As mentioned earlier, it snowed heavily on the evening of the 17th. According to the meteorological station, the snow started around 9 PM and continued until about midnight.
On the morning of the 18th, when sanitation workers discovered the body, there were no footprints around it.
It is now known that the victim's time of death was between 7 PM and 9 PM. If the body was dumped after 9 PM, the killer would have had no reason to choose an open-air location to burn the corpse.
After all, the purpose of burning the body was to destroy physiological information. The killer wouldn't have been careless enough to choose a place where snow would accumulate to burn the body after it had started snowing.
If the body was dumped after midnight, firstly, it would have been impossible not to leave footprints at the scene, and secondly, it would not have been suitable for burning the body.
Therefore, the killer must have dumped the body before 9 PM when it started snowing.
The heavy snowfall at 9 PM disrupted the killer's plans, but he couldn't have gone to the scene after it started snowing, otherwise clear footprints would have been left in the snow.
A passenger said he boarded Wu Honglin's vehicle at 8:50 PM and arrived home at 9:20 PM, by which time it had already started snowing.
Wu Honglin was photographed near Li Xiaonuan's workplace at 5 PM, but at 8:50 PM when he picked up passengers, he was on a street not far from the dump site.
From the route, he perfectly matched the killer's movement pattern.
The police detained the suspect and further searched Wu Honglin's home.
The situation looked extremely unfavorable for him.
Wu Honglin was short in stature, wore size 40 shoes, used diesel fuel in his truck, and owned an electric tricycle commonly seen on the streets.
"These illegal taxis are everywhere on the streets, going through alleys. No one would give them a second glance. Even if someone noticed a person sitting inside, they'd just assume it was a passenger. It's very suitable for dumping bodies," analyzed veteran police officer A.
Some cheap pornographic magazines were found in the truck, with explicit descriptions and provocative images.
"You can't judge a book by its cover. Truck drivers are on the road for long periods, unable to satisfy their desires. Gradually, their frustration turns into resentment towards women, which is why they keep targeting young women," new police officer B explained confidently.
Ji Liming refuted him: "Wu Honglin has only been driving trucks for a little over three years. In 2002-2003, he wasn't even a truck driver."
"Driving a taxi is the same."
Indeed, Wu Honglin had no other skills except driving. Before buying the big truck, he drove a taxi. The taxi belonged to a company, and he shared shifts with another driver, alternating between day and night shifts every few months.
And taxi tires were of the most common type, the same as those found near the third body.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Wu Honglin matched every characteristic of the suspect.
But Ji Liming didn't jump to conclusions. Instead, he asked, "Where's the murder weapon? We haven't found the crucial evidence."
Forensic tests determined that there was no carbon residue in the stomachs or respiratory tracts of the five bodies, indicating that they were burned after death, not burned alive. However, due to severe damage to the bodies, the exact cause of death was difficult to determine.
Only Li Xiaonuan's body was relatively intact. An autopsy revealed damage to the back of her head, likely caused by a blunt object.
No suitable murder weapon was found in Wu Honglin's home or truck.
"The killer doesn't necessarily keep the weapon with him," another police officer offered his opinion. "It could have been a stone or stick picked up from the roadside, wiped clean, and casually discarded. Who could find it?"
That made sense too.
They had to continue digging deeper.
Setting aside the fifth victim, Li Xiaonuan, did Wu Honglin have any connection to the other four victims?
There didn't seem to be any connection with Wang Zihui. But his identity as a taxi driver was enough to allow him brief contact with anyone without being noticed.
Soon after, it was discovered that Wu Honglin's wife had fallen ill in 2000 and needed surgery. Their savings were completely depleted, and they were in debt.
An old police officer who had been involved in investigating the 2002 case took a sip of his wolfberry tea and said gravely, "I don't understand all this fancy talk about criminal profiling. In my experience, money is the biggest motive for murder."
A young officer interjected, "It's called criminal psychological profiling, a new academic discipline that started in 2005."
"Don't interrupt," the old officer said. "Anyway, I think all this talk about psychological disorders and repressed desires is nonsense."
He continued seriously, "Why does the perpetrator specifically target young women? Because they're easy to deal with. They're young, inexperienced in society, so they're easily tricked. They get into cars when asked, they're physically weaker, easy to subdue, but they're already working, so they have some money on them. Unlike students who only have a hundred or so yuan in pocket money, it's not worth the risk."
Ji Liming nodded slightly.
He agreed with the old officer's view. There must be a reason why the perpetrator chose a certain type of victim. But the young officers' earlier discussions about misogyny, Oedipus complex, and repressed desires all seemed too far-fetched.
During the years when motorcycle snatching was rampant, many victims were women. Does that mean all those thieves were perverts?
No, targeting women was simply because they were easy targets.
Men are sturdy, children have no money, and the elderly have children who would quickly notice their disappearance. But young women living alone in the city might not be missed for some time if they disappeared.
Although... Wang Zihui had a roommate and a job.
Ji Liming thought for a moment, then said, "The probability of it being for money is high, but since they're all young women, we can't rule out sexual motives. With the bodies burned, we can't extract any evidence."
"Rapists rarely go to such extremes," the old officer said. "Besides, Wu Honglin has a wife. A one-time crime of passion is understandable, but doing it several times is too much. How much does it cost to go to a massage parlor?"
Ji Liming tapped the table, reminding him, "We can't presume guilt."
"I'd say there's a ninety percent chance it's him," the old officer said. "I've been following this case from start to finish. You know how many people and resources we've invested. After all our investigations, he's the most suspicious."
The police officers participating in the discussion nodded in agreement.
They had no personal grudge against Wu Honglin and absolutely no intention of framing him. But at this point in the investigation, he was the only suspect, and he perfectly matched the profile derived from the previous cases.
Therefore, even without direct evidence, Wu Honglin remained the prime suspect.
Ji Liming still had doubts. For some reason, the image of Wu Honglin's wife suddenly appeared in his mind - if her husband was a serial killer, would that woman have such a happy expression?
Was his psychological control so strong that he showed no signs even to his bedmate?
It wasn't impossible.
Ji Liming had been a police officer for quite a few years. He had seen people who acted as if nothing had happened after killing someone. Some people are born with a rebellious nature and don't value human life.
Perhaps Wu Honglin was like that.
Ten days later, the prosecutor's office made the decision to approve the arrest.
But Wu Honglin didn't live to see the court trial.
The day after his formal arrest, he died.
When the detention center guards brought dinner, they saw him lying motionless. They knocked on the iron door, and when there was no response, fearing something was wrong, they quickly opened the door and went in. He was already dead.
The forensic pathologist determined it was sudden death, speculating that the demanding work of a truck driver, lack of sleep, and fatigue, coupled with the immense psychological burden of murder, had overwhelmed him.
Some said he committed suicide out of guilt.
This was somewhat incredible, but reality can be absurd at times, regardless of whether people can accept it or not.
So, despite whatever doubts people might have had, Wu Honglin's unexpected death brought the November 2nd major serial burning case to a close.
*
That's all the publicly available information about the case.
From Jian Jing's perspective, there were indeed many questionable points in this case. All the evidence was circumstantial and didn't form a complete chain of evidence.
However, the body-burning case had its peculiarities. It was normal for physical evidence to be difficult to preserve under high temperatures, lacking blood, hair, skin flakes, and other such evidence. Wu Honglin's background and timeline were highly suspicious.
There was nothing unusual about the prosecutor's arrest, and the man had died... Why did Ji Feng ask about this case?
Was it related to his father's death?
Jian Jing searched for Ji Liming's name on the public security website and found an obituary: Ji Liming died in the line of duty on September 23, 2007, at the age of 41.
The time matched what Zhu Yanan had said.
But Wu Honglin's case was in January, and Ji Liming died in September, six months apart. How could they be related?
The more Jian Jing looked, the more confused she became. She could only turn her gaze to the file folder Ji Feng had left behind.
Although he hadn't said anything, she had an inexplicable premonition that this wasn't going to be a pleasant answer.
"Let's see what you're up to," she decided to open it.
The file folder wasn't deliberately sealed, and there weren't many items inside, all neatly organized with clips. On top was a printed court judgment.
---
Criminal Judgment of First Instance for Zhang XX's Intentional Homicide
January 2, 2008
Peace City People's Court
The defendant Zhang XX, born in 1978 in a certain province and place, with primary school education, was criminally detained by the Peace City Public Security Sub-bureau in September 2007 on suspicion of intentional homicide, and is currently detained in a certain detention center.
In 1999, Zhang XX met and married Wu XX. In 2007, Wu XX was approved for arrest by our provincial procuratorate for the crime of intentional homicide. On March 4, 2007, due to a sudden heart condition, he died despite attempts to save him.
According to the procuratorate's accusations, after learning of Wu XX's death, Zhang XX harbored resentment towards the police officers involved in investigating Wu XX's case. On September 12, 2007, Zhang XX bought a steak knife and a fruit knife at XX Supermarket. At around 10 AM on September 23, she came to the entrance of the Public Security Sub-bureau, asking to see Ji XX, a person related to the case.
Ji XX was working outside. Zhang XX waited until 3:40 PM and, claiming to have something to tell him, asked to speak with Ji XX alone when he returned.
As they walked to the street corner, Zhang XX suddenly pulled out the steak knife and stabbed Ji XX, wounding him in the abdomen. Ji XX used his right hand to block Zhang XX's second strike.
Seeing that she couldn't kill Ji XX, Zhang XX immediately raised the knife to commit suicide. Ji XX immediately intervened, holding down Zhang XX's right hand. At the same time, Zhang XX took out the fruit knife and stabbed towards Ji XX's heart.
At this point, nearby personnel noticed the commotion and intervened. Ji XX was sent to the hospital but died despite treatment.
...
Zhang XX confessed that she believed there were hidden circumstances surrounding her husband Wu XX's death, and that her husband was not the culprit in the immolation case. She felt that the police had arrested him without sufficient evidence, indirectly leading to his death. Therefore, she was full of hatred towards the personnel involved. After her petitions were unsuccessful, she decided to take revenge personally.
Zhang XX's actions violated Article 232 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, and she is being held criminally responsible for intentional homicide... After being detained, Zhang XX actively cooperated with the investigation and showed a good attitude in admitting her guilt...
In accordance with the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, Zhang XX is sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
---
Jian Jing couldn't take in the last few lines at all.
She never imagined that the truth of the matter would be like this.
No wonder Ji Feng had doubts about his father's death, yet said the killer had been arrested and brought to justice. Yes, Zhang XX had indeed been arrested and was probably still in prison, but the real cause of Ji Liming's death was likely still related to the immolation case.
