Chapter 188

Inferring a corpse's condition before death from a single bone is fundamentally based on statistics.

For example, estimating height from long bones is quite reliable—such as the femur, tibia, and humerus; easier to understand by comparing it to the "tube bones" sold at pork stalls.

The folk saying "this child has long calves—he'll grow tall" is essentially no different from the forensic method.

However, accuracy still has issues.

If height is the target, then individuals with long legs versus short legs will yield different results when estimated via long bones.

To address this, forensic experts developed various regression equations based on bones from different body locations to estimate height.

The lumbar vertebrae are the same.

It's just slightly more complex.

First, you must distinguish between male and female.

Second, each of the first through fifth lumbar vertebrae differs.

Each lumbar vertebra has ten measurement points: anterior vertebral height, posterior vertebral height, superior vertebral sagittal diameter, inferior vertebral sagittal diameter…

The final regression equations total nineteen.

Memorizing them would drive anyone mad.

Normal people don't memorize such equations—they just know where to look them up.

But Jiang Yuan is working from a Level 3 Forensic Anthropology script—he can't just look them up; memorizing them carries higher prestige.

To laypeople, this likely means nothing.

But to insiders, it's different.

It's like ordinary people buying a reference book such as the *Manual of Human Measurement*, perhaps even choosing the edition published by Cihai Press—yet Jiang Yuan seems to have memorized the entire *Manual of Human Measurement*.

In any workplace, who wouldn't be stunned by a colleague like that?

Jiang Yuan said nothing, merely measured several more data points with a ruler and silently recalculated a few times—no significant discrepancies.

Regression equations are essentially formulas derived from accumulated experience; the formula is fixed, the data is here, plug them in, and the result is the result.

A young doctor quietly washed his gloves, removed them, washed his hands again, put on new gloves, then searched his phone—and arrived at the same conclusion.

Then he quietly went to boil the bones.

Wang Lan mused: "A forty-year-old woman who is 1. meters tall—there probably aren't many like her in Qinghe City."

"I'm afraid she's not from Qinghe City at all. Far-dumped, near-buried," another city bureau forensic added thoughtfully.

Fortunately, Wang Lan was leading this case—he had zero confidence in it.

A killer who murders one person might leave countless flaws, but after killing four, he should have gained some experience.

Some of the forensic staff here have never even handled a four-part dismemberment case.

And these four corpses were handled exceptionally well—if the reservoir's water hadn't dropped to a historic low, no one might have discovered the bodies for decades.

Wang Lan frowned: "Far-dumped, near-buried is a general pattern, but these corpses resemble burial more than dumping. And doing it four times in the same location suggests the distance isn't far."

"Far-dumped, near-buried" is a pattern investigators have observed.

Typically, if a killer dumps a body far away, he chooses direct dumping; if the distance is short, he chooses burial.

This is a fascinating psychological pattern.

In reality, dumping and burying at a distant location is naturally more difficult. But in practice, killers in unfamiliar places clearly don't want to linger—or rather, the time they're willing to spend disposing of a corpse has a limited range…

And what the two were discussing was precisely this issue.

Are the bodies in the reservoir dumped or buried?

The core of burial is the time spent digging. Because killers feel intense insecurity in unfamiliar places, they usually avoid spending excessive time or energy digging far from their familiar surroundings, away from their home and work centers.

But it's impossible that the killer doesn't want to hide the body more effectively.

Therefore, sinking the bodies into the reservoir leans more toward dumping.

If so, the possible origin range of the corpses expands dramatically—the victims may not even be from Qinghe City, or even from nearby cities.

Simply determining the corpse's origin raises the difficulty to maximum.

Wang Lan slowly shook his head and added: "I personally lean toward dumping. Let the leadership figure out the specific investigative direction."

Jiang Yuan stayed silent.

He also leaned toward the origin being nearby—but this isn't an exclusive answer; unexpected scenarios are still possible.

Yet even if Jiang Yuan were in charge, he'd reach the same conclusion as Wang Lan. Otherwise, this case would be too difficult to handle from a forensic standpoint.

Using forensic anthropology to trace corpse origins is essentially about finding intersections—like drawing circles on a blackboard, continuously seeking overlapping points; eventually, when the number of overlapping individuals becomes small enough, the origin becomes identifiable.

For example, Corpse No. 1: female is one circle, around forty years old is another, has given birth is a third, and height of 1. meters is yet another circle.

Overlay that with the circle of missing persons in Qinghe City—the final intersection may be just one person, or at most a few.

Then the corpse's origin can be essentially confirmed.

Determining the origin is the first step in such cases—indeed, only once the origin is confirmed does the case truly have a foundation to proceed—this is precisely Wang Lan's task.

"Uh… Xiao Zhuang, take notes," Wang Lan called out to a young forensic.

Xiao Zhuang responded "Oh!" and immediately went to remove his gloves and wash his hands.

After all that fuss, the notes were done, and the second pot of corpses was boiled.

Skimmed off the scum, drained the corpse broth, fished out the bones still attached to fascia, scraped them clean, then laid them out on the second autopsy table as distinctive bones—skimming the scum was learned from the previous pot; simply draining the broth left scum clinging to the bones, requiring a second cleaning.

As a result, the autopsy tables were again insufficient.

Four corpses were still too many; Qinghe City's autopsy room had already been stretched beyond capacity, but one corpse couldn't occupy two tables.

Yet placing the plastic-wrapped body bags directly on the floor was impossible—the ground was flooded with sewage, and the plastic bags themselves were part of the evidence…

So another round of fuss ensued: the two undisturbed body bags were carried onto an autopsy table, and the two opened bags were dealt with together.

Each body bag contained stones and possibly seeped-in water; moving them required lifting them high—needing three or even four people.

As a female forensic, Wang Lan could only stand by and cheer…

One hour later.

The forensic staff who went to eat returned—by then, the second corpse had just been processed.

"Thirty-five years old. Male. Height around 1. meters…" Jiang Yuan quickly gave his judgment.

Wang Lan agreed, muttering to herself: "Both genders accounted for, and the height is the same."

"Serial killers love targeting people who are 170 cm tall, regardless of gender or age," one forensic offered his personal summary.

Xiao Zhuang, taking notes, couldn't help raising his head: "Do you even realize what you're saying?"

"What?"

"In China, if someone likes killing people who are 170 cm tall, he'll die of exhaustion."

"Oh, then there must be other overlapping factors…"

Xiao Zhuang didn't bother replying, instead said: "I think this dumping method resembles the 'Two-Faced Forensic' from that American drama—the Bloodthirsty Forensic."

"I've only seen the beginning—how does he dump them?" Wang Lan immediately took notice. Copycat killers are a major category among offenders.

Xiao Zhuang organized his thoughts: "He often uses something like a shipping container, lined entirely with plastic. He wraps himself completely in protective gear—mask, suit, etc. Then he strips the victim, ties them to the autopsy table, kills them with one slash, dismembers them, packs them into plastic bags, and finally dumps them into the sea."

Wang Lan pondered: "That would require buying massive amounts of plastic sheeting, a separate house or space, protective suits, masks. Also, our killer isn't a forensic—he uses a power saw to dismember, and plastic sheeting would easily tear…"

"Plus transportation. Also, the body bags are too heavy for one person to carry," Jiang Yuan said.

"So could it be multiple perpetrators?" Wang Lan's eyes lit up.

Jiang Yuan didn't respond, instead fell into deep thought.

After a moment, Jiang Yuan slowly said: "Even if multiple people are involved, since the bodies are already dismembered this way, why use such large body bags?"

Wang Lan snapped his head up sharply.

Jiang Yuan continued: "If he's learned from experience, splitting the bodies into two or even four smaller bags would be far easier. Sinking relies on stones, not the corpse's own weight."

Not just Wang Lan—all present swallowed hard.

"There are only four body bags at the scene—so if the crime escalates…" Xiao Zhuang took a deep breath.

Jiang Yuan nodded: "If the crime escalates, the killer will likely choose deeper water and smaller body bags."

"Makes sense," Wang Lan sighed heavily. "Call the team leader—get divers to search underwater."

…