Chapter 779: Investigation of Recently Released Offenders
"You..."
Gao Xiang thought Wang Song had found something,
but Wang Song shook his head, he hadn’t discovered anything either.
The people in Binzhou City’s Criminal Investigation Team weren’t just sitting around, if it were that easy to investigate, they would have found out long ago.
"However, the murderer killed four people in a short period, why resort to such extreme methods? I think this is a direction we can investigate next."
Li Donglin deeply agreed with Wang Song’s suggestion.
The murderer killed four people within just over a week, using the same methods, what does this signify?
Li Donglin, having worked in criminal investigations for so many years, certainly understood.
From a normal perspective, when the murderer kills, they certainly don’t want to get caught.
But this murderer is different.
Killing four people in a short period and in the same place surely grabs police attention.
That’s why the provincial special case team took action since the suspect killed many people in a short time.
The more reckless the murder tactics and the more people killed, the more experts it would attract to solve the case.
Thus, increasing the chance of getting caught greatly.
So, there must be a specific reason for the murderer to resort to such extreme measures.
Something compelled him to kill in such a drastic manner.
Luo Qiang took over the conversation: "I’ve already done a preliminary check on the nearby surveillance cameras with my team."
"So far, we haven’t found any suspicious persons."
"The deceased was murdered at 1:30 a.m. yesterday. During that time, we checked the surveillance footage of the community, verifying the identity of everyone entering and exiting."
"Except for two delivery workers, the rest were residents of the community."
"We can’t rule out that the murderer might have used another way to enter the community, the walls aren’t high, and there’s no electronic security installed."
"Look here."
There was some progress in Luo Qiang’s investigation.
"After finding no clues in the surveillance, we thoroughly inspected the community’s walls. At the northeast corner, near the north gate..."
A photo of the wall appeared on the projector.
"There are obvious tread marks here, and they’re fresh, likely left by the killer."
"Outside the wall, we found a series of footprints. The print has just been taken and sent over to Lu Chuan."
While Luo Qiang was reporting, Lu Chuan received the shoe print model sent by Luo Qiang’s team.
"Where did you get this?"
The officer delivering it, a detective from Binzhou City’s Criminal Investigation Team, replied, "After the incident, we followed Captain Luo to check the surveillance."
"We didn’t find anything suspicious, so Captain Luo took us around the community’s walls, where we found tread marks at the northeast corner near the north gate and a series of footprints outside."
"Captain Luo is reporting in the conference room and asked me to bring this to you."
"Alright, leave it here."
Lu Chuan had just finished his work.
Bloodstain identification had basically reconstructed the entire scene.
Once the trace evidence analysis results arrived, Lu Chuan could report the entire crime scene situation to Li Donglin.
Now with an additional set of footprints, Lu Chuan could compare them to the partial bare footprint found at the sink at the crime scene.
Moreover, it’s a series of footprints, offering more comprehensive clues and information than a single footprint analysis.
In the conference room, Luo Qiang continued his report.
"I completely agree with Wang Song’s opinion that there’s a compelling reason for the murderer to kill four people in such a short time."
"Even though we haven’t found any connection between the four victims, the murderer’s tactics are sophisticated and cautious, indicating a carefully planned operation."
"The murderer likely isn’t killing randomly; there must be some link between him and the victims."
"But the question is, why did he choose to kill four people in a short time?"
"I think we can make a bold guess, like the suspect might have a terminal illness, leaving no chance if not acted upon."
"Or could it be that he’s a recently released convict, eager for revenge?"
"Hence, my suggestion is to investigate from these two angles, especially recent parolees. Has Binzhou City’s Criminal Investigation Team performed such a check?"
Everyone eyed Gao Xiang, the chief of Binzhou City’s Criminal Investigation Team: "We haven’t."
They hadn’t considered this angle, so no screening of parolees had been done.
However, after hearing Luo Qiang’s analysis, Gao Xiang and the others agreed it was indeed a direction worth pursuing.
They had encountered many cases where the suspects were recently released convicts.
These individuals, after serving time, often felt their sentences were unjust and unleashed their pent-up anger on imagined enemies.
Thus, upon release, they were eager for revenge, contemplating getting caught again for their impending execution.
Li Donglin pondered momentarily: "Let Binzhou City’s Criminal Investigation Team establish a special group to investigate recent parolees over the past year, including those released from detention centers."
"Focus on checking if there’s any connection between these individuals and the victims."
"Alright, I’ll arrange for it."
With current meeting clues and information limited, the meeting concluded swiftly.
At seven o’clock in the morning, the sun had risen.
The detective team, with minimal rest, set off promptly to commence the day’s work.
In the autopsy room, the forensic doctor’s post-mortem work was nearly complete.
The cause and timing of death matched Lu Chuan’s on-site assessment, with no significant differences.
Emphasizing the analysis of wounds on the victim’s abdomen and back waist.
After severing the victim’s major artery, the murderer stabbed the victim twice and, seemingly without reason, slashed the abdomen again.
During the whole process, the killer did not encounter fierce resistance.
As for the nail in the head, it was confirmed nailed post-mortem.
Li Donglin’s decision to investigate recent parolees over the past year came from patterns observed in most cases he had handled.
Typically, the time frame for released convicts executing revenge-based crimes ranges from three to seven months post-release.
Rarely does it exceed a year.
For parolees without familial support, the first year or first three months post-release are the most challenging.
These individuals face long-term societal detachment causing lingering issues.
Combined with difficulties in finding employment, this creates intense psychological pressure.
Consequently, most parolee crimes occur within the first three months post-release.
Extending this timeframe to a year was already quite generous for Li Donglin.