Chapter 273

"I need to review the evidence too. Everyone, start going through the case files."

Jiang Yuan did not launch into a speech just because everyone was paying attention; this was an eleven-year-old cold case, a true old one, and the work of reviewing the files alone was already heavy.

Now that there was an official cold case task force with a team of twenty or thirty people—not just a few of us tinkering in silence—Jiang Yuan wanted to do this properly.

The first step in reopening a cold case is to sort and organize the leads.

The evidence from back then must be pulled out; any physical evidence that can be examined without damage should be re-examined to see if the latest technological advances can yield new results. Also, check whether the original evidence contained errors, omissions, or incompleteness.

The materials gathered by the police officers during their earlier interviews must also be reviewed. Dozens or even hundreds of pages of interrogation transcripts need to be read—if any leads or corroborating evidence can be found within them, so much the better.

"No case closed until solved" is largely symbolic, but keeping one or two officers from the original task force who know the full process is not just necessary—it's a smart move.

The two officers from the original task force we contacted: the older one has retired; the younger one… is still just a regular patrol officer in the Criminal Investigation Brigade. We can bring him over directly, and he'll catch up quickly.

As everyone got busy, Liu Jinghui sat beside Jiang Yuan and whispered: "You've felt it too, haven't you?"

"Felt what?" Jiang Yuan looked bewildered.

"This case is different from the usual ones," Liu Jinghui said, his expression grave.

Jiang Yuan's expression darkened instantly: "You mean… possibly…"

Jiang Yuan pointed upward with his hand, his eyes full of unspoken questions.

Liu Jinghui blinked, then gently pried open another of Jiang Yuan's fingers and said: "What I mean is, this might be a male-female duo. Well, 'bandits' isn't quite accurate—the suspects are likely a man and a woman."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because there's no ***," Liu Jinghui said in a low voice.

Seeing Jiang Yuan still didn't understand, Liu Jinghui cleared his throat twice: "Look, I've handled several taxi robbery-murder cases. I've studied cases from within and outside the province. Let me put it this way: if the taxi driver is female and the crime occurs in a remote area, robbery-murders like this almost always involve ***."

"Almost always doesn't mean always."

"Cases without *** either involve a female driver who's too old, or there's a woman in the gang. Otherwise, many evolve into robbery-***-murders," Liu Jinghui sighed. "So, during the initial investigation, there were clear oversights."

This was why Liu Jinghui gave this case a high score.

Jiang Yuan listened in silence.

"I looked at the photos in the case file. On the back seat, there's a long strand of hair, but I checked the evidence bags—no sample was taken back then. I suspect the investigators assumed it was the victim's hair. It does look like it, but I think it's more likely the killer's."

As he spoke, Liu Jinghui pulled out the photo from the case file.

Among the bloodstains on the brown seat seam, a faint strand of long hair was barely visible in the photo, captured incidentally while photographing the blood.

Jiang Yuan immediately fetched the victim's photo for comparison. After repeated analysis, he nodded slowly: "Possible. The hair resembles the victim's in length and color, but the curl is slightly different. The photo quality is too poor to be certain—but even if it's not the victim's, it could be from a previous passenger."

The trouble with taxi cases lies precisely here: the vehicle seems like a treasure trove of evidence, but every item's ownership is questionable.

And during evidence collection, deciding what to collect and how to collect it is itself a test of the crime scene investigators' judgment.

First, it must be clear: crime scene investigators cannot collect unlimited evidence.

A single evidence bag costs a few yuan—nothing much. But DNA reagents are expensive; domestic ones now cost a hundred yuan or so, and some imported ones are more effective. If you want higher precision or greater sensitivity, there's always a cost.

In a homicide scene, collecting DNA traces from ten locations is normal; collecting from a hundred is also normal. But in such a large scene, collecting from hundreds is simply impossible to cover everything.

And it's not just about expensive consumables—the lab's workload is limited. A city bureau's DNA lab works nonstop processing samples, and even for ordinary cases, turnaround time is often "this weekend" or "next week."

Homicides are prioritized, but resources can't be limitless.

Crime scene investigators, technicians, or other officers must always make judgments and trade-offs based on their experience.

Clearly, based on the case details, the officers who processed the scene likely never considered that a woman could be involved in such a brutal beheading robbery-murder. So when collecting samples, they simply didn't bother with that strand of hair.

Liu Jinghui shrugged: "I suspect it's a man and a woman. Another reason: there's only one blood footprint at the scene, and the DNA from the victim's fingernails has never matched anyone. That kind of stability is rare—I'm betting on a deadly couple."

Liu Jinghui replied noncommittally, "I suspect it's a man and a woman. Another reason is that only one blood footprint was found at the scene, and the DNA extracted from the victim's fingernails has never matched anyone in the database—such stability is rare. I'm betting it's a pair of star-crossed lovers."

"Most robbery-murderers are repeat offenders," Liu Jinghui said. "Who only robs once? Once a man climbs Liangshan, robbery and murder become routine."

Jiang Yuan nodded: "That suggests the original intent was probably not robbery."

"Exactly. The intent wasn't robbery—or even murder," Liu Jinghui paused, then continued. "The method of killing—beheading—seems brutal, but it's actually unprofessional, proving the killer's amateur status. Still, the technique has some skill. I think he's had some exposure to similar work—maybe a butcher or a doctor."

"If he's a doctor, wouldn't he have killed first, then dismembered?" Jiang Yuan offered a small objection.

"Possible," Liu Jinghui nodded. "What evidence have you found? Why did you give it a high score?"

"There's only one blood footprint—male, around 38 years old, 175 centimeters tall, with a slight limp on the left leg," Jiang Yuan emphasized. "The limp isn't severe—probably because the left leg is slightly shorter than the right. But if he wears lift shoes, it's barely noticeable."

Liu Jinghui's eyes lit up: "No wonder you gave it a high score. This case should be near the top—if there's a limp, finding him becomes much easier."

A limp is highly distinctive. Without concealment, people around will notice it as soon as he walks.

It's far easier to spot than uneven arm lengths or different-sized testicles—even without paying special attention.

"There's DNA too, but they never checked it back then," Jiang Yuan said. "They're probably no longer in the area."

"Hmm… very likely. The investigation back then was thorough," Liu Jinghui said, his tone growing heavier. If the suspects had left—or were outsiders to begin with—the investigation was useless.

Without leads, a detective's effectiveness drops by thirty percent.

"A limping butcher—with DNA? That's a real breakthrough," Liu Jinghui nodded. After all, it's a homicide cold case; having this many leads is already quite remarkable.

But compared to the first case, this one couldn't be cracked directly.

But compared to the first case, this one couldn't achieve a direct breakthrough.