A casual comment from my daughter unexpectedly solved a murder case that had been dormant for years.
This was one of the most well – known unsolved cases in the province.
Seven innocent girls were brutally killed.
Because the murderer was extremely meticulous and left no clues.
After years of investigation, there was no progress.
I originally thought this case would be buried forever, and the murderer would remain at large.
Until one day, a joke from my daughter allowed me to unmask the serial killer who had been lurking among the crowd for years.
And it all started with a bowl of pork intestines.
1
In every police officer’s career, there is always that one “fated criminal.”
And my fated criminal was the mastermind behind a series of rape – murder cases.
Let’s call him “Criminal A” for now.
This “Criminal A” had been entangling with me for a full 20 years, almost spanning my entire career as a police officer.
My name is Shen Qiang, and I’m a criminal police officer.
After graduating in 2003, I came to work at the Yinzhou City Public Security Bureau.
That year, it was the last time “Criminal A” committed a crime, and it was also the first case I was involved in after joining the force.
Under the guidance of my mentor, I investigated this rape – murder case.
The victim was a young woman in the city, only 25 years old.
She was killed in her rental house.
Judging from the scene, the murderer had a high psychological quality and was extremely meticulous.
Almost no fingerprints or bloodstains were left.
The only clue was the small amount of semen detected in the victim’s body by the forensic doctor.
My mentor, the person in charge of the case at that time, determined that this murderer must be the notorious serial killer in the city.
And the reason was the left ring finger that was chopped off from the victim.
Chopping off the ring finger of the victim was a typical method of this well – known serial killer.
Under the guidance of my mentor, I went through all the files of this series of rape – murder cases.
The murderer brutally killed seven young women in 1989, 1996, 1998, and 2003, and insanely cut off the fingers of the corpses.
Given the murderer’s meticulous criminal methods and the relatively limited criminal investigation means at that time, these cases all became unsolved mysteries.
For a time, the reputation of the “Yinzhou City Serial Killer” spread far and wide.
It became an indelible shadow in the hearts of the people on this land.
And the case in 2003, like the previous ones, left the police with almost nothing except the murderer’s semen.
In the vast sea of people, how could we find the murderer?
This serial murder case that spanned more than a decade became a lingering concern for my mentor.
It also became my concern.
Whenever I faced the desolate and desperate eyes of the victims’ families, my heart felt like it was being roasted on a fire.
At the same time, I was also worried and scared that the murderer would extend his claws to other innocent girls again.
Just like that, 20 years passed.
Although the murderer didn’t commit another crime, the shadow he brought to me never dissipated.
Thanks to him, my entire career as a police officer was gray.
Even though I solved many cases and made many contributions later, I couldn’t make up for the guilt of not bringing him to justice.
In 2020, with the same guilt, my mentor passed away.
Before he left, he entrusted me to never give up the investigation of this case.
I promised him.
With an apology to the victims’ families, my mentor closed his eyes.
Three years passed, and I still had no progress.
Just when I was despairingly thinking that the murderer would remain at large forever.
A joke from my daughter unexpectedly brought a turning point to the case that had been dormant for years.
2
My daughter is 17 years old this year and is studying at a key high school in the city.
She is in her senior year of high school, at the most important stage of her life.
But recently, my daughter, who has always been smart and sensible, has given my wife a headache.
The reason is simple: my daughter is in a puppy love.
The object of her puppy love is her classmate.
Because both children have excellent grades, and that boy even ranked among the top three in the city’s mock exams.
Therefore, the teachers turned a blind eye to this matter.
I actually also think it’s okay.
After all, my only requirement for my daughter is that she is healthy and happy.
As for puppy love, as long as she protects herself and doesn’t do anything out of line, it’s fine.
After all, her life experience is also very important.
But recently, my wife called me when I was on a night shift, saying that my daughter didn’t come back until midnight from her boyfriend’s house.
Although the two children fell asleep on the table by accident while reviewing together, and the other’s parents even drove my daughter back personally.
But things have developed to this point, and I also agree with my wife’s view:
It’s necessary to have a good talk with my daughter.
3
I have always had an open – hearted relationship with my daughter, and I also consider myself an open – minded father.
But when it comes to “how to persuade my daughter to break up with her puppy – love partner,” I’m really at a loss.
Facing my wife’s urging, after much thought, I could only bite the bullet and speak up.
This weekend, while my daughter was at home, I cooked a big table of dishes.
I planned to take the opportunity of the family having dinner together to have a good talk with my daughter.
But when the words came to my lips, I found it hard to say them.
Just as I was rambling on about a bunch of irrelevant things, my daughter suddenly said something.
I still remember that sentence clearly to this day.
I saw my daughter staring intently at the plate of stir – fried pork intestines and said, “Dad, does a human intestine look the same as a pork intestine?”
4
“What did you say?” I suspected that I had heard wrong.
“Uh, nothing. I was just talking nonsense.” My daughter quickly brushed it off.
The rest of the meal was tasteless.
I was thinking about how to bring up the topic of puppy love while also reminiscing about my daughter’s words just now.
Gradually, the doubts in my heart took over.
After the meal, I pulled my daughter into the study alone.
I euphemistically asked her about the situation with that boy.
My daughter quickly understood what I meant and frankly confessed to me.
She promised to protect herself and not do anything out of bounds.
She also said that she wouldn’t go out with the boy without discussing it with us in the future and told me not to worry.
Seeing my daughter say this, I felt much more at ease.
However, I was very concerned about what she said at the dinner table just now.
After several inquiries, my daughter explained the whole story:
A few days ago, my daughter had dinner with that boy at a small restaurant outside the school.
They ordered several dishes, including stir – fried pork intestines.
But as soon as this dish was served, that boy vomited it out.
Afterwards, when my daughter asked the reason, the other party said something strange.
He said, “A few years ago, my dad killed my sister – in – law, and we chopped up her body and organs together and flushed them down the toilet.”
Among the chopped – up organs of his sister – in – law, there was the intestine, which looked exactly like pork intestines.
Since then, he couldn’t eat the dish of pork intestines anymore.
“After he finished speaking, he saw that I was scared, so he smiled and said that what he said just now was a joke and told me not to take it to heart.”
My daughter touched the tip of her nose, her tone a bit confused. “But I just feel it’s a bit strange. How could he make such a joke?”
Then my daughter looked up at me and asked, “So does a human intestine really look the same as a pork intestine?”
I was at a loss for words and didn’t know how to answer.
After comforting my daughter a few times, she went back to her room with peace of mind.
5
In the next few days, I couldn’t help but think about this matter over and over again.
This was too bizarre, but it seemed like just a joke from the boy.
This kid was the same age as my daughter, only 18 years old, at an age when he liked to brag and show off.
What’s more, a few years ago, he was only a little over 10 years old. Could he have done something like dismembering a body?
Even if a murder really happened, would the relatives who knew about it casually tell the details of the crime?
So the conclusion of a rational analysis could only be: it was just a pure joke, and I didn’t need to take it to heart at all.
But not long after, something unexpected happened.
My daughter broke up.
After learning the news that my daughter broke up, I actually felt an inexplicable sense of relief.
But I still took some time to ask my daughter out alone to cheer her up.
After all, she needed comfort now.
My daughter was always in a low mood.
She would cry from time to time. The blow of a first love was still quite big for a person.
I comforted my daughter, saying that after she was admitted to college, she might meet better and more excellent boys.
My daughter responded to me casually.
When we got home, she quietly told me the reason for their breakup.
It turned out that the boy proposed to break up, and the reason was very strange: because I was a public servant.
Before, for the safety of my family, I told my daughter to keep my occupation a secret and only say that I was a public servant.
But I never expected that because of my occupation as a public servant, my daughter was actually dumped by her boyfriend?
I couldn’t help but become alert and asked, “Why did he break up with you just because your dad is a public servant?”
“I don’t know either,” my daughter said dejectedly. “That day, when I accidentally mentioned your job, he was a bit surprised when he heard that you were a public servant.”
Speaking of this, my daughter looked very sad. “At that time, I didn’t take it to heart, but since that day, his attitude has changed. He proposed to break up with me a few days later.”
……
6
If the boy’s family still didn’t arouse my suspicion at this point, I would be ashamed of my 20 – year career as a police officer.
When things go against the norm, there must be something wrong.
Just as I was about to investigate the boy’s family, my daughter’s school held a mobilization meeting for the senior – year parents.
In the past, my wife would go to such parent – teacher meetings, and I didn’t want to alert the enemy.
But there was a strong driving force in my heart urging me.
After discussing it carefully with my daughter, I decided to meet the boy’s family without arousing their suspicion.
On the day of the mobilization meeting, my tense mood relaxed a little.
That boy was giving a speech on the stage of the auditorium.
After all, he had always been the top student in this school.
After the meeting, many parents went to talk to the father – son pair, and soon a small crowd gathered.
This was a good opportunity to get close to them.
So I squeezed into the crowd with my daughter.
I listened to that person modestly and shyly talk about his parenting experience.
The surrounding parents were both envious and approving. Soon, they shook hands and thanked him one by one.
The moment he turned around, time seemed to stand still at this moment.
I finally saw his face clearly.
This face was plain and ordinary, so ordinary that it seemed that if it was thrown into a crowd the next second, it would never be found again.
I was a little dazed and wanted to remember this appearance carefully.
But I was horrified to find that it seemed that everyone on every road and street had a similar face.
This face actually looked kind – hearted.
His gentle appearance made me start to doubt myself.
But the moment I held his hands, all the blood in my body boiled.
Every cell in my body was screaming frantically.
It’s him! It’s him!
The intuition at that moment was roaring in my ear.
This was the person I was looking for.
7
I started to investigate the boy’s family.
But the resistance to this matter was greater than expected.
My leader thought my idea was a bit unbelievable after hearing it.
I admit that it’s hard to use the wild talk of an 18 – year – old kid as a reason to start an investigation.
It seemed like my irrational insistence no matter how you looked at it.
But after my various pleadings, the leader finally agreed. So, as a routine, we went to retrieve the case records of the area where the family lived.
The result surprised us all.
Seven years ago, there was really a missing – person case reported in that area.
And the missing person was the boy’s sister – in – law.
8
Although I had expected it, I was still shocked into a cold sweat when I saw the facts in front of me.
The bureau immediately attached great importance to this matter and started the case investigation.
However, there were still many difficulties.
After all, this was an old case that had been dormant for 7 years.
To unmask the murderer and convict him, we couldn’t just rely on the boy’s wild talk.
Finding the body was essential.
But so many years had passed. How could we find the body?
According to what the boy said, it was chopped up and flushed down the toilet.
The septic tank of the community had been pumped out many times over the years. Could there still be remnants of the dismembered body?
With a try – it – out attitude, we asked the property management of the community.
Whether it was the favor of heaven or the simple irresponsibility of the property management company.
The other party told us a lucky piece of news: since this community was completed and delivered 10 years ago, the septic tank has never been pumped.
Here I need to explain:
A general septic tank is not a simple structure like a large pool.
It is a structure like an onion, layer by layer.
The liquid matter in the outermost layer is often pumped, but the solid matter that settles in the innermost layer needs to be specially organized by the property management to be pumped and cleaned.
Fortunately, this property management company didn’t fulfill its responsibilities, but instead gave us a chance.
I immediately contacted the relevant personnel and organized the pumping of these solid sediments.
The police department requisitioned a gymnasium to be demolished, and we spread all the garbage from the septic tank of this community over the years on it.
The smell was really unpleasant.
The whole venue stank to high heaven.
I was so overwhelmed by the fumes that my head hurt, and several young men at the spreading scene were even fainted from the smoke.
Finally, after two days of hard work, all the garbage was spread out flat.
All this garbage was all kinds of chicken, duck, pork, beef, and mutton bones of the community residents over the past 10 years. After years of fermentation and decay, it was even more difficult to distinguish.
To us, they basically all looked the same.
The bureau applied to the superior and transferred an experienced female forensic doctor.
This teacher was in her early 50s and wore a pair of thick – framed glasses.
I saw her walk around a pile of pitch – black and stinking filth, then pointed to a place and shouted to her assistant, “This is a human bone. Wrap it up!”
Then she walked towards the next pile of garbage, constantly reaching out to signal her assistant to take out the bones.
Just like that, in the afternoon, a whole plastic bag of human bones was collected.
The next process was very fast. Early the next morning, the forensic identification results came out.
When the missing – person case was reported back then, the police went to that family to extract the DNA of the missing person.
And the current test results showed that those human bones were the fragments of the body of the daughter – in – law of that family.
9
With this test result, the arrest warrant and search warrant were quickly approved.
We investigated and questioned the four – member family.
The suspect was quickly identified.
The criminal suspect, Chen Yong, 54 years old, was the head of this family.
He confessed to his criminal facts without hesitation.
In the autumn of 2016, he used the meat – cutting knife at home to chop off the neck of his daughter – in – law, Zhang Suying.
Then he called his two sons to help dismember the body.
The organs and smaller bones were chopped up and flushed down the toilet.
And those difficult – to – handle skulls and thigh bones were secretly carried out by him and thrown into a river far away from home.
Chen Yong admitted that all the criminal acts were committed by him alone, and his two sons were only coerced by him.
Especially his youngest son, who was only 11 years old at that time and completely unaware of what he was doing.
Speaking of this, Chen Yong was heartbroken and burst into tears.
He regretted doing these things very much and was afraid of affecting his son’s future.
Especially his youngest son, who was about to take the college entrance examination soon.
With his current grades, it was no problem for him to be admitted to a prestigious university like Peking University.
……
Since the suspect was highly cooperative, the progress of this case was very smooth.
However, the long – standing old case that should have been quickly solved was stuck in the investigation of the motive of the crime. Or rather, it was my deliberate doing.
Chen Yong said that he killed his daughter – in – law because of long – standing grudges. Since his eldest son got married, he had many conflicts with this strong – willed daughter – in – law. After an argument, he impulsively picked up a knife and killed her. By the time he came to his senses, his daughter – in – law had already fallen in a pool of blood.
The criminal defense lawyer believed that this was an unpremeditated crime of passion, and at most, he would be sentenced to life imprisonment. But I knew that he was clearly not telling the truth. Because at that time, his daughter – in – law had to die as far as he was concerned.
10
My name is Chen Wang, and I’m the youngest son in the family. My father gave me this name because my birth brought him hope. I have an older brother who is 13 years older than me. The whole family dotes on me very much. I also lived up to their expectations. I was smart and studious since I was a child, and my grades were excellent.
But when I was 11 years old, my brother got married, and his wife was his college classmate. Everything in the family changed all of a sudden. Everyone’s attention shifted from me to my sister – in – law. What’s more hateful is that my parents broke their promise to buy me a bicycle in order to prepare for my brother and sister – in – law’s wedding. “There’s no way, Xiaowang. If we don’t hold a decent wedding, I’m afraid your sister – in – law will be unhappy,” they always said.
I didn’t understand why I had to be wronged just because my brother married his sister – in – law. Although my sister – in – law was very kind to me and always brought me small gifts when we met, I just hated her, hated her to the core. I had to find a way to take revenge on her.
Less than half a year later, I came up with a brilliant idea.
11
I’ve had a belief since I was a child that killing people won’t be punished. This idea might seem astonishing to outsiders, but I didn’t think much of it. Because I saw what was in that black box my father cherished.
When I was in elementary school, I sneaked into the living room to play one night because I couldn’t sleep. Coincidentally, I saw my father take out a black box from under the Buddha niche he worshipped every day. He opened it silently, stared at it for a long time, and mumbled something that I couldn’t hear clearly. Then he put the box back into the locked cabinet under the Buddha niche, took out the key, and casually pressed it under the base of the Buddha statue.
After my father went back to the bedroom for a while, I secretly ran to the cabinet in front of the Buddha niche, took out the key like my father did, and opened it. I saw what was in the black box and couldn’t help but gasp.
“What are you doing?” A faint voice came from behind me. Chills instantly climbed up my spine. I quickly turned around, ready to apologize to my father. But before I could speak, my father snatched the box from me and pushed me to the ground the next second. Then he started punching and kicking me.
As far as I can remember, my father had never hit me before. This was the first time. My cries quickly woke up my mother and my brother. But no matter how they tried to stop him, they couldn’t stop my father’s fists.
Since then, I’ve deeply realized that I must never touch that box. It was my father’s switch to unleash his violence.
12
So, I must hand that box to my sister – in – law. One day, when only my sister – in – law was at home doing housework, I called her to the Buddha niche. I pointed to the cabinet under the Buddha niche and sobbed softly, “Sister – in – law, there’s a scary thing in there. Can you go and take a look?”
My sister – in – law looked puzzled, but she still followed my will and found the black box. When she saw what was inside, her face suddenly turned deathly pale. She quickly put it back and collapsed to her knees on the ground.
“Sister – in – law, what’s wrong with you?” I pretended to go over and help her. She covered her chest, took a few deep breaths, managed to stand up, and gently stroked my head. “Xiaowang, you haven’t opened that box, have you?”
“Um,” I lied calmly.
“That’s good,” my sister – in – law let out a long sigh of relief and asked, “Then do you know whose box this is? Where did it come from?”
“I only know that it’s my father’s. I don’t know anything else…” I couldn’t help but cheer inwardly. She really fell into the trap.
“…” My sister – in – law didn’t say anything more.
As I expected, that night, my sister – in – law went to question my father about the box. I thought my father would definitely get angry at her this time and at least scold her severely. A sense of revengeful pleasure welled up in me, and I felt extremely comfortable.
But not long after, after an argument, the sound of a knife cutting meat came from the kitchen, followed by what seemed like a heavy object hitting the ground. I heard a “thud.”
I quickly ran to the kitchen. The entire kitchen, along with my father standing in it, was covered in blood. I saw my sister – in – law’s head rolling in a pool of blood. I fainted immediately.
When I woke up, I found myself lying on the sofa in the living room. I rushed to the kitchen and found that my brother had also come back. He and my father were busy hacking away with knives. Some of the blood splattered all over the kitchen had been cleaned up, leaving only the scarlet blood on the marble countertop. If you didn’t look closely, you would think they were just cleaning the raw pork they bought.
Seeing that I woke up, my father forcefully pressed my shoulder with his blood – stained hand. “Xiaowang, you’ll understand in the future. Dad really had no choice.”
I actually didn’t understand what my father meant. I only saw him crying with tears streaming down his face. “This woman will destroy our peaceful life!”
I couldn’t agree more on this point. So, I expressed my willingness to help. After all, as a member of this family, I should contribute. The death of that woman might be a good thing for my family. I thought so clearly.
I held the knife in my hand tighter and hacked at the pile of intestines and organs until they could no longer be recognized. But since that day, I could no longer eat pork intestines.
13
A few years passed in a flash. I also kept the promise with my father and let this matter be completely sealed in my memory. As I grew older, I gradually realized the seriousness of the problem. My father had killed someone. He might be caught and sentenced. Especially when the school showed some legal – popularizing promotional videos, I would often be scared into a cold sweat.
However, in fact, nothing happened over the years. The police never came to our house. My restless heartbeat gradually calmed down with the passage of time. My initial fear turned into contempt. Whenever I saw those boring legal – popularizing programs, I just thought they were funny. The so – called “justice has long arms” was just so – so.
14
After entering my senior year of high school, I got a girlfriend. Her name is Shen Lu. She is an excellent student like me. She is beautiful and smart. If nothing unexpected happened, the two of us would be admitted to a prestigious university together and become the “elite couple” in everyone’s eyes.
But what happened that day made me regret it deeply and also ended our relationship. That day, we had dinner together at a small restaurant. The waiter served a plate of pork intestines, which Shen Lu ordered. The moment I saw that bowl of food, I thought of my sister – in – law’s dismembered internal organs and vomited it out.
Shen Lu asked me worriedly what was wrong. I don’t know why, but I blurted out what happened seven years ago. When I saw Shen Lu’s pale face, I finally realized what I had done. I quickly lied that it was just a joke to brush it off.
I couldn’t explain why I told Shen Lu that. Maybe it was out of a sense of showing off? After all, I had realized that my sister – in – law’s death was caused by me. Now that I think about it, she was actually a very innocent person. But even though I’m an adult now, I still can’t help but dislike her.
Killing a person I hated through my own design. There was nothing more satisfying than that, right? But such a thing couldn’t be shared with others, and I was really sad. Maybe it was because of this mentality that I told it to Shen Lu in a joking tone? But I regretted it.
Especially when I learned that Shen Lu’s father was a public servant. So, I could only break up with her. But even so, the fear that had been extinguished before came back to me again. I was worried that Shen Lu would tell this matter, while at the same time comforting myself that it was impossible to verify after so many years. Every day, I suffered in this extreme tug – of – war of thoughts. I thought that maybe it wouldn’t be long before I would choose to kill Shen Lu. After all, sometimes killing someone doesn’t need too many reasons, just to silence them.
15
The “Pork Intestine Dismemberment Case” progressed slowly due to the unclear motive of the murderer. Under the pressure of the case, the leader came to talk to me:
“Shen Qiang, why are you so obsessed with the motive of the murder?”
I didn’t answer but just silently took out an application document and handed it to him. After reading it, the leader’s face changed dramatically. He seemed to want to say something, but after looking at me for a few seconds, he stood up and said seriously, “Don’t worry. I will personally supervise and investigate this matter immediately.” Then he rushed out of the office.
A few days later, my guess was finally confirmed. I slowly walked into the interrogation room. Chen Yong was already waiting for me there. He seemed to be in good spirits.
“Officer Shen, I’ve said it several times. I had a bad relationship with my daughter – in – law. My wife and children can confirm this!” He shook his head helplessly. “I don’t know why you keep dwelling on this?”
I slowly sat down and motioned to the police officer next to me to start recording. “Clarifying the motive of the murder is an important part of the case investigation. Of course, we need to be cautious.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll cooperate with the investigation. My motive for killing was that I got angry and lost my temper after arguing with my daughter – in – law.”
“You’re not telling the truth.”
“Truth, truth, I’m so annoyed! What I said is the truth. Is this motive really that important?”
I stared at his eyes calmly. “The motive is of course important because your motive for killing is an important entry point to another major case.”
“What?” He pretended very well. Although his lips were already trembling, he still pretended to look confused.
“But now your testimony is no longer important. I have decisive evidence.”
“…” As expected, the other party fell silent.
“The reason you killed your daughter – in – law was just because she saw the evidence of your previous murder, right?” I caught the panic that Chen Yong tried to suppress. “You are the murderer of the serial rape – murder cases in Yinzhou City 20 years ago.”
When I said this, Chen Yong’s hands and teeth couldn’t help but tremble violently. It was really strange. He was so cold – blooded when he killed people, but he was so scared when he was exposed.
“I… didn’t…” His words were disorderly.
“We’ve compared your DNA, and it’s consistent with the semen of the murderer in those 7 murder cases.” I waved the forensic report I received today in my hand.
Chen Yong immediately went crazy and tried to grab the things in my hand, trying to tear them up. But it was all in vain. He was firmly handcuffed to the chair and couldn’t move.
I continued, “That is to say, after you committed that series of rape – murder cases, you collected the fingers of the victims, and these fingers were discovered by your daughter – in – law years later. So, you killed her to silence her.”
He seemed a bit dispirited at the moment, but his eyes were still rolling around. I decided to give him a fatal blow. “Your black box is already in our hands. This is decisive evidence. Just accept your fate.
“By the way,” I pushed my glasses and decided to tell him the truth. “Your evidence was provided by your youngest son. Because we told him that participating in dismembering the body and covering up for the criminal is also a crime. If he makes meritorious service, he can get a reduced sentence. So, he didn’t hesitate to expose your black box.”
……
When I left the interrogation room, hysterical cries came from behind me.
16
The “Pork Intestine Dismemberment Case” and the “Yinzhou City Extraordinary Serial Rape-Murder Case” were officially solved. The remaining process was to fully transfer the case to the procuratorate for prosecution and to the court for trial. There was no doubt that Chen Yong would be sentenced to death.
The moment I handed over the materials, the high – intensity work day and night for many days defeated me, and I lost consciousness and fell down. When I woke up, I found the ward full of people. Many of them were gray – haired old people. I certainly recognized them. They were the families of the victims of those 7 cases decades ago.
Every year, they would visit our police station to ask about the investigation results of the case. For decades, they had never stopped. During this period, many old people passed away without waiting for the results. But what these years brought them was only continuous disappointment and pain.
They were humble and polite. Under their extreme self – restraint was the eternal love for their relatives. The person in charge of receiving them changed from my mentor in the past to me now.
Over the decades, what has never been worn away is the persistence in the truth and the determination to bring the murderer to justice.
After the judgment was announced, I went to visit my mentor. In front of his grave, I burned the judgment to him. I hoped that my mentor’s spirit in heaven could rest in peace.
Obviously, it was a happy thing, but I cried heartbreakingly, like a child.
– The End –
