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23 years ago, a murder occurred in a rental house in a residential area in baoshan district, shanghai. when the police arrived at the scene, they saw a dead person with a slashed head, a bloody stainless steel kitchen knife, a torn address book, a cell phone soaked in a basin, and a leftover apple core. the dead person never ate apples before his death. who ate the apple core, and what was the connection with the dead person?

the picture shows the case file, showing bloodstains and apple cores left at the crime scene.

due to the technical limitations at the time, the case remained unsolved, but the biological information left at the scene was permanently preserved. until february this year, the case took a turn for the better, and the mystery was gradually lifted. under the guidance of the criminal investigation corps of the shanghai public security bureau, the criminal investigation detachment of baoshan branch of the shanghai public security bureau continued to track and recently solved this 23-year-old murder case.

an unexpected apple core at a murder scene

on the evening of december 31, 2001, the baoshan police in shanghai received a report from the public that their friend was murdered in a rental house in a certain community in baoshan. when the police investigated the scene, they found that the deceased, ms. huang, was 32 years old and had been chopped on the head. the estimated time of death was noon that day. there was a bloody stainless steel kitchen knife at the scene, and the police determined that the rental house was the first crime scene.

in addition to the murder weapon left by the murderer, the police also found a torn address book, a cell phone soaked in a washbasin, and an apple core. the police learned from the caller that the deceased had a complex social network and the contact information of some friends who often visited was recorded in the address book. at the same time, the caller also provided the police with a clue that the deceased never ate apples, but had the habit of peeling apples to entertain guests. after testing, two biological traces were left at the scene. in addition to the deceased himself, the other biological trace is likely to belong to the murderer. based on the above clues, the police focused their investigation on the crime committed by an acquaintance.

the picture shows police officers from the criminal investigation detachment of baoshan branch conducting rolling sample testing.

on the one hand, the police ruled out the suspect of the person who called the police through blood type comparison and alibi. on the other hand, the police checked the last call sign record of the deceased's mobile phone from the telecommunications company and locked the dial from a public phone in a tobacco and sundry store near the crime scene.

according to the store staff, a man in his 40s, thin, wearing a dark jacket and speaking with an accent from nantong, jiangsu, called the store at noon. criminal investigation experts drew a simulated portrait based on the physical features. the police used the portrait to conduct a sweep of 39 residential buildings in the community where the crime occurred and the surrounding 5-kilometer area, but found nothing.

the picture shows a simulated portrait.

uniform collars guide the way to solving crimes

since the identification of the portrait was not going well, the investigators thought that the suspect might not be a nearby resident, so they shifted their focus to the suspect's occupation. the investigators started with the collar of the jacket in the simulated portrait, collected a large number of samples of mainstream uniforms in society at the time, and combined with the characteristics of the baoshan area, speculated that the suspect's possible occupation was: taxi driver, metallurgical worker or construction worker.

the investigators spent three months interviewing more than 1,400 taxi drivers with a portrait of the suspect; interviewing about 1,000 employees with nantong accents in metallurgical enterprises near the crime scene; and conducting a one-by-one survey of more than 100 migrant workers with nantong accents at a construction site adjacent to the crime scene. based on this, the police sorted out the residential registration and hotel registration information around the crime scene for nearly six months, but found no clues to solve the case.

in the following 20 years, the criminal investigation brigade of baoshan branch organized investigators to conduct a review every year, and on the basis of the coverage of the investigation that year, expanded the investigation to the resigned and retired employees and their families of the relevant units, and organized police officers to conduct continuous investigations in jiangsu, zhejiang, shanghai, anhui and other places. as time goes by, the case files, which embody the countless days and nights of hard work of generations of criminal police, are getting thicker and thicker, and they are also accumulating one "puzzle" after another for the day when the case will be solved.

the picture shows police officers from the criminal investigation detachment regularly sorting out historical data on backlog cases.

digital tracing finally solves cold case

in recent years, baoshan police have integrated science and technology, data application and investigative work, conducted uninterrupted and rolling comparisons of biological samples in the system, established a digital "one case, one file" for paper-based backlog materials, used innovative image technology to investigate and solve cases, analyzed, correlated and collided massive amounts of information data, continued to conduct clue verification and comparison, and continuously improved the precision guidance function of information analysis.

at the end of 2022, baoshan police used the latest technology to analyze the physical evidence extracted from the crime scene that year, and firmly determined that the crime was committed by people in nantong, jiangsu. based on this important clue, the baoshan criminal investigation detachment's serious crime squad quickly formed a 5-member investigation team to go to nantong, jiangsu for investigation, but unfortunately, the investigation team failed to find the suspect in more than 20 business trips spanning 14 months.

the picture shows the serious crimes team of the criminal investigation detachment of baoshan branch reviewing files on a business trip.

the case is not solved, and the investigation never stops. in february 2024, the case finally took a turn for the better. when investigating a theft case, the jiangsu police found that the biological information was highly similar to the suspect in the baoshan murder case, and the baoshan police immediately rushed to the local area. just as the investigators were conducting a large number of visits and investigations, a village cadre reported to the police after identifying the simulated portrait: this person looks very much like the deceased villager shen. after comparing the household registration information, the police found that shen's photo and portrait were extremely similar. he was 36 years old at the time of the incident, and his physical characteristics were very consistent with the suspect, but he is now dead.

the picture shows the serious crime team of the criminal investigation detachment of baoshan branch on a business trip.

in order to further verify shen's identity, experts from the criminal investigation corps of the shanghai public security bureau and the criminal science institute of the baoshan criminal investigation detachment formed a technical task force, which confirmed that shen's biological information was completely consistent with the biological traces left at the scene of the crime that year, and was exclusive.

on this basis, the police combined the electronic case files and continued to visit and verify the relatives, friends and co-workers who were familiar with shen's situation at the time. according to the recollections of shen's relatives and neighbors, shen had worked in shanghai as a decorator in 2000 and almost never returned to his hometown. in early 2002, shen suddenly returned to the village and became cautious. he never traveled far again and never mentioned his experience of working in shanghai until he died of illness in 2015. at the same time, the police also found shen's co-workers who worked in shanghai at the time. according to recollections, shen had been soliciting scattered decoration work in a street garden in baoshan city for a long time, which was the same place where the deceased usually moved.

the picture shows the basic household registration file.

after further scientific comparison, the suspect was found to be the deceased shen. thus, the truth of the murder case that had been hidden for 23 years was revealed, and the police also informed the family of the deceased and the investigators who had handled the case over the years of this news.

it is reported that since the beginning of this year, shanghai police have solved 8 unsolved homicide cases and arrested 9 suspects, including 4 homicide cases spanning more than 20 years, with the longest case occurring 33 years ago.