large or small, but it will definitely leave physiological traces."

"What’s noteworthy in this case is that the congestion on the victim’s neck is not isolated point-like or small patches, nor is it the ordinary swelling caused by a slap or small area of contact."

"It is a ring-shaped congestion band—this suggests that the force was applied in a manner encircling the neck, its shape possessing specific directional characteristics, linking with certain injury mechanisms."

"Thus, though it appeared for a short time, it plays an essential role in assessing the nature, direction, and possible behavior related to the force exerted on the victim prior to death."

Jiang An concluded, accentuating the word "ring-shaped" deliberately.

Upon hearing this, Qin Feng’s pupils suddenly contracted, and he stepped back abruptly as if struck by lightning.

If not for the railing behind him, he would have almost stumbled and fallen.

Ring-shaped!

To ordinary people, these two words might merely describe a geometric shape, but to a long-term frontline police officer dealing day and night with corpses and murder cases, they carried a special meaning.

Qin Feng’s Adam’s apple bobbed, and his breathing involuntarily grew tense.

He clenched his fist and finally struggled to voice that unavoidable question plaguing his mind, "Are you suggesting... the victim’s neck was strangled?"

Jiang An’s gaze remained calm as he nodded discreetly.

He stepped forward half a step, lowering his voice with clarity, "This strangulation is vastly different from the marks typically left by ropes."

"Ropes are hard, narrow in the contact surface, and frequently leave deep and distinct rope lines on the skin."

"But if a soft object is used—especially one with a wide contact surface, like a towel or scarf—the situation changes entirely."

"It might not leave any visible marks on the neck, nor cause epidermal abrasion or dermal bleeding."

"It mostly results in internal neck congestion reaction."

"If death occurs rapidly, even common postmortem lividity may be very faint."

This statement was like a key, suddenly unlocking a previously closed door in Qin Feng’s mind.

He lifted his head sharply, a gleam of understanding flashing in his eyes, as if catching a glimpse of dawn through thick fog.

He could almost sense the crucial clue, long lurking on the case’s periphery, gradually being outlined.

"So the victim did indeed die from strangulation... but that doesn’t make sense!"

Qin Feng accelerated his speech, his thoughts rushing, "However, there were no conditions at the scene fitting for strangulation!"

"Moreover, to perform strangulation, you need the tools, timing, and strength—it’s not that easy!"

"Crucially, others were playing poker inside the house at the time—didn’t anyone hear anything? How could the victim not struggle?"

He spoke more urgently, as if clashing with his reasoning, "Even using a method like ’Setting a Trap’, strangulation requires a process, and there must be time to leave traces."

"But that night, during our Scene Investigation, we found no traces suggesting the victim’s neck had been strangled, or that there were scrapes or struggle marks from leg movements—this defies logic!"

A flurry of questions welled up like tangled threads in his heart, and the once-clear line of thought was once again shrouded by new fog.

Qin Feng furrowed his brow, his expression revealing both puzzlement and anxiety.

Jiang An listened quietly, nodding slowly only after Qin Feng finished speaking.

He cast his gaze into the profound darkness outside the window, his tone steady yet weighty as he said, "This is precisely the core we must unravel next—what exact circumstances prevailed then?"

"How did the victim step by step towards death?"

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