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墨書 Inktalez
Most people feel uncomfortable when they hear words like murder and dismemberment; they find them perverse and disgusting.
But what if I told you that there are individuals who, after committing murder, not only dismember the bodies but also craft items such as vests and lanterns from human skin to relive and savor the thrill of the kill? Could you handle that?
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Incident Occurrence: February 8, 2005.
Incident Location: Shaanxi Province, Xi'an.
Although this day was New Year's Eve, for my work, everything felt just like any other day.
However, just as I was closing the office door to head home and enjoy the festivities with my family, a sudden wail of police sirens pierced the night sky.
"Quick, quick, emergency situation! Let's go!"
With the Criminal Investigation Team Leader's urgent call, I quickly grabbed my toolbox and hurried into the police car.
A homeless man, hoping to find something to eat in a park trash can as the New Year approached, bent over and rummaged through the refuse. To his surprise, he stumbled upon a vest. Overjoyed, his eyes lit up as he immediately put it on without a second thought.
Onlookers noticed something was off; the vest worn by the homeless man appeared to be made of human skin. Alarmed, they quickly called the police, their voices trembling with fear.
Soon after, near the pile of trash where the homeless man found the human skin vest, police discovered a Human Skin Lantern and a bowl. Additionally, beneath a tree, they uncovered some buried human remains.
It was evident that this was an extremely heinous Murder and Dismemberment Case.
Based on past experience, such cases are usually committed by acquaintances. As long as the source of the body is found, the case is essentially half-solved.
Faced with a body that had been turned into a grotesque work of art, devoid of any human form and with characteristic bones removed, I felt utterly helpless. My brows furrowed as I struggled to determine the victim's age and time of death, let alone confirm their identity.
In desperation, the captain had no choice but to seek assistance from higher authorities.
Soon, the retired forensic expert old Zhang was summoned and entered the Autopsy Room.
To my astonishment, after examining the dismembered remains, old Zhang proceeded to place some of the bones into a pressure cooker to boil them. In my view, this absurd action was a complete waste of precious time.
This would undoubtedly delay the investigation. Just as the captain was about to unleash his fury on old Zhang, he remained silent, focused intently on removing the adipose tissue from the boiled bones with alcohol. After a series of observations and tests, he calmly stated that the victim was a female, approximately 45 years old, around 1.7 meters tall, and weighing no more than 65 kilograms.
old Zhang also thoughtfully explained that not only was the perpetrator's method brutal and psychologically resilient, but they also possessed counter-investigation skills and were knowledgeable in anatomy, knowing to remove certain characteristic bones that could indicate age.
However, what the killer did not realize was that the pubic bone could provide even more accurate information about the deceased. By boiling the bones in a pressure cooker, he aimed to remove the subcutaneous tissue from the pubic bone to deduce the victim's age.
As a forensic expert myself, I had some understanding of this technique, but due to my lack of experience and infrequent encounters with such bloody and cruel methods, I had not thought of it.
For old Zhang, however, this was not his first encounter with such cases. Twelve years ago, in 1993, a similar case had occurred in Xi'an, and since then, several such cases had followed.
The victims were mostly middle-aged women aged between 40 and 50 years old, with their bodies made into Vest s and various other crafts. For reasons unknown, however, the perpetrator later vanished without a trace.
For the past twelve years, the police had never given up on hunting down the Human Skin Killer, but for various reasons, the case had remained stagnant.
Most of the detectives in the department were relatively new, having only been transferred in recent years, so they hadn't immediately recalled this case.
Now that the Human Skin Killer had struck again, could the police finally bring him to justice?
Based on Old Zhang's assessment, the police promptly launched an investigation targeting all individuals in the city who fit the profile of potential victims.
Under Old Zhang's guidance, I spent countless hours in the Autopsy Room, leaving no stone unturned in our search for clues. My eyes were bloodshot, my expression weary yet resolute.
After analysis, I discovered that some of the unique substances found on the body parts were actually Sulfuric Acid.
Old Zhang theorized that the missing body parts had likely been dissolved in Sulfuric Acid and flushed down the drain by the killer. The reason he had carelessly discarded some remains in a garbage pile was probably due to a blockage in the sewer system.
Following this lead, the police began searching key areas of the sewer system. As the search area narrowed, officers bent low, carefully probing through the cramped passages until they soon discovered something unusual in a sewer located in an Urban Village.
Old Zhang and I quickly collected samples from the walls of the sewer pipe, carefully placing them into containers to bring back to the station for testing.
Finally, we experienced a significant breakthrough in the case. The analysis revealed that the samples from the sewer contained DNA identical to that of the victim, indicating that the first incident occurrence site was likely within this Urban Village.
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