sjar Chapter 1229 On-site identification deserves punishment
Chapter 1229 On-site identification deserves punishment
It was late at night when the interrogation ended. As Liu Baijun was led out of the interrogation room, he staggered, his eyes vacant, all his previous resistance and sophistry gone. Xiao Zhou and Xiao Wang watched his retreating figure, knowing in their hearts that the truth of this tragedy, stemming from a 5 yuan economic dispute, had finally come to light.
Stepping out of the interrogation room, Xiao Zhou took out his phone and reported to Li Ming: "Liu Baijun has fully confessed to his motive and the entire process of the murder. The surveillance video, physical evidence, and testimonies form a complete chain of evidence, and the case can be transferred to the procuratorate for prosecution." Li Ming replied on the other end of the phone: "Thank you for your hard work. Justice will not be absent, and Zhang Dianquan's family can rest assured."
The lights in the Criminal Investigation Division shone brightly in the dead of night. Xiao Zhou and Xiao Wang stood in the corridor, gazing at the night view outside the window. This investigation, which had lasted for several days, had finally come to a successful conclusion. Liu Baijun would ultimately pay the price for his impulsiveness and cruelty, and under the severe punishment of the law, atone for the death of Zhang Dianquan.
At 9 a.m. on August 29, the sunlight on Jiefang West Road had dispelled the morning mist, and the street was bustling with traffic. Only the yellow warning tape erected beside the sewer manhole served as a reminder of the tragedy that had occurred there. Three police cars slowly pulled up to the side of the road. After the police lights went out, two officers helped Liu Baijun, who was handcuffed and shackled, out of the car. He was wearing a gray prison uniform, his hair disheveled and plastered to his forehead. His eyes darted away, avoiding looking at the familiar sewer manhole. With each step, the clanging sound of the shackles hitting the ground seemed to be a wake-up call for his crimes.
"Identification begins, the entire process will be recorded." Xiao Zhou, holding a body camera, stood beside the police line; his voice was exceptionally clear in the bustling street. The officer released Liu Baijun, leaving only the handcuffs on, and guided him a meter in front of him. Liu Baijun's legs trembled slightly, his eyes fixed on the ground. Only when led to the sewer manhole did he reluctantly raise his head, looking at the manhole he had once used to hide his crimes, his body involuntarily shrinking back.
"You met Zhang Dianquan here on the evening of August 22nd?" Xiao Zhou pointed to the sidewalk east of the wellhead, the body camera lens locked on Liu Baijun's movements. His Adam's apple bobbed, his voice hoarse and almost inaudible: "Yes... I drove over in my van around 4 pm, parked it in the alley ahead, and waited for him here." He raised his hand and pointed to the back alley of the shops not far away, "I was afraid of being seen, so I deliberately chose this corner, and I even brought a nylon rope, hoping to scare him into paying back the money."
Technicians immediately began verification at the "waiting location" identified by Liu Baijun. The beam of the footprint light swept across the ground and quickly found half a size 42 athletic shoe print in a gap in the sidewalk. "Stride length 70 centimeters, stride width 18 centimeters, stride angle 2 degrees inward, completely consistent with the characteristics of the shoe print previously extracted near the well," the technician measured with a ruler close to the ground. "The black polyester fibers stuck to the edge of the shoe print are consistent with the nylon rope fiber composition found in Liu Baijun's residence, confirming that it was left by him while waiting."
"What happened after Zhang Dianquan arrived?" Xiao Zhou continued to press, the camera panning to the open space north of the wellhead—the very place the forensic doctor had identified as the primary crime scene. Liu Baijun's breathing quickened, a flicker of fear crossing his eyes, as if he were back in that chaotic night: "He arrived around 8 o'clock, and when he saw me, he yelled, 'You dare to bother me again?' I demanded he return the 5 yuan compensation, and he said, 'I don't have the money, do whatever you want,' and even shoved me. I was furious, so I fought with him. He grabbed my arm, so I pulled out a nylon rope and strangled him from behind."
He pointed to a mark on the ground: "When I strangled him, he struggled desperately, and his right palm scraped against some gravel nearby, definitely cutting it—you said he had abrasions on his palm, that's when it happened. He also kicked my leg, which made me even angrier, so I tightened the strangulation until he stopped moving." Liu Baijun's description perfectly matched the autopsy results of forensic doctor Zhang Lin—Zhang Dianquan's right palm had a 2x0.5cm abrasion, and his neck had a 4x2cm strangulation mark, all of which corresponded to his confession.
At the "fighting location" identified by Liu Baijun, technicians sprayed the ground with luminol reagent, and the pale blue bloodstains clearly showed fluorescence: "The bloodstains were splattered, which is consistent with the bleeding characteristics of a neck rupture caused by strangulation. The bloodstain DNA matched Zhang Dianquan's DNA perfectly, confirming this as the primary crime scene."
"What did you do after Zhang Dianquan lost consciousness?" Xiao Zhou's voice remained calm, yet carried an undeniable force. Liu Baijun's head drooped even lower, his fingers unconsciously fiddling with his handcuffs: "I checked his breath and found he wasn't breathing, so I panicked. I took a black bag from the van and put his body inside—I had prepared the bag beforehand, intending to use it to store excavator parts, but I ended up using his body." He pointed to the well opening, "I dragged the bag here, opened the manhole cover, and threw the bag in with all my might. I even heard the bag hit the well wall, which terrified me, so I quickly closed the cover and drove away."
Technicians extracted a blurry fingerprint from a metal component at the edge of the well opening: "After enhancement processing, the fingerprint closely matched the fingerprint features of Liu Baijun, and the black fibers adhering to the edge of the fingerprint were consistent with the nylon rope fibers, confirming that it was left by him when he opened the well cover." In addition, technicians also found residual fragments of a black bag on the well wall below the well opening, the material of which was completely consistent with the "body bag" described by Liu Baijun.
"Where did you go after you threw the body into the sewer? Why did you burn the car?" Xiao Zhou pressed, the camera panning to the "parking spot" Liu Baijun pointed out. Liu Baijun's voice trembled with tears: "I drove to an abandoned factory in the suburbs. I was afraid you'd find the van, so I poured gasoline on it and burned it—the gasoline was something I'd bought beforehand, originally intended for the generator. After burning the car, I hid in a metal cabinet in the factory, thinking I could hide, but I didn't expect you to find me anyway." His explanation perfectly matched the empty gasoline cans and the burned vehicle wreckage found by the police at the factory, further confirming his crime.
The entire identification process lasted an hour and a half. Every statement made by Liu Baijun corresponded precisely with the results of the previous on-site investigation and forensic examination: the shoe prints and fibers at the waiting location, the bloodstains and abrasions at the fighting location, the fingerprints and bag fragments at the well where the body was dumped, and even his mentions of "gravel scratches on the palm" and "gasoline burning the car" all perfectly matched the details in the chain of evidence.
As the identification process neared its end, Liu Baijun suddenly broke free from the police officers' restraints and knelt down towards the well opening.