Drapeau fantôme

Chapitre 56

"The perpetrator most likely grew up in a broken home or suffered abuse from relatives during childhood. This probability is over 95%."

"Ninety-five percent?" Luo Fei raised an eyebrow. "Was such a specific number derived through psychological analysis?"

Mu Jianyun shook his head: "Of course not. This number comes from the statistical laws of criminology. Psychology is a summative discipline, unlike the a priori natural sciences. We cannot create an equation, input various influencing factors as parameters, and then calculate a person's psychological state—that's absolutely impossible. What we can do is infer a person's past experiences based on their current state. And the most reliable basis for this inference is the summary of numerous past cases. The FBI in the United States has established a subordinate research institution that meticulously records various psychopathic murder cases that have occurred throughout the United States. Researchers classify these murder cases according to factors such as modus operandi and victims, and then summarize the common characteristics of the perpetrators in each category of cases. These characteristics include appearance, physique, personality, occupation, living environment, and early experiences, etc. Statistics show that more than 95% of psychopathic killers have suffered a painful childhood. It is these early experiences that have left irreparable scars on their hearts, ultimately leading to an extremely distorted personality."

Luo Fei listened intently, then thought for a moment before pondering, "That 95% is actually a statistic covering all cases of deranged murders, right? You mentioned there are also categorized studies, so have the Americans made any specific research conclusions regarding this kind of mutilation of corpses?"

"Yes!" Mu Jianyun's single word immediately invigorated everyone. She then explained in detail, "A similar case occurred in Ohio, USA in 1989. The perpetrator also killed a female victim, then dismembered her body, meticulously cutting the remains into small pieces. Later research confirmed that the perpetrator suffered homosexual abuse from his stepfather during childhood, resulting in psychosexual dysfunction in adulthood. Therefore, he was unable to achieve sexual satisfaction through normal means, and his repressed desires were released when he mutilated the victim's body."

Luo Fei and the others felt as if they were attending a lecture on criminal psychology, all experiencing a sense of profound enlightenment. Yin Jian even hurriedly wrote down in his notebook:

4. Individuals with "hidden inferiority complex" often have unhappy childhoods and experience psychogenic sexual dysfunction in adulthood.

After Yin Jian finished writing, Luo Fei picked up the notebook and glanced through it, then handed it to Mu Jianyun: "Take a look. Is what you remember so far accurate? Is there anything you need to add?"

Mu Jianyun glanced at it briefly, then pointed to the second item and said, "The age could be written more precisely—around thirty years old."

"Oh?" Luo Fei looked puzzled. When Mu Jianyun analyzed it earlier, he only said that the perpetrator should be over twenty-eight years old, but he did not make such a precise definition.

"This is also statistical data," Mu Jianyun explained. "Research shows that the vast majority of psychopathic killers commit their first crime around the age of thirty. The reason for this is likely related to the stages of human mental development. The psychological problems of these psychopathic killers often develop to an uncontrollable level around the age of thirty, so their first outburst of crime also occurs during this period."

"Okay." Luo Fei took the notebook and placed it back in front of Yin Jian. "Change the age. And add a fifth characteristic: local household registration."

"Why?" Huang Jieyuan asked in surprise. He had initially focused his investigations on migrant workers, but Luo Fei had now given a completely different assessment.

"A migrant worker in his thirties, if he wants to live alone, would usually choose to rent a place. After the case happened, you must have screened all the migrant tenants in the city, right? The fact that you couldn't find any trace of this person means that he was a native-born local, someone who could easily blend in and hide."

After Luo Fei finished explaining his point of view, he noticed that Mu Jianyun seemed to be shaking his head slightly. He then proactively asked, "Teacher Mu, do you think this is wrong?"

Mu Jianyun answered bluntly, "There's a problem here—if the perpetrator is a local, it will naturally be easier for him to evade the police's large-scale investigation. But there's also a downside: his past criminal record is very likely to be revealed by his neighbors."

"A criminal record? How do you know he definitely has a criminal record?"

"No mental illness develops suddenly overnight. The perpetrator in the 112 murder case must have shown signs of aggression before escalating to the point of killing and dismembering the body. For example, there might have been aggressive tendencies, voyeurism, or cruelty towards small animals—FBI statistics provide ample evidence for this point. The perpetrator might have presented a gentle and kind facade in public, but his petty misdeeds would have been difficult to conceal from his relatives and neighbors. Therefore, if he were a local, someone should have reported his past unusual behavior during the police's extensive investigation at the time."

Luo Fei nodded silently. Indeed, any extreme personality trait develops gradually; a person cannot become a psychopathic killer without any warning. But the police hadn't found any prior criminal record for this person. Could it be that he really wasn't a local?

Unable to make a decision immediately, Luo Fei instructed Yin Jian, "Don't write down the 'local household registration' requirement for now."

"Actually, not being able to find a prior criminal record isn't the most crucial issue," Mu Jianyun said, frowning again. "What I'm most worried about is that the murderer left the provincial capital after committing the crime and has never returned."

Huang Jieyuan gave a bitter smile. What Mu Jianyun said was exactly what troubled him: if the murderer was indeed a migrant worker who had left the provincial capital after committing the crime, then all his efforts over the years had been in vain.

Luo Fei calmly pressed on, "You said he's already left, what's your basis for that judgment?"

"The basis for this is that ten years have passed since the January 12th incident, and no second similar bloody incident has occurred in the provincial capital."

Hearing Mu Jianyun's explanation, Luo Fei understood: "Right, you mentioned last time that these kinds of psychopathic murders have a certain addictive quality. Once the killer commits a crime and experiences the pleasure, it's difficult to control the urge to repeat itself. That's why he'll continue to commit crimes, becoming a serial killer."

"Yes. But the murderer seems to have vanished without a trace, so I suspect he's no longer in the provincial capital."

Luo Fei considered it for a moment, then shook his head: "That's not right. According to you, he would still commit crimes elsewhere. If it were such a heinous crime, no matter where it happened, we in the criminal investigation circle would have heard about it. But I haven't heard of anything like that in the past ten years. How do you explain that?"

"Are you sure?" Mu Jianyun seemed unconvinced. "If a similar case happens again in the country, no matter where it is, you'll know about it?"

Before Luo Fei could answer, Zeng Rihua preemptively spoke up: "I can confirm it. I participate in compiling criminal case files nationwide every year. A case this bloody has only occurred once in our city in the last ten years."

Even an information expert like Zeng Rihua had spoken, so Mu Jianyun had no reason to question anything further. She could only frown in bewilderment: "That's really too strange..."

Seeing the other person's worried expression, Yin Jian couldn't help but ask, "Is this theory of addiction to killing really reliable? Isn't it possible for someone to kill one person and then stop?"

"A serial killer like the one in this case will never stop on his own," Mu Jianyun gave a very definite answer. "Because it's entirely a psychological illness, like drug addiction; once you taste it, you only become more and more addicted. And the pleasure he gets during the crime can't be obtained through any other means. So every time he relives that feeling, he can't help but commit the next murder, and so on, in an endless cycle of depravity."

"So where did this guy go? Dead? Fled abroad? In jail for another case?" Zeng Rihua shrugged, a self-deprecating tone in his voice. "If that's the case, what's the point of us sitting here discussing this?"

Zeng Rihua's last words seemed to remind Luo Fei, who suddenly stiffened, narrowed his eyes, and said, "No, he didn't go anywhere; he's right here in this city!"

Zeng Rihua rolled his eyes at Luo Fei, as if asking, "Why?" Luo Fei immediately replied, "Because Eumenides has already found him."

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, speechless for a moment. It sounded like the most absurd answer, but in the current situation, it was hard to refute.

If the perpetrator of the January 12th massacre was no longer in the provincial capital, how could Eumenides have issued that "death sentence notice"? That proud killer would never have made such a huge blunder in front of the police.

"Someone must have made a mistake..." Huang Jieyuan said quietly after a long silence. "It's either us, or Eumenides. Otherwise, how do you explain this?"

Luo Fei raised his head slightly, closed his eyes, and gently rubbed his temples with both hands.

Everyone could tell that Luo Fei had entered a state of deep thought, so they all held their breath and remained completely silent.

Indeed, Luo Fei's thoughts were clashing violently in a fog. The previous discussion seemed to have reached an inexplicable dead end, but he was not afraid. Past experience told him that this situation often meant the truth was close at hand, and as long as he broke through a certain mental block, everything would suddenly become clear.

Luo Fei's contemplation lasted for a considerable time. He mentally reviewed every document he had previously seen, page by page, meticulously examining every photograph, every testimony, and every detail. When he finally pieced these scattered fragments together and corroborated them with Mu Jianyun's insightful psychological analysis, he finally glimpsed some hidden secrets.

Luo Fei slowly opened his eyes and saw that everyone was looking at him with expectant eyes.

"Weren't the body skeletons of the deceased ever found?" Luo Fei looked at Huang Jieyuan and suddenly raised a question that was completely unrelated to the previous topic.

Huang Jieyuan shook his head and said, "No."

"We were all fooled by him..." Luo Fei let out a long sigh, then gave a bitter laugh. "He's not a psychopathic killer at all; he's just a cunning fox skilled in deception!"

The Fate of the Death Sentence (32)

"Not a pervert?" Zeng Rihua curled his lip. "Then what exactly is he trying to do? Cutting the corpse into pieces, boiling the head and internal organs... a smokescreen? You're not trying to say that his goal is to make everyone think he's a pervert, are you?"

Mu Jianyun waved to Zeng Rihua, signaling him not to disturb Luo Fei's thoughts.

Luo Fei's gaze remained fixed on Huang Jieyuan. He continued the previous topic, asking, "How did you consider this issue back then? Why did you only find the deceased's clothing, head, internal organs, and some pieces of flesh, while the skeletal remains of the most important part of the torso remained missing?"

"Perhaps it was abandoned in some secluded location, or maybe it was hidden in someone's home all along." Huang Jieyuan looked slightly embarrassed. As the person in charge of the case, it was indeed unacceptable that he not only had no clue about the whereabouts of the murderer, but also failed to find all of the victim's remains.

Mu Jianyun immediately dismissed his second guess: "It's unlikely they hid it at home. Many psychopathic killers do have a habit of preserving the victims' remains, but they usually choose distinctive parts of the body, such as the head, genitals, or even internal organs. There's no precedent in previous records for preserving skeletal remains. Preserving large pieces of flesh is not only inconvenient, but also pointless for the killer."

Huang Jieyuan shrugged, seemingly unwilling to refute, but he emphasized again, "Back then, we searched the entire provincial capital, practically digging three feet into the ground. Where the remaining remains are hidden is truly a mystery."

"Could they have buried it in their own home?" Zeng Rihua couldn't help but voice his opinion again. "Large pieces of body are difficult to move, so burying them on the spot at a secluded crime scene is a common occurrence."

Indeed, there are numerous cases where murderers dispose of the bodies on the spot after committing murder. Some embed them in walls, some bury them under beds, and the most outrageous case is that a man killed his wife and then bought two bags of cement to build a large mound on the balcony to hide the body.

Luo Fei looked at Zeng Rihua and said, "There are two points in your reasoning that don't make sense. First, in a modern city, disposing of a body on the spot is too difficult and risky. You'll make a huge commotion at home, and once it arouses suspicion, there will be no turning back—because the body itself is irrefutable evidence."

"Yeah," Yin Jian chimed in, "Last year, some guy cemented his wife onto the balcony. That was the dumbest way I've ever seen to hide a corpse. If that guy was that stupid, he wouldn't have been at large for ten years."

Zeng Rihua was unwilling to be refuted so easily, and after a moment of hesitation, he argued, "What if there were some special circumstances at his residence at the time? For example, the house was being renovated or something, and the body was disposed of at the same time."

This explanation was clearly far-fetched, and Luo Fei didn't have time to argue with him. He immediately posed a second question: "If he could dispose of the body easily at home, why did he still need to throw away the head, internal organs, the deceased's clothes, and some pieces of flesh?"

"Well..." Zeng Rihua struggled to find a reason for the suspect, and after a moment he finally came up with some explanation, "Maybe...maybe it's showing off his criminal methods? Challenging the police, like Eumendies issuing notices."

Mu Jianyun immediately followed up, saying, "If he had such thoughts, then he certainly wouldn't stop after just one case—I can be 100% certain of that."

Zeng Rihua was taken aback, then gave a wry smile: "How did we end up circling back to the previous question?"

Luo Fei waved his hand: "Let's not consider the psychological analysis of the perpetrator for now, let's just consider his modus operandi. If it's a challenge to the police, isn't throwing out a bag of dismembered remains enough? Why throw out three bags of flesh and a travel bag containing a head and internal organs in four separate instances? Also, why throw out all the victim's clothes? That doesn't make sense from the perspective of challenging the police, does it?"

Zeng Rihua's face fell; this time he couldn't smooth things over anymore, so he shook his head in surrender: "Alright then... tell me what happened? Where did those large pieces of corpse go?"

"Hidden in a special place..." Luo Fei said slowly, "and the special thing about this place is that although it can hide the main remains of the deceased, it cannot hide the head, internal organs, pieces of flesh, or clothing. So the murderer had to throw these things far away."

Everyone frowned slightly. They could understand Luo Fei's thinking, but they couldn't understand the specific details: What kind of burial site could accommodate large pieces of corpses but not relatively small pieces of remains such as heads, internal organs, and pieces of flesh?

After a brief pause, Luo Fei continued, "How about this, I'll start from the beginning and go through it again, following my own method. I'll also cite a lot of Professor Mu's psychological analysis results. Everyone listen and see if this line of thought works."

Seeing that no one had any objections, Luo Fei began to explain. Unlike Mu Jianyun's analysis, which was based on psychology, his views were mainly derived from criminal investigation.

"In any murder case, how to dispose of the body is the most difficult problem that the perpetrator must face. The body itself is the most important physical evidence in the case; experienced criminal investigators can find all sorts of clues through the body: including the victim's identity, the time of the crime, the cause of the crime, the method of murder, and even the perpetrator's physical and mental characteristics. To destroy this evidence, the perpetrator will use various targeted methods to damage the body. But these methods themselves also reveal more information—at least we can tell from them what the perpetrator wants to hide. And what they deliberately try to hide is often the most important clue in the case."

In this specific case, we can see that the murderer disposed of the victim's head and clothing, indicating that the murderer had no intention of concealing the victim's identity. This means the murderer was not worried about the police investigating the victim's social relationships. Therefore, it is clear that the murderer and the victim's acquaintance was a chance encounter, and no third party knew about their relationship.

Everyone nodded in agreement. However, this analysis was not surprising, so they had to listen attentively.

"Here I must quote Professor Mu's theory." Luo Fei glanced at Mu Jianyun, exchanging a look with him. "Judging from the deceased's personality, for a stranger to approach her in a short time, that person must possess sufficient attraction. Therefore, I agree with the following points: the murderer was over twenty-eight years old at the time; of above-average appearance; possessed a certain level of refinement; had a relatively high social status; and suffered from 'hidden inferiority complex,' otherwise it's impossible to explain why he would be interested in the deceased."

Mu Jianyun smiled slightly, seemingly expressing his gratitude for Luo Fei's trust.

Luo Fei nodded slightly in response, then continued, "Now that we've determined that the deceased and the murderer met by chance, we face two divergent choices when analyzing the murderer's motive. The first possibility is that the murderer is a psychopathic killer, and the 112 case was a premeditated murder. The murderer's purpose in finding the deceased was to kill her and enjoy the thrill of the killing. In fact, the police have been investigating along this line of thought. We were thinking the same thing just now—because the murderer's mutilation of the body far exceeded the bounds of normal human behavior. Since it was premeditated, he must have made thorough preparations beforehand: including how to lure the deceased to his home, how to commit the crime, how to dispose of the body, etc. His plan must have been meticulous and perfectly executed. That's why the police haven't been able to solve the case after ten years. However, this line of thought has inexplicable aspects: for example, why didn't this psychopathic killer continue committing crimes? Why did he dispose of the head, internal organs, pieces of flesh, and clothing in different locations?"

This was precisely where the previous discussion had stalled. Now, hearing Luo Fei's words, everyone understood that he wanted to bypass these obstacles and shift to another line of thought.

"What is the other possibility?" Mu Jianyun couldn't help but ask impatiently.

"Another possibility is that the perpetrator didn't originally intend to kill the victim. His purpose was simply to have a normal social interaction. However, something unexpected happened after the victim arrived at his home, which led the killer to murder the girl."

"Why isn't there a third possibility?" Mu Jianyun questioned. "Even if he wasn't a psychopath, he could still have premeditated the murder. Why do you insist on emphasizing that it was an accidental event?"

Luo Fei countered, "If you weren't a psychopath and had premeditated the murder, why would you kill this person in your own home?"

Mu Jianyun suddenly exclaimed "Oh!" There was already a consensus among them: the fact that the perpetrator could process the corpse so meticulously meant that the crime scene must have been his home, a place with a high degree of privacy. But who would deliberately choose their home as the location for a murder? Unless they were a pervert who wanted to "enjoy" the process of mutilating a corpse.

"So, if it wasn't a psychopathic murder, then it was a spontaneous, impulsive killing?" Yin Jian chimed in, analyzing the situation. "Why? The most likely explanation is that it was a consequence of a sexual assault, right?"

Indeed, many male-on-female homicides stem from escalating rape cases. If a perpetrator takes the victim to their home and develops lustful intentions, and the victim mishandles the situation, a spontaneous rape often escalates into a murder.

However, Mu Jianyun held the opposite view: "I think that's unlikely."

"Why?" Yin Jian asked humbly, as if seeking guidance.

"I've specifically studied the psychological characteristics of both perpetrators and victims in sexual crimes such as rape. The situation in this case doesn't fit with previous examples. Analysis suggests the man's personal circumstances far surpass the woman's, and the fact that the victim followed the perpetrator home indicates she already had considerable acceptance of him. Under these circumstances, even if the man sexually assaulted the woman, it's unlikely to escalate to murder, as the woman would often submit somewhat reluctantly. Of course, it's also possible there was a misunderstanding regarding the purpose of their initial communication, leading to strong resistance from the woman. However, in such cases, the man would often stop, because he felt the woman wasn't worth the significant cost. Furthermore, given his superior circumstances, he wouldn't become an extremely sexually frustrated and violent perpetrator."

Huang Jieyuan echoed Mu Jianyun's point of view from another angle: "The evidence retrieved from the scene where the body was dumped showed that the victim's inner and outer clothing were intact. From this perspective, it does not fit the characteristics of a violent rape case."

"So what exactly was the motive for this sudden murder?" Yin Jian clicked his tongue. "They had no grudges against each other, and the robbery was even less likely—it's been said that the perpetrator's circumstances were far superior to the victim's."

"That's the crux of the matter. Because the perpetrator's circumstances are far superior to the victim's, we shouldn't keep speculating what the perpetrator wanted to take from the victim. I think if it was a sudden murder, it's very likely that the tragedy occurred after the victim provoked the perpetrator."

"Oh? Do you have a more detailed analysis of this?" Luo Fei asked Mu Jianyun with interest.

"The deceased was sensitive and aloof, yet inwardly insecure. People with this kind of personality are often not good at getting along with others; they can easily say hurtful things, can't they?"

"You mean, something the deceased said provoked the murderer?"

Mu Jianyun nodded.

"What kind of words would they be?" When Luo Fei asked this question, he himself felt that it was a bit of a stretch.

However, Mu Jianyun didn't seem troubled. She countered with, "What kind of words are most easily provoked?"

Luo Fei was stunned; the question seemed too broad, leaving him unsure how to answer. Fortunately, Mu Jianyun quickly clarified the question.

"Zeng Rihua." She suddenly turned to look at Zeng Rihua and said very seriously, "I think you don't understand computers at all. Your previous work was meaningless and didn't provide any help to the task force."

Zeng Rihua stared wide-eyed at Mu Jianyun, looking completely bewildered: "What are you saying?" The onlookers exchanged bewildered glances, wondering why Mu Jianyun would suddenly question Zeng Rihua's computer skills.

But Mu Jianyun wasn't finished. "Your ability to analyze cases is utterly abysmal," she continued. "So far, your analysis of the case has been either nonsense or absurd fallacies. I don't know what you're still doing sitting here."

Zeng Rihua's face flushed red instantly, then he stood up excitedly: "Fine, fine, fine! Everything I said was nonsense, utter fallacy! Your analysis is brilliant! Since you have such a strong opinion of me, then I'll leave now!"

Mu Jianyun raised his hand and grabbed Zeng Rihua, who was about to leave.