Simulating_Crimes_C12

Chapter 12: A Cooked and Sliced Body, Reported by a Fisherman!!!

The vast majority of criminal cases have files that rarely exceed two hundred pages.

However, in the case of this unsolved dismemberment case, the file is several thousand pages thick, and it’s nearing the ten thousand-page mark. This volume clearly demonstrates how highly the authorities regarded this case.

Despite this intense focus, the case, which dates back twenty years, has not even identified a possible suspect, leading many to call it the “perfect crime.”

Back when Su Ming was at the police academy, he had heard his instructors mention this case several times. Now, being able to personally review the detailed case file was something he couldn’t help but feel excited about.

Of course, what he was most curious about was whether this nearly twenty-year-old unsolved case was truly as perfect as everyone claimed.

Opening the electronic file, Su Ming didn’t choose to go through each page one by one. After all, reviewing several thousand pages in detail would take at least ten to fifteen days, if not longer.

Instead, he skipped ahead to the section about the victim’s body, reviewing the photos taken at the crime scene for further analysis.

With his extensive experience in crime simulation, Su Ming knew well that the clues and information contained in the victim’s body were crucial. For most homicide cases, solving the crime begins with examining the body!

The next moment, several chilling case photos appeared on the screen.

The first photo was of a bag containing cooked slices of meat, which looked uniform in size and shape, nearly identical to the beef found at an ordinary deli.

However, next to the pile of meat, there was a half-cooked finger, its broken nail grotesquely lifted and jagged!

At first glance, one might be fooled into thinking it was just a regular pile of cooked meat. But as soon as the eye catches sight of the half-finger, it triggers a visceral reaction—a chill running down the spine, and all appetite vanishing, leaving only the impulse to vomit.

Accompanying this photo was a description:

“On May 13, 2003, at 5 AM, sanitation worker Huang Lijuan found this bag containing the victim’s body parts in a trash can located in an alley on the eastern section of Renmin Street.”

“Initially, Huang Lijuan thought it was discarded beef and planned to take it home. However, when she prepared to process the meat later in the evening, she discovered what appeared to be a human finger, prompting her to panic and report the find.”

“DNA tests confirmed that all the items in the black plastic bag were human body parts, cooked. The Huaihai Criminal Investigation Team immediately began investigating, identifying the victim as a student from Magic Capital University, with other body parts discovered at different locations nearby.”

After this description, more images of the victim’s body parts being discovered were shown. Three of these images were similar to the first, showing cooked meat slices packaged in black plastic bags, identical in shape and size.

The last photo, however, showed the victim’s decapitated head, the hair fallen off, the skin split open, and the facial features unrecognizable.

To say these images were horrifying would be an understatement. Even though they were just pictures, the shocking impact would make most criminal investigators physically nauseous, possibly even leading to nightmares for days, making them avoid handling any meat.

However, Su Ming showed no reaction. As he flipped through the images one by one, his gaze remained calm, only a subtle numbness underlying his otherwise composed demeanor.

Even the most brutal crime scenes no longer caused him to feel any tension.

After finishing the five photos, Su Ming leaned back in his chair, narrowed his eyes, and began his analysis.

The victim’s body was discovered on May 13, but the approximate time of death was likely around May 11, not May 12.

This could be deduced because the cooked body parts clearly showed dark red blood spots in the muscles, a common post-mortem phenomenon where blood pools in the lowest parts of the body due to gravity after the heart stops, known as post-mortem lividity.

Post-mortem lividity begins to appear within 2-4 hours after death, peaks after 12-14 hours, and stabilizes after 24-36 hours, no longer shifting.

By analyzing the number of lividity marks and the scattered, not fully coagulated spots, it became clear that the killer did not immediately dismember and cook the victim after the murder. Instead, they waited for a period of time, likely between 12-24 hours, before leisurely cooking and dismembering the body.

This delay in processing the body suggested the killer wasn’t acting impulsively or out of a moment of rage, but rather had premeditated the crime, confident that the crime scene wouldn’t be discovered anytime soon.

Given the premeditation, it could be concluded that the killer had likely been watching the victim for some time or had specifically targeted them. This was further supported by the methodical way in which the body was dismembered, with uniform meat slices.

The killer’s psychological state seemed strong—perhaps they were accustomed to such gruesome scenes, or had an antisocial personality, or possibly an abnormal mental state. After all, to be able to slice up cooked human meat so precisely required skill—likely a butcher or someone with similar expertise.

Moreover, the presence of some secondary cuts on the body suggested that the killer might have a compulsive need for perfection, though this couldn’t be confirmed with certainty.

At this point, Su Ming had to be cautious. In his own crime simulations, he had used similar compulsive behavior to divert suspicion, making it harder for investigators to see the true culprit.

Su Ming looked at the five images again, organizing his thoughts before muttering to himself.

“Based on these five photos, the following clues emerge…”

“The killer had premeditated this crime, choosing a location with facilities for handling bodies and one that was well-hidden. Even though Magic Capital University reported the student’s disappearance immediately, the killer was confident that the police wouldn’t find their location.”

“The killer has extensive experience dealing with corpses, or possibly has a natural antisocial personality. They are skilled with knives and might have obsessive-compulsive tendencies.”

“From these clues, the killer could be someone who works in a slaughterhouse or a similar business, like a roast duck shop or a deli.”

“This reasoning seems sound, but it can’t be the correct answer, otherwise, this case wouldn’t have remained unsolved for twenty years.”

Clearly, even without reviewing the rest of the case file, Su Ming had a strong sense that the Huaihai Criminal Investigation Team had already investigated slaughterhouse workers and nearby businesses like roast duck shops in the early stages of the case.

Just as Su Ming was about to continue reviewing the rest of the case files, Xu Changsheng, dressed in police uniform, quickly entered the office and waved his hand.

“Su Ming, Wang Hu, stop what you’re doing and come with me. We have a new task.”

“I just received a report.”

“A fisherman found a body in the Huainan River in our jurisdiction, and now we need to determine whether it’s a suicide or a murder.”

“If it’s a homicide, we must solve it within 20 hours!”

“Let’s go! Hurry up!!”