Chapter 32: Skeletal Identification and Analysis

Working in the criminal investigation detachment, everyone placed extreme importance on rigor and responsibility.

If Lu Chuan were to claim he could perform skeletal analysis, setting aside whether Wang Changjiang would agree, even if he did, Lu Chuan could not guarantee that his report would pass the review from higher authorities.

After all, Lu Chuan had merely received a system reward and knew how to write an analysis report; he did not have the power to influence the judgment of the provincial department's experts.

Nothing is absolute. If a mistake were to occur, Lu Chuan would not be the only one held accountable. As the person in charge of this area, Wang Changjiang would be the primary person responsible.

Compared to taking risks, Lu Chuan preferred to play it safe. An officer cannot be too aggressive, otherwise, their career will be short.

"Forensic Examiner Wang, how about this: back in university, I studied skeletal identification and analysis, and I have some insights in this area. You can first submit the request for testing and analysis to the provincial department, and I will use the equipment in the forensic lab to practice and learn. Of course, don't worry about the report; I will submit it through the crime scene investigation channel, so it definitely won't be used for our performance evaluation."

Wang Changjiang was very satisfied with this proposal. Being able to submit testing through normal channels meant the task could be completed without affecting the case.

As for Lu Chuan wanting to use the equipment... forget just using it, he could practically take the entire crime scene office if he wanted.

Setting aside the fact that cases involving bone testing were already rare, even if they were used frequently, they still required approval from above. If the higher-ups didn't recognize your analysis, you wouldn't dare use it even if you completed it. Not only would the judiciary not adopt it, but even Wang Changjiang wouldn't hand over his findings to Qin Yong for the case without prior approval from superiors.

This wasn't like a child feeding; you couldn't just do it one way or the other. This required accountability. As long as Lu Chuan didn't actually break the instruments, it would be fine; after all, non-colleagues often came by to test things like bone density.

***

While Lu Chuan was busy, the interrogations on the other side were nearing their end.

"There aren't that many large bones to make soup with; it's all just essence and flavorings."

The kitchen staff at the hotpot restaurant did not hide anything, answering whatever was asked.

"A spoonful of Three-Flower Milk and some plain water can make a rich broth. Just throw in a few meatless bones, and that's your soup base. Our boss buys the bones; there are people who specialize in selling this stuff. But I don't know exactly where they come from; you'll have to ask the boss. Officer, did something happen? It has nothing to do with me; I'm just responsible for mixing the soup. Adding large bones is how every hotpot restaurant I've worked at does it..."

After the questioning ended, every detective involved felt like they never wanted to eat hotpot again for the rest of their lives.

"Captain Qin, the hotpot restaurant owner has spilled the beans."

Ren Qiang, who had personally interrogated the owner, reported: "The large bones used in the hotpot restaurant came from a feed mill."

"A feed mill?"

Qin Yong's eyes showed surprise; he clearly found it hard to believe that these large bones came from a feed mill.

Ren Qiang nodded helplessly. "They indeed came from a feed mill. The factory mainly produces pig feed, and because they need to add bone meal, they regularly purchase large bones. Do their bones supply hotpot restaurants?"

Ren Qiang shook his head. "Not directly. Most hotpot restaurants have specific channels for purchasing large bones. The owner of this hotpot restaurant knows people at the factory. They get a sack for ten yuan, whereas bones from specialized channels cost nearly a hundred yuan per bag."

Qin Yong was momentarily speechless. Ten yuan versus a hundred yuan... He had just taken his child out for hotpot last week.

"Immediately suspend this feed mill. Seize all materials and take all relevant personnel into custody!"

The bone fragments recovered from the hotpot restaurant totaled only eighty pieces. Furthermore, every piece had been cut. In terms of weight, they amounted to less than one-twentieth of the total skeletal weight of an adult. Therefore, it was obvious where the rest of the bones were.

However, a stroke of luck amidst the misfortune was that the hotpot restaurant's source for bone fragments was quite specific. If it had been a channel dedicated to selling bones to hotpot restaurants, Qin Yong's skin would have crawled just thinking about it.

***

In the forensic laboratory.

Lu Chuan had already begun the preliminary work for the experiment: selecting the samples, pre-processing, and performing surface observations of the bones.

Skeletal identification and analysis differed from fingerprint or footprint analysis. While it required a higher degree of experience, it also required the aid of instruments for measurement.

For example, bone density. Measuring bone density can determine the owner's health status and approximate age range. However, data obtained through instruments is not perfectly precise; it requires human intervention and analysis.

Take the estimation of the deceased's age, for instance. An instrument's calculation of bone age is actually an analysis of its elemental cycle. But if a bone's age is fifty years, it doesn't mean the owner died fifty years ago. They might have died at forty, but the bone was discovered ten years later.

What Lu Chuan was doing now was to estimate the age of the deceased at the time of death by observing the "growth rings" of the bones.

Trees have rings, and bones have "rings" too. As a person grows from childhood to adulthood, the bones grow ring by ring until they stop growing at a certain age. But this doesn't mean the "rings" disappear. The color of adult bone, surface attachments, and bone hyperplasia all continue to change with age. Skeletal identification is the process of completing an analysis through these details.

Two hours later.

The results of the analysis caused Lu Chuan to frown deeply.

His initial deduction was correct: these bones belonged to one person. Although he did not yet know the DNA test results from Liu Guodong's side, from the perspective of skeletal analysis, the color depth, age, density, and pattern development of these bone fragments were extremely similar. It could be confirmed they belonged to a single individual.

Beyond that, what surprised Lu Chuan was the time of death.

"Sacrum characteristic analysis: Female." "Bone ring observation analysis: Age at death was 34 years old." "Bone age carbon dating analysis: Bone age is 34 years." "Tibia length analysis: Height of the deceased was 1.63 meters." "Bone density combined with height analysis: Weight of the deceased was 67 kilograms. Bone density is three percentage points higher than the average for females of similar age, height, and weight. Combined with age analysis, the deceased was engaged in long-term manual labor."

After every analytical result, Lu Chuan attached the supporting data, photographs of the bone fragments, and the analytical process.

The skeletal analysis report was finally complete.

However, this was not the final step. Through the professional technical support application channel in the office system, Lu Chuan sent it directly to the technical support personnel at the provincial department.

Once finished, Lu Chuan said his goodbyes to Wang Changjiang and Shen Yan and returned to the crime scene investigation office. He had been borrowed by Wang Changjiang to help piece the bone fragments together.

Performing skeletal analysis was actually exceeding his assigned task. Wang Changjiang hadn't taken Lu Chuan's skeletal analysis too seriously. Lu Chuan had just graduated, and having some curiosity was fine. As for making a name for himself...

Heh, a matter that Wang Changjiang hadn't mastered in his entire life, a college student thought he could handle?

However, no one expected that Lu Chuan's report would cause a massive sensation at the provincial department!