Suter Park.

The number of tourists crowding around the nearby crime scene was increasing.

Earlier, an elderly man of Mexican descent had been frightened by the headless female corpse, running and shouting, attracting many people with his cries.

In Los Angeles, shootings were not uncommon, but headless female corpses were something few people had ever seen.

People are curious, and Los Angelenos, under less stress in their lives, are even more so.

Having a crowd wasn't a bad thing; it made it easier to look for clues about the headless female corpse and to search for possible witnesses.

Another fifteen minutes passed, and the forensic doctor Hila had completed the preliminary autopsy and came over to say, "Captain Luke, although this isn't the place for thanks, I still want to say congratulations."

"Thank you," Luke nodded in acknowledgment. "How's the condition of the body?"

"The victim was about 16 years old, a young girl who appears to have died of asphyxiation. The part of her body above the neck was severed, and judging from the cut on her neck, it's very likely it was sawed off.

The victim had been violated before she died, and no DNA from a suspected perpetrator was found."

Matthew frowned slightly, "She wasn't even an adult yet?"

"Yes, what a pity," Hila sighed softly, then continued, "The victim's height was between 168 to 172 cm, and her estimated time of death was between 9 p.m. and midnight last night."

Luke pressed, "Can the time of death be more precise?"

"It can be, but that would require a more thorough autopsy."

Time was precisely what Luke was short on. The sooner the first dumping site was discovered, the more likely they were to find further evidence. "Forensic doctor Hila, at around what time do you estimate the crime occurred, roughly speaking? Don't worry about being too professional or accurate; I just want to hear your experienced judgment."

If a more thorough autopsy would take time, then they would play the odds.

Focus the investigation where the probability was highest, and then refine the search when more autopsy results become available.

If luck was on their side, they might find the first dumping site even before the further autopsy results came in.

Forensic doctor Hila pondered for a moment, "Assuming the victim was thrown into the water within an hour of being killed, I would estimate the time of the crime to be around 11 p.m. last night.

However, this kind of estimate is presumptuous, with many factors affecting an autopsy, like temperature, humidity, and the condition of the body."

Having estimated an approximate time of death satisfied Luke,

"Is there any clue that could identify the victim?"

"She had a Statue of Liberty tattoo on her right arm." Hila sent the photo of the arm to Luke.

Luke examined the photo carefully and responded, "Thank you for the effort, I'll have someone look into this tattoo."

"As soon as further autopsy results come in, I will notify you immediately."

"Thank you."

Not long after Hila had left, the tech team had also finished examining the scene, and just as Luke had guessed, this wasn't the first dumping site. The tech team had found no valuable clues at the bottom of the river.

There were no clothes, no identification, no mobile phone, and no jewelry. The only possible proof of the victim's identity was her DNA.

However, whether a match could be made was still unknown.

Currently, the police had too few clues to work with. They didn't know the victim's identity, the first dumping site, or even the crime scene, and they couldn't find any witnesses to the crime.

There was only so much Luke could do now, and the case was thorny.

He pondered for a while and divided the investigation into three directions,

The first direction was to have Matthew look into the missing persons from the last two days.

The second was to investigate the Statue of Liberty tattoo on the body of the female victim.

The third was led by Luke himself, to find the first dumping site.

After that, everyone went their separate ways.

Searching for the first dumping site was no easy task and involved some specialized knowledge, requiring assistance from the forensic doctor and the tech team.

For instance, measuring the water current speed, changes in the body's buoyancy, and how the body touching the bottom would affect drifting speed, among other things.

The forensic doctor provided some data, and after considering all possibilities, the data was handed over to the tech team's analysis specialists, who estimated the body had drifted 3 to 3.5 miles.

Was this estimate accurate?

It was not.

Because there were too many issues to consider, such as the forensic doctor only being able to estimate an approximate time of death, but not the precise time the body was dumped.

They could only speculate on the most likely timeframe based on police experience and then draw a comprehensive conclusion.

This particular stretch of river was more likely to be a dumping site than others, with a higher probability.

It made sense to prioritize searching this section of the river to save on manpower, resources, and budget as much as possible.

Otherwise, a diffused search of the entire river without focus would not only waste time and hinder the investigation's progress, but it would also use up a significant amount of manpower and budget.

And some cases remain unsolved simply because there isn't enough budget,

This reason might sound cruel, and some people may never consider that funds could be a shackle in case investigations, but it is a very real problem.

The police department's budget is limited; paying officers and buying equipment costs money. It's not possible to invest unlimited resources into a single case, nor would the citizens of Los Angeles agree if the police department went bankrupt from unbridled spending.

Luke decided to first search for clues 3 to 3.5 miles upstream from where the body was found. If nothing turned up, they would then expand the search area from that basis.

...

Soon, Luke and his team arrived at a site 3 miles upstream on the river.

This area was no longer part of Suter Park; the south side of the river was mountainous, while the north was flatter.

Considering that transporting the body would have required a vehicle, Luke felt it was more likely the body was dumped on the north side of the river.

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