The skin color of the corpse is also an important indicator for determining the time of death.

Generally speaking, a corpse will maintain its original color unchanged for a short period after death.

However, as time passes, the color of the corpse will gradually change.

In non-frozen conditions, the typical color changes of a corpse over time include blue-purple, light red, brown-yellow, wax yellow, light green, dark green, and even black-green.

Without external intervention, the body will eventually become mummified and then undergo decay, eventually leading to skeletonization.

However, under frozen conditions, the color change process of the corpse is different, with the blue-purple process being slower, and if the temperature is low enough, no subsequent decay changes will occur.

Additionally, in some special circumstances, such as death from gas poisoning, the skin color, especially the lips, may exhibit a cherry red hue.

The body at the scene was already completely frozen, making it impossible to determine the time of death based on the degree of rigor mortis.

The temperature had also equalized with the outside temperature, and there was no significant change in skin color.

Wang Changjiang's estimation that death occurred within a week is a rather conservative estimate.

Because, beyond one week, even in a frozen state, there would be some changes in the body's color.

However, at the crime scene, there was not only the corpse but also speckled bloodstains.

Wang Changjiang continued to provide further calculations on the time of death: "The speckled bloodstains on the snow indicate that when the murderer disposed of the body, it wasn't rigid, otherwise, there wouldn't be blood dripping after getting scraped against the wall."

"Analyzing this scenario, the time of death should be within forty-eight hours."

At this point, the cause of death was determined to be strangulation, mechanical asphyxiation.

Time of death within forty-eight hours.

Crime scene photography, preliminary examination of the body, and collection of the bloodstains have all been completed.

Liu Guodong packed up the crime scene investigation equipment and looked around the body: "Lu, I'll go through the outer spiral once, you go through the inner spiral."

Lu Chuan nodded; crime scene investigation involves more than just taking photographs and collecting physical evidence.

Every crime scene investigation follows a certain procedure, and searching the scene is one of the most important components.

Common search methods include line search, grid search, sector search, and circular radiation search.

Generally, the line search method is more commonly used in outdoor scenes, colloquially known by detectives as "pulling the rope."

Last time, during the investigation of the Song Kun case, the traces of a vehicle accelerating more than a hundred meters away were discovered using this search method.

Grid searches are aimed at indoor scenes and are often used for smaller, more complex crime scene searches.

Specifically, starting from one end of a wall at the scene, the search proceeds in a straight line to the other end, with a width of no more than 50 centimeters, and upon reaching the other end, turns to conduct another parallel search back to the starting point.

After completing a plane search, such as the north-south plane, the search continues from the endpoint in the opposite direction using the same search method for the east-west plane.

This method is systematized and thorough, approaching the task with the caution and precision of a cat preparing to catch a mouse.

The sector search method involves multiple people continuing the search over a large area.

An example would be the search of Cock's Comb Mountain, which involved police dogs and hundreds of officers in a sector search.

Currently, Liu Guodong plans to adopt the circular radiation search.

This method is often used in outdoor scenes, with the crime scene officer searching around in circles with the body as the center.

There are two modes: the outer spiral, which starts from afar and circles closer to the body,

and the inner spiral, which starts from the body and circles outward.

The cooperation between Lu Chuan and Liu Guodong allows for more effective searching of the scene.

While work was ongoing inside the wall, the investigation outside the wall continued.

However, seeing Yang Sen and Old Bai's expressions, it was clear that they hadn't found much.

"There's a small path trampled by elderly morning exercisers on this side of the wall. The murderer's footprints... can't be collected."

Old Bai crouched outside the wall, facing the body, carefully observing and analyzing.

Yang Sen also noticed this. He initially thought this construction site was isolated, with the person disposing of the body here and the ground covered with snow, which would leave footprints or other clues.

But this side of the wall was adjacent to a small garden, with many nearby residents walking around in the morning for exercise.

The snow at the base of the wall had been trampled so tightly that it was impossible to leave footprints.

Of course, it wasn't completely devoid of traces. Even if the snow is compact, as long as it hasn't iced over, footprints can still be left when people walk on it.

At half past one in the afternoon, the crime scene investigation and forensic work were completed.

The body had been loaded into the vehicle, and apart from the action team members conducting checks in the vicinity, others were gradually returning to the Criminal Investigation Team.

In the vehicle, Shen Yan's cheeks were reddened by the cold, and her hands continuously rubbed together.

At the end of December in Haizhou, temperatures were already below minus ten degrees.

The team had been outside for three to four hours, and were already thoroughly chilled.

Fortunately, the vehicle had been running, and the heating system was working adequately.

"Has the identity of the deceased been confirmed?"

This time, Yang Sen was particularly considerate of Lu Chuan and took on the task of driving, with Lu Chuan and Shen Yan sitting side by side in the rear compartment.

The specialized crime scene investigation vehicle had more equipment, and seating wasn't individual; only two benches had been added between the equipment walls.

If they squeezed in, four people could sit.

The front row, along with the driver and front passenger, could seat two more, totaling six people.

Liu Guodong and Wang Changjiang had to report the investigation and preliminary autopsy results to Qin Yong, so they sat in Qin Yong's new car.

This left only Old Bai, Lu Chuan, and Shen Yan in the investigation vehicle.

Old Bai now sat in the front passenger seat, leaving only Lu Chuan and Shen Yan in the rear compartment.

"I don't think so."

Lu Chuan shook his head: "I just heard Zhang Hui say the resident checks nearby didn't go well; no one recognized the deceased."

"We have to go back and compare fingerprints to see if we can find anything."

The first step in investigating a homicide is to confirm the identity of the deceased.

Without that premise, nothing else can be addressed.

Fortunately, the time of death was short, and the body was frozen outdoors, making fingerprint collection much easier than Lu Chuan's previous experience with submerged bodies in the reservoir.

Upon returning to the Criminal Investigation Team, Qin Yong immediately convened a case analysis meeting.

Meanwhile, Lu Chuan began to work on matching the fingerprints of the deceased.

Regarding the autopsy, it's still not feasible as the body remains frozen; it needs to thaw before the autopsy can proceed.

The fingerprint matching process continued smoothly, but the results were quite unsatisfactory.

"Master, there's no fingerprint information of the deceased in the fingerprint database."

Liu Guodong frowned; the absence of stored fingerprint data suggests the deceased hadn't had fingerprints taken before, at least not in Haizhou City. In such a scenario, the probability of them being a local is lower.

Moreover, there were no reports of missing persons in the past few days, and facial comparisons yielded no results, indicating the deceased wasn't in the missing persons database.

"What are the plans moving forward?"

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