Tang Dynasty Prison Administration

019: The Weixian County Five-Corpse Wrongful Murder Case

Su Wen looked at the woodcutter, took the machete he had just placed aside, and held it up to him, asking, "Is this machete yours?"

The woodcutter shook his head: "It's not mine, I found it!"

"Was it picked up at the same time as that severed head?"

In response to Su Wen's question, the woodcutter replied, "Yes!"

Su Wen angrily rebuked, "How dare you! You haven't uttered a single word of truth. In this courtroom, are you treating Magistrate Wang and me like children?"

Before the woodcutter could speak, Su Wen looked at the machete and said, "This blade is covered with tiny cuts; it's clearly a machete commonly used for felling trees. There are only three woodcutters in your village, and a machete like this must be quite expensive. There are inscriptions on the machete; do you expect me to check the sales records at the knifesmith's shop before you'll acknowledge it?"

The woodcutter was terrified by Su Wen's words and immediately kowtowed, saying, "I confess, I confess, this knife is mine!"

Su Wen frowned and asked, "Anything else?"

The woodcutter fell silent again. Su Wen took a deep breath and said, "Then I'll speak. You just need to answer yes or no!"

Su Wen slowly said, "Did you see the government posting a notice offering a reward of five thousand coins for the head of a criminal? So you went home, saw your sick mother, and thought about how you worked hard all month cutting firewood, earning only a few hundred coins, barely enough to pay for her medical treatment. You couldn't save any money at all, which is why you're now thirty-six and still unmarried. So you thought of killing your mother, cutting off her head, and using it to get the reward money from the government. That way, you could get rid of your sick mother, get a large reward, and find a wife, right?"

Faced with Su Wen's questioning, the woodcutter trembled uncontrollably, but he still gritted his teeth and said, "No, how could I kill my own mother? You're lying, I'm innocent!"

Su Wen laughed and said, "Injustice?"

Su Wendao said, "Your mother's throat was black, a symptom of poisoning. You clearly poisoned your mother first, then beheaded her. After beheading her, fearing recognition, you wrapped her head in cloth and smashed her face until it was a bloody mess, unrecognizable. Then you brought the head to the county office to claim the reward!"

The woodcutter was so frightened by Su Wen's words that his whole body twitched from time to time, clearly panicked. Su Wen continued, "The former magistrate of Wei County, Magistrate Mo, was a cruel official. He often subjected anyone who came to report to the authorities to severe torture without explanation. What we saw and heard on the road today was all like this. The people all had the mentality of 'it's better to avoid trouble.' Let alone seeing a head, they didn't dare to come forward to watch the show, even if they saw a corpse. They all stood at a distance to watch."

Su Wen looked at the woodcutter and said, "You're quite bold, daring to pick up the head and come here to claim the reward. I think it's because you saw Magistrate Mo leave and a new magistrate had taken over, so you dared to try your luck!"

Upon hearing this, the woodcutter was about to retort when Su Wen said calmly, "If you don't want to confess now, that's fine. I just sent someone to fetch the clothes you used to wrap your head, and I also had the constables ask around the neighborhood to see if they're the kind of clothes you usually wear. Once they return, we only need to compare the patterns and residue on the clothes to find out the answer, and then we'll convict you!"

Upon hearing this, the woodcutter was utterly distraught, collapsed to the ground, and bowed his head, replying, "I confess...it is indeed as you say."

"That afternoon I came to the county to sell firewood. On the way, I heard someone reciting a notice offering a reward for a head. When I heard it was 5,000 coins, I wasn't tempted. But when I went to the pharmacy to get medicine for my mother, the firewood I had sold that day wasn't enough to pay for the medicine. So I started thinking about the reward. I often cut firewood in the mountains and knew a little about herbs. I knew that pharmacies usually didn't sell arsenic, so I bought some raw aconite. When I got home, I decocted the medicine for my mother and then put powdered raw aconite in it. After my mother died from the poison, I cut off her head with a knife. I was afraid that people would recognize my mother's face and I wouldn't be able to get the reward, so I wrapped her head in clothes and smashed her face with firewood. I originally wanted to burn the clothes and the knife."

Su Wen frowned and said, "But I'm reluctant to part with it, because the clothes and machete are quite expensive, and you're not sure if you'll actually get the reward money, are you?"

The woodcutter nodded and replied, "Yes!"

Su Wen sighed and looked at Wang Weifeng, saying, "Magistrate Wang, this case is solved. The evidence will be available once the constable who went there returns. As for the other case, I'll go examine the body first!"

Wang Weifeng replied, "Alright, thank you for your trouble, Dr. Su!"

After Su Wen entered the inner hall, Wang Weifeng shouted, "Sign and seal this document for him! You are truly rebellious, daring to kill your own mother!"

Su Wen stopped at the inner hall, shook his head, and sighed, "Alas, as the saying goes, 'A long illness tests the filial piety of even the most devoted sons!'"

......

Su Wen arrived at the morgue and began to carefully examine the body.

Su Wen said, "I'll tell you, and you write it down!"

The constable responded and took out paper and pen.

Su Wendao: "Record: The deceased was male, approximately six feet tall, and about thirty-five or thirty-six years old. There were marks on the back of his head indicating a heavy blow. The rest of his body was uninjured. His hands were clenched into fists, and his fingernails were full of dirt and sand. The examination indicated that he was struck on the back of the head from behind, causing him to lose consciousness, but he did not die immediately. The cause of death was suffocation from being buried alive. The date of the head injury was 2:45 AM, but the time of death was between 2:45 AM and 3:45 AM!"

Su Wendao: "Record: The deceased was male, approximately six feet seven inches tall, and in his early forties. He had multiple lacerations and beating wounds on his body, and there was a stab wound to his abdomen, which was the fatal one. There was no flesh under his fingernails. The time of death was approximately 3:40 AM."

Su Wen stood up and pondered. Of the two men, one was knocked unconscious by being hit from behind on the back of the head, while the other had fought fiercely with the assailant, resulting in multiple wounds on his body, but was ultimately stabbed in the abdomen from the front, causing his death.

But why is it so strange?

The two men were knocked unconscious from behind by something, and there were no signs of a struggle on their clothes or anything else. This suggests that the two men knew the killer, who took advantage of their unpreparedness to kill them. But why was the other man fighting so fiercely?

Because the two died at very close times, both around 4 a.m., which is the Yin hour, the difference was at most ten or twenty minutes.

In such a short period of time, the murderer killed two people. One of them did not fight back, while the other fought fiercely. More importantly, judging from the crime scene early in the morning, one person was likely attacked at the burial site, while the other person did not die there. In other words, one person died at the burial site, while the other died elsewhere.

In other words, both of them knew the murderer, and all three of them should have been at the burial site. Could it be that the three of them had a conflict?

More importantly, the two heads were also in the pit. Could it be that this case involved three people who committed the crime and buried the body together?

But why did the three of them have a conflict, which led to the deaths of two of them?

Su Wen frowned and began to carefully examine the clothes. There were no useful clues on the body, so he could only look through the clothing.

Since there was a fight, there must be clues on the clothes.

After searching for a while, Su Wen actually found a clue on the hem of the clothes. Su Wen looked at the small white mark, then touched it with his hand and smelled it.

He then frowned and whispered, "Tofu!"

Su Wen turned to one of the constables beside him and asked, "How long does it take to get from the place where the body was found to the nearest tofu shop?"

The constable pondered for a moment and said, "There really is one, Zhang's Tofu Shop, about a quarter of an hour away!"

Upon hearing this, Su Wen pondered for a moment and said, "Have someone bring the tofu shop owner here!"

The constable replied, "Yes, sir!"