"Wasn't the cause of death for this girl asphyxiation?"
Zhang Yean asked with some surprise.
"It was asphyxiation, indeed."
"However, there are many ways to asphyxiate."
Jiang An answered, "This victim's method of asphyxiation is particularly rare!"
Rare method of asphyxiation?
Instantly, Zhang Yean fell into reminiscence, recalling that during police school, a professor shared a case of a male's special method of asphyxiation in class.
That was autoerotic asphyxiation!
A man creates a special oxygen-depriving environment to seek pleasure, ultimately leading to his death.
However, this method mainly occurs in the Beautiful Country or Yingjiang Country.
The probability of it occurring in Dragon Country is very low.
The young men of Dragon Country are actively seeking sincere love and harmonious partners.
Moreover, cases of this special asphyxiation method primarily occur with single men.
But the victim before them is a girl!
Just as Zhang Yean was full of confusion, Jiang An did not stop his actions.
After completing the localized dissection on the victim's right ankle, he took the scalpel and turned to the left ankle.
The same dissection method.
The same angle of incision.
The same method of skin peeling.
Critically, the ring-like red changes under the ankle skin were identical.
Exposing the condition beneath the skin of the victim's ankles.
Jiang An put down the scalpel and hemostatic clamp in his hand and reached out to push the victim's feet together.
"They're basically on the same horizontal level."
Jiang An observed and said.
Then, he walked to the victim's shoulder, raising an arm slightly.
Due to the body's refrigeration and freezing, rigidity persisted.
The angle between the victim's arm and thorax remained.
Jiang An said, "Mr. Wu, during your first autopsy, did you notice whether the angle between the victim's arm and torso was unusually large?"
Wu You reminisced slightly, saying, "There was indeed an angle at the time, but I didn't pay much attention."
"According to the normal course of death, such an angle shouldn't exist."
Wu You nodded, "Thinking back now, it's indeed quite strange!"
After a brief pause, Jiang An said, "I suspect that when this victim died, both arms were spread wide."
"Spread arms?"
Zhang Yean mimicked a butterfly's wings.
"Could it be like this?"
Jiang An said, "Not that exaggerated, the arms should be in an open state."
"What does that mean? This position is quite odd."
Jiang An explained, "This victim's arms and torso form a roughly 20-degree angle, which was likely fixed due to postmortem rigidity."
"It's just that during the later phase of suspending the victim, to disguise her as a hanged person, both arms were forcibly restored."
"But due to limited restoration, not completely back in place, this angled state appeared."
Wu You listened attentively, like a student listening to a young professor's lecture.
It makes sense.
Wu You nodded while listening.
It's known that Wu You has been working in forensic medicine in Jiangcheng for 30 years.
He's basically a titan of forensic science in Jiangcheng, which is why no one questioned his conclusions earlier.
Just like a doctor.
When you go for treatment, for the same prescription.
If it's from a newly employed resident doctor, you'd likely take a second look, even doubting its effectiveness.
But if that prescription comes from a bald old expert, you'd probably hand over the money and get the medicine without hesitation.
Of course, this was why the case was almost mishandled later.
Authority does not represent accuracy but certainly represents trust.
Finally, Jiang An said, "The victim's ankles have ring-like bleeding marks, which from a forensic perspective, result from external force exerted during life."
"The victim's livor mortis is distributed at the head and neck."
"Only one position can achieve this."
"And it's the only position."
"The conclusion is that the victim was inverted by leg suspension, leading to death."
Wu You nodded gently after listening.
He agreed with this conclusion wholeheartedly, without any doubts.
Suspended!
Inverted!
Death!
Arms spread!
Zhang Yean murmured to herself.
She suddenly felt bewildered.
In just thirty minutes, Jiang An completely overturned Zhang Yean's understanding of forensic science.
Zhang Yean studied forensic science in police school and scored 100 in exams.
Suddenly, she felt as if she had never studied forensic science at all.
After a moment, Zhang Yean asked, "Can being inverted and suspended cause death?"
"I've seen many athletes and fitness enthusiasts do inverted stands."
Jiang An replied, "A short-term inverted stance certainly won't lead to death."
"But long-term inversion poses problems!"
"Why though? This contradicts my knowledge; I've seen many people hanging legs to train abs."
Though Wu You knew it could cause death, he couldn't quite recall the specific principle.
He looked up at Jiang An, waiting for his answer.
Jiang An slowly said, "The human respiratory process doesn't involve the lungs moving by themselves; rather, various respiratory muscles participate."
"When one remains in an inverted stance for a long time, due to positional reasons, the respiratory muscles become fatigued."
"Ultimately, respiratory muscle fatigue leads to paralysis."
"Thus, respiratory function weakens, eventually leading to respiratory failure and death from oxygen deficiency."
After listening, Zhang Yean sighed, "So that's the reason, forensic science truly is profound."
Jiang An said, "Doctors aim to treat and save lives; forensic scientists study the process of death."
Zhang Yean remarked, "Can we say, doctors make life better."
"Forensic scientists make death better!"
"That's the idea, though it sounds a bit eerie regarding forensic science."
Jiang An turned and said.
At this point, Wu You listened and nodded with satisfaction.
Jiang An indeed is the top student with full scores in every subject, analyzing thoroughly and vividly, with an intuitive depth.
He asked, "Mr. Jiang, should we perform a dissection on the internal organs of this body?"
Jiang An glanced at the corpse and said, "It shouldn't be necessary; Mr. Wu did an excellent job the first time."
As soon as he said this, Wu You's tense face relaxed.
This restored some dignity.
Regarding the asphyxiation-like presentation of the victim's internal organs, Jiang An agreed with Wu You's conclusion.
The differences were in the cause of asphyxiation.
The dissenting points have now reached a consensus.
Wu You asked, "Mr. Jiang, what else should forensic science do next?"
After pondering for a moment, Jiang An said deliberately, "Go back to the death scene."
"We need to find the victim's initial death location."