Things that solve crimes

"That incident was quite a big deal back then because it involved a serial murder case."

Having said that, Wang Hong took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a few puffs.

He can still recall the grief-stricken families of the victims of the serial murder case and how powerless he felt at that time.

"The number of victims in that case was in the double digits. The police took it very seriously, but after a long investigation, they still couldn't find the murderer."

"Until five years ago, a rape and murder case occurred. The victim, like the victims of the serial murder case, was missing an index finger."

"Many people thought it was the same person who did it, and finally they identified Zhou Ju as the suspect."

Qin Henian said firmly, "Something went wrong in the middle." If nothing went wrong in the middle, Zhou Ju would not be hanging around outside, but in prison, or even possibly underground.

Wang Hong nodded, looking helpless, "Yes, there is a problem, there is insufficient evidence."

"Only Wang Hong's fingerprints and footprints were found at the crime scene, and he claimed that he only went in to steal things."

"And most importantly, we didn't find the murder weapon."

"During the follow-up investigation, we found that a man had entered and exited the deceased's home during the time of his death."

"But the man suffered from a mental illness, which occurred on the day of the deceased's death, and he was subsequently admitted to a mental hospital."

"In the end, Zhou Ju was released due to insufficient evidence."

Qin Henian nodded, understanding Wang Hong's helplessness.

Fingerprints found at the crime scene can serve as physical evidence and have a certain reference value for the investigation and trial of the case, but the murderer cannot be identified relying solely on fingerprints.

Fingerprints are a form of physical evidence and must be corroborated with other evidence to form a chain of evidence before they can be used as one of the bases for conviction.

Only fingerprints were found, but no other evidence was found. There was no chain of evidence, so the police had no choice but to release Zhou Ju.

What's more, there were other people who had been in and out of the deceased's home, and Zhou Ju was not the only suspect.

"After that, the police kept an eye on this guy for a long time, but found no problems," said Wang Hong.

This murder case was related to another serial murder case. Although the police had no choice but to release Zhou Ju, they still had people watching him for a long time. Only when they found no problems did they withdraw their personnel.

After all, police resources are limited, and it is impossible to waste too many resources on one person.

"I have a question. Have the victims of serial murders been violated?" Qin Henian asked.

Wang Hong thought about it and shook his head, "No."

Qin Henian shrugged. "So the question is, why do you think the two cases were committed by the same murderer? Just because the victims in both cases were missing their ring fingers?"

"But this is a murder that can be imitated. The most important factor to determine whether the two cases can be joined is whether the deceased was violated before his death."

Wang Hong sighed, "At the time, someone proposed the same theory as yours, and everyone argued endlessly. Some people even proposed that the murderer's killing method had changed."

"After much debate, we finally decided to investigate the cases together."

However, what they didn't expect was that there was insufficient evidence and Zhou Ju was released.

"So the current suspect can be identified as a relative of the victim in the rape and murder case that year." Qin Henian said, touching his chin.

At that time, due to insufficient evidence, the police had no choice but to release the person. However, the victim's family members may not necessarily think that Zhou Ju is innocent. The most likely possibility is that they believe that Zhou Ju is the murderer, and after many years, he was still full of resentment and killed people for revenge.

"We have sent people to look for the family of the deceased in that case." Wang Hong said.

While the two were talking, a middle-aged man walked up to them. Wang Hong immediately introduced him, "This is Yang He, the deputy director of our branch."

Qin Henian said hello and continued to discuss the case with Wang Hong and others.

Yang He was left scratching his head. Why did he feel that the officer Qin who came to support him looked like someone similar?

Judging from the age, the child should be about the same age as Officer Qin.