This deep, ghastly wound cut right to the bone.
It drew the attention of the three detectives more than any exposed broken bones or deformed skulls could!
Working in the Detective Bureau, they knew just how bizarre and unusual it was to find a wrist-cutting wound on a body that had fallen to its death!
Even though Riley had dealt with hundreds of such cases over the years.
None had ever shown anything like this.
...
Reining in his shock, Riley lifted the deceased's left wrist and after a careful look, furrowed his brow and said, "This cut on the wrist, it's clear it wasn't self-inflicted."
"Given the wound is on the left wrist, if it were self-inflicted using the right hand, the direction of the cut would definitely be..."
"From the outside in, not from the inside out like we see here. It just doesn't match up with how the human body typically works."
"To get a cut like this, from the inside out, based on past cases, it's almost always done by someone else standing opposite, wielding the blade in such a way that the cut goes from inside out!"
Riley's words were nothing short of shocking.
Because, according to this theory, someone else was involved in this case besides the victim!!!
This factor undoubtedly multiplied the uncertainty and severity of the case.
Whenever someone else is involved in a case, there's a possibility of homicide.
Lucas's brow creased slightly. As an experienced detective, he was well aware...
Campus homicide and campus suicide, while sounding similar, are vastly different in nature, impact, and public perception.
He took a deep breath and said calmly, "Medical Examiner Hill, take a thorough look."
"What exactly caused this kid's death? Was it from bleeding out due to the wrist cut, or from the fall?"
"Or is there a possibility..."
"That someone forced him to cut his wrist and then staged it to look like a fall?"
Clearly.
If this case could potentially be a homicide, then the level of attention it would require would be entirely different.
The golden first 48 hours were crucial to grasp.
Before Riley could respond.
Ethan, who had been closely examining the bloodstains on the ground and then looking up at the height and distance of the abandoned school building, spoke up softly, "Lucas."
"It's highly likely the victim committed suicide, and from what I can see..."
"This gruesome wrist wound was probably inflicted by someone else after the fall."
"First off, why I think it's a suicide."
"Take a look at the bloodstains from the fall, they're about 6 feet from the building."
"From our forensic experience."
"If the victim was pushed or thrown post-mortem, due to the weight, they would generally fall within 3 feet of the building."
"But if they jumped on their own, due to inertia and the parabolic trajectory, the typical distance from the building would be around 4 feet."
"But now..."
"The bloodstains are about 6 feet from the building, not within 4 feet, and certainly not within 3 feet."
"This suggests that the victim likely jumped back with all their might, arms spread out, which could explain why the marks from the fall are 6 feet away."
"So we can be fairly certain, the victim jumped on their own, not pushed or thrown by someone else."
At this point, Ethan paused, scanning the ground for several seconds. Finding no scattered blood droplets he was hoping to see, he shook his head and continued, "As for why I say the wrist wound was likely inflicted by someone else after the fall."
"It's because..."
"The cut on the victim's wrist is extremely deep, severing the radial artery completely, which means there would have been significant bleeding, and no chance for the blood to clot naturally."
"Given the human body's tolerance, a normal person with a severed radial artery would go into a state of weakness and dizziness, nearing shock from blood loss within just two minutes."
"In that condition..."
"It's virtually impossible for someone to climb up to a railing, let alone muster the strength to jump off a building."
"Of course."
"There's a slim possibility that right after the artery was cut, the victim immediately climbed the railing and jumped without any mental preparation."
"If that were the case, indeed, the jump could have occurred before shock set in."
"But I believe..."
"A 8th grader would hardly be able to endure the pain from such a deep, bone-deep wound, nor possess the courage to jump without any hesitation or mental preparation."
"To rule out the possibility that this victim was so desperate, so devoid of any attachment to the world..."
"I just carefully checked and found that near the marks of the fall on the ground, there were no high-spray blood droplets, not even a single drop."
"If the radial artery had been cut before the fall, I believe the arterial blood pressure would have caused quite a few droplets to scatter mid-air."
"But now... there's absolutely none!"
"This clearly proves that shortly after the victim fell, or within a few minutes, someone came by her side and cut open her left wrist's radial artery, aiming to ensure..."
"A 100% chance of death!!!"
Lucas involuntarily gasped, his scalp tingling as he looked at Ethan in disbelief.
Although in the previous two cases.
Ethan had demonstrated a terrifying knack for deduction, but Lucas was still not used to it, not completely numb to it.
Or rather, Ethan's grasp of forensic knowledge.
And the ability to deduce nearly 100% of a crime sequence from just one detail was simply too compelling, always leaving one amazed and shocked.
It was as if Ethan had personally experienced these cases before, making them seem effortless.
Riley, wearing rubber gloves, trembled slightly as he looked at Ethan, forcibly suppressing his habit of adjusting his glasses.
Without any hesitation, he began a more detailed examination of the body, especially the fatal wounds.
Lucas wisely remained silent, quietly waiting for Riley's detailed autopsy results.
The surroundings were oppressively quiet.
Three minutes later.
After a rough examination, Riley looked at Ethan with a complex expression and nodded, "Officer Ethan is right."
"This wound on the wrist was indeed inflicted by someone else after the victim fell."
"The reason I can conclude this is because of my preliminary autopsy."
"The victim fell face-up, with the skull shattered, limbs fractured from the impact, the spine broken into five segments, and three ribs fractured, one piercing the lung."
"Judging from these injuries, they look severe, but since the heart was unharmed, the victim might have been barely alive after the fall, but definitely beyond saving."
"Also."
"Based on the coagulation levels and extent of the various wounds, the coagulation around the radial artery is noticeably less than the other injuries."
"Given the limited amount of blood in the human body, the earlier a wound bleeds, the larger the area of clotting formed by the platelets."
"But now..."
"Compared to the other major injuries, the coagulation around the radial artery is significantly less."
"Plus, considering the victim might not have been completely dead right after the fall."
"This undoubtedly proves..."
Pausing for two seconds,
Riley looked directly into Ethan and Lucas's eyes, his tone grave, "Someone made sure she was 100% dead!!!"