Diary of a Criminal Investigator-Chapter 334: Charred Corpses

"What’s going on, is there a case?"

Forensic Doctor Shen only heard roughly, not clearly what the situation was.

Lu Chuan nodded: "Over on Changhe Street, there was a fire, and someone was found dead during the rescue. Group Leader Sun Jun has taken people over there. I’m going over for the Crime Scene Investigation, and you go for the forensic examination."

"Aren’t the others coming?"

"It’s not a big deal, we don’t yet know if the fire was intentional or what. The division is having a morning meeting, Forensic Doctor Wang and my master are in the meeting. We’ll go take a look."

"Group Leader Sun has taken the Crime Scene Investigation and forensic equipment with him."

"Understood..."

One hour later.

No. 28, Changhe Street, self-built housing area.

By the time Lu Chuan arrived, the fire department was already collecting and organizing the last of the equipment, and the officers from the local precinct had also arrived.

Sun Jun had arrived ten minutes earlier than Lu Chuan and Shen Yan.

"Lu, you can’t go into the scene yet. The temperature is still a bit high. Change into your gear first, then enter."

"Okay, Brother Sun."

Lu Chuan and Shen Yan put their police uniforms over their clothes and began organizing their professional equipment.

Meanwhile, Sun Jun’s team was gathering information.

"Who reported the fire?"

"I did, it was me."

"I reported it too."

"I called as well."

At the fire scene, a large crowd of onlookers had gathered, and some clearly had participated in firefighting, as they were covered in soot with charred faces.

Five or six people raised their hands, indicating that many people had called the fire brigade after the fire broke out.

"Tell us what happened at the time, what time did the fire start? Was there anyone inside?"

"Three o’clock, the fire started at 3am. I had just gotten home from work and saw the fire, which scared me to death. I rent a room next door, so I quickly called the police."

"The people inside definitely didn’t make it out. The fire was huge, and by the time the firefighters got here, everything was almost completely burned down."

"They’re definitely dead..."

The surrounding crowd eagerly talked about what had happened, while a team of detectives took notes.

Sun Jun was also communicating with the responding firefighters and the local precinct officers.

"When we arrived, the fire was already significant, and it was impossible to enter the house for rescue. We could only attempt to extinguish it from outside."

"Have you identified the cause of the fire?"

"Gasoline," the firefighter pointed to the burned doorway of the house: "There are signs of gasoline burning here, it’s very likely arson."

Arson...

In recent years, arson cases have been much less frequent compared to previous years.

Mainly because people now live in apartments, unlike the wooden structures of the past, which were easier to successfully set on fire.

With all the concrete buildings now, it’s indeed more effort to start a fire.

Based on analysis of recent case types, the probability of arson is higher in rural areas compared to cities, while urban areas...

There are plenty of fires, but when it comes to arson, there might not even be one case a year.

"After the fire was extinguished, did anyone go inside?"

Sun Jun looked at the head of the Changhe Street precinct.

"The firefighters found evidence of arson, so no one was allowed in. When we arrived, we also sealed off the scene."

Sun Jun nodded; the Changhe Street precinct did a particularly good job in that regard.

At an arson scene, many pieces of evidence are already destroyed by the fire, and if the scene is inadvertently tampered with at this point, it becomes a real problem.

"How many people resided in the house?"

"We’ve confirmed with the landlord. The renters are a couple working at the cotton mill."

"Nearby neighbors also said that usually only two people lived in that house."

While Sun Jun’s team was gathering information about the fire scene, Lu Chuan and Shen Yan had also completed their preparations.

"Group Leader Sun, the temperature inside has about dissipated. We’re ready to go in."

The investigation of a fire scene is different from a typical crime scene investigation. You can’t just wear your regular police uniform here.

Lu Chuan and Shen Yan dressed in heat-resistant suits resembling aluminum foil and wore heat-resistant gloves.

Sun Jun nodded: "There could be two people in there. The firefighters have essentially determined signs of gasoline being spilled deliberately."

"Got it."

Arson indicates it could be a murder case.

Either it’s murder by arson or a cover-up of murder by burning the bodies.

Whichever it is, it’s a homicide case.

"I’ll go in first; you follow me, and try to step where I step."

"Okay."

Lu Chuan and Shen Yan entered the scene one after the other.

The door had long since burned away, so there was no question of whether it could be opened.

The whole scene was a mess.

The signs of the fire combined with the water from firefighting left black stains everywhere, with stagnant water mixed with charred debris on the ground. It felt like stepping into black mud.

The fire was intense, and last night’s drizzle not only failed to aid in extinguishing it but even accelerated its spread.

The fire started in a two-room bungalow. The entire roof had burned and collapsed, with the beams that hadn’t completely turned to ash subsiding within the room along with other unknown debris and ashes, making Lu Chuan feel as if there was nowhere to step.

The two cautiously advanced through the wreckage, taking over ten minutes just to reach the inner bedroom.

Originally where the bed should’ve been, now lay collapsed. Two not easily recognizable human-shaped objects were found, one on the floor and one on the bed.

"Confirmed two bodies."

However, the bodies were beneath the collapsed remains of the beams, making it impossible for the two to examine further.

"Group Leader Sun, we’ll need a crane."

Although the house had collapsed, due to timely intervention by the firefighters, the beams hadn’t completely charred.

Lu Chuan could still see some intact portions, merely coated with a layer of carbon dust.

"I have one, I’m a crane operator, it’s just by the road, I’ll bring it over right away!"

Lu Chuan shouted loudly, and an enthusiastic local immediately offered to help.

Since it was necessary to lift the beams and such, it wasn’t possible for only Lu Chuan to be inside.

The crane operator responsible for the hoisting also needed to enter to secure the objects for lifting.

It took a full hour to remove all the debris from the two corpses.

"Most of the limbs are charred, and the front of the torso is also severely burned."

Shen Yan made an initial assessment.

"As for the cause of death, we’ll have to conduct an autopsy to determine whether they were murdered before being burned, or burned as a means of murder."

Lu Chuan’s attention was not only on the bodies but also on the surrounding environment.

The position and posture of the bodies were very unusual.

If it was an arson murder, the two inside the house couldn’t have had no reaction.

For example, struggling to crawl out.

Yet, the posture of the bodies at the scene was distinct for each.

The body on the bed, despite being heavily charred, could be identified as lying in a supine position.

However, the body below the bed was prone, with arms outstretched and legs bent, resembling a crawling posture.