Chapter 587 - 488: On-site Investigation, Timeline 2

Chapter 587: Chapter 488: On-site Investigation, Timeline 2

The apartment’s front door was warped by the fire, and dirty water pooled and flowed out. A glance from the doorway revealed utter chaos inside. Forensics technicians from the sub-bureau moved cautiously through the wreckage, searching for every possible piece of physical evidence.

"The scene is severely compromised," Zhang Hancheng said gravely, his hands on his hips.

At any crime scene, the most crucial things are the various pieces of trace evidence.

Things like bloodstains, hair, fingerprints—anything that could yield a DNA sample.

But now, after being scorched by the blaze, it was unlikely any useful forensic samples remained.

Then there was the environment of the scene itself.

For example, smashed objects or overturned furniture could indicate where a struggle took place.

But now, after being blasted by high-pressure fire hoses, the positions of many objects had been disturbed.

All of this undoubtedly made reconstructing the scene much more difficult.

Since the evidence collection wasn’t finished, the team couldn’t enter the apartment.

Zhang Hancheng gave a few instructions: identify every remaining object in the apartment and see if anything seemed out of place or didn’t belong.

In short, with the scene so badly compromised, they had to take what they could get and investigate every single item.

He led the group aside and said to Liu Baoqing, "The scene may be a mess, but it’s still crucial. I’ll have people transferred from the Municipal Bureau to help you. Make sure the forensic examination is as meticulous as possible."

"Next, lose no time. While memories are still fresh, start a wide-scale canvas of the area. Gather all the surveillance footage and get people watching it immediately."

"Also, map out the victim’s social circle as quickly as possible. She was a single young woman, a pretty live-streamer. Her romantic history, in particular, must be thoroughly investigated."

Liu Baoqing nodded. He’d been thinking along the same lines.

Zhang Hancheng paced the hallway for a moment.

He confirmed there were only two ways in and out: a fire stairwell and the elevators.

He went into the stairwell and opened a window.

Zhang Hancheng passed out cigarettes and asked Liu Baoqing to brief him on the victim.

Liu Baoqing had an old habit when working cases: he liked to use a small notebook to jot down important information. He said, "The victim’s name is Li Xifeng."

Shen Xin paused. ’Isn’t her name Li Siyu?’

He soon learned that the name on her ID card was Li Xifeng. After joining her company, she adopted the stage name Li Siyu for public use.

’So Li Yifei must be a stage name for her stage name,’ he thought.

"She’s from Xinyun, 29 years old. Her household registration shows she has parents and two younger brothers. We’ve already contacted them, and they’re on their way here."

"She came to Nanjiang in ’14 and joined an agency called Shenghao Entertainment Culture Company. She was a ’beauty live-streamer’ back then, one of the company’s first employees."

"She likely had plastic surgery."

Liu Baoqing elaborated, saying he had obtained her employment records from the company and compared them to her official ID photo.

From what he could tell, she’d at least had work done on her eyes and jawline. The changes were significant.

"The company owner’s name is Wang Liang. He’s at the station for questioning right now. According to him, Li Siyu wasn’t very popular when she first started."

"It was only after her plastic surgery that she slowly started getting popular. Then they took advantage of the short-video platforms, marketed her heavily, and she eventually gained over a million followers."

"Based on interviews with her coworkers, I’ve done my best to reconstruct her movements on the 17th."

At 10:00 AM on the 17th, Li Siyu arrived at the office.

She had a morning meeting to discuss the shooting schedule for the afternoon.

After lunch, the group set off for the Li Lake Ten-Mile Dam to shoot footage for a historical-themed video.

Doniya was there as well.

The shoot lasted until 5:00 PM. Afterward, Li Siyu, Doniya, and the accompanying staff headed to Binhu Commercial Street.

They went to a restaurant called Xi Yue No. 7 for a sponsored dinner post.

It was a paid promotion for the restaurant.

She posted about it on social media, so the time is confirmed.

"What follows is based on Doniya’s statement," Liu Baoqing continued.

They had questioned Doniya repeatedly because everyone they spoke to said she was likely the last person to see Li Siyu alive.

"They left the restaurant at 6:42. Their agent, Zhu Wenjuan, paid the bill; we have the receipt."

"Then the two of them shared a cab back to Orange Apartment. Doniya booked the ride. We checked the trip details—the ride ended at 7:11 PM."

"Doniya says they went back to the apartment and chatted for a bit. She left a little before 8:00."

"She took another cab, and we have the record for that trip, too. It went to the nearby Xuequan Garden, where their company dormitory is located."

"Her dorm mates confirmed she returned shortly after 8:00 and didn’t leave again."

"The fire started sometime after 1:00 AM. So, from a timing perspective, Doniya doesn’t have an opportunity to be the perpetrator, unless she used some kind of special timed incendiary device."

Zhang Hancheng nodded.

’Then Li Siyu’s time of death must be between 8:00 PM and 1:30 AM.’

Zhang Hancheng asked, "Have you checked her phone records? Did she call or message anyone after 8:00? What about the security guard on duty in the lobby? Did he notice Li Siyu leave the building?"

Liu Baoqing was just about to address that.

"Li Siyu had two phone numbers registered to her name: one for work and one for personal use."

"We’ve pulled her call logs. There’s no activity after 8:00 PM."

"As for her WeChat messages, we’re working on getting those records, so that’s still pending."

"According to her coworkers, Li Siyu’s last boyfriend was over a year ago. She’s been single for the past year."

"Doniya also said that in their private conversations, Li Siyu never mentioned having a boyfriend."

"She described Li Siyu as very ambitious and career-focused, with no time for dating."

"Of course, Doniya and Li Siyu hadn’t known each other that long, so we still need to investigate whether she was secretly seeing someone."

He continued, relaying various other bits of information.

All of it gathered from interviews with the company staff.

Zhang Hancheng took it all in, crossing his arms in thought. He suddenly turned his head and asked Shen Xin for his thoughts.

"You’ve been following along this whole time, kid. It’s a little unnerving how quiet you’ve been."

Liu Baoqing also looked over at Shen Xin.

He was deeply impressed with Shen Xin’s professional competence after they cracked the reservoir case.

Shen Xin didn’t hold back and shared the thought that had been bothering him.

"I was just about to bring that up."

Zhang Hancheng nodded, satisfied. "My initial thought was a crime of passion, a murder committed in a fit of rage."

"But after the murder and arson, the suspect was lucid enough to take advantage of the chaos and steal the surveillance recorder. That action... it feels very contradictory. It’s not what you’d expect from someone who killed on impulse."

"But if it were premeditated, it’s unlikely they would have chosen to dispose of the body by burning the scene in this manner."

"Regulations on flammable materials are strict these days, but there are still ways to get them. But as you can see, the suspect improvised with materials on hand—they even used cooking oil. That tells me they didn’t come prepared."

"So if it wasn’t premeditated, how were they rational enough to steal the surveillance recorder during the commotion?"

"Either something about this picture is wrong, or we’re dealing with a highly intelligent criminal who regained their composure immediately after an impulsive act."

Zhang Hancheng paused at this point, thinking for another moment before continuing. "Let’s set that contradiction aside for now. I still think we should start with her social circle. There were no signs of forced entry, and the victim was in her underwear."

"The neighbors didn’t hear any screams for help, which makes it highly probable the perpetrator was an acquaintance. I feel confident that’s the right direction. Let’s start our investigation there."

Shen Xin thought so, too.

The case had its questionable aspects, but judging by the scene, it looked like a typical crime of passion.

Starting with her social circle was, without a doubt, the correct approach.