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🕑 Added 2025-03-21 05:56:13 +0000 UTCAnatomy of a Killer
Chapter 19 - The Girl in the Woods, Part 8
After completing the necessary paperwork and informing Lieutenant LaGuerta of what they needed, Ángel quickly returned to find out what they were dealing with in this case.
Recently, Larry had influenced their way of investigating, and Ángel had developed a great interest in anatomy. The way a criminal profiler like Larry viewed things taught him a lot about improving his own approach to work.
Masuka, who had arrived early and was the one who called the young Max to participate in the autopsy this time, opened the body bag. But at that moment, the young forensic aspirant let out a scream:
“Oh my God! Her eyes are still open, damn it…”
Masuka approached Max and lightly patted his shoulder as he advised him, “Hey, kid, don’t get so scared. Haven’t you heard that people can die with their eyes open? If you can’t handle something like this, you still have time to consider other ways to make a living in the future.”
“They told me that, over time, I’d get used to it—that the smell, the stiffness, the absence would stop affecting me. But what if I don’t want to get used to it? What if doing so makes me lose part of what makes me human?” Max, still a student, had his doubts.
“Well, that’s normal. Sometimes, I wonder if this was the path I was meant to take. I see cold bodies on the table, examine their wounds, read their stories… But where is the life in all this? Where is my humanity? Over time, you’ll realize that if you’re not willing to sacrifice a piece of your soul and learn to live with it, then you should look for other alternatives.” Masuka’s words rang true—forensic experts had to sell a part of their soul for the greater good.
Larry looked at Max, then at Camila, whose eyes remained open.
In this case, the eyelid is surrounded by the orbicularis oculi muscle. After death, all muscles relax.
As rigor mortis sets in, the eyelids slightly open. But it’s rare to see someone with their eyes as wide open as Camila’s. It’s unlikely, but it happened this time.
“I suspect her expression at the moment of death reveals something important about her state at that time,” Larry said, examining the body carefully.
Ángel, not entirely focused on Larry’s work, took the opportunity to search one of the forensic computers, reviewing any preliminary reports that might provide more clues.
“Are you saying that her eyes remained wide open, frozen in an expression of extreme fear? As if she had seen something terrifying right before she died…” Max asked, furrowing his brows, unable to stop his hands from trembling.
Larry nodded gravely. “Exactly. That expression suggests she saw her death coming. It wasn’t a surprise attack.”
There was another disturbing detail: The killer had let Camila’s hair fall over her face, covering her eyes in what seemed like a deliberate gesture.
“If the crime was committed by someone who knew her, this could indicate a sense of guilt…” Larry murmured, analyzing the photographs taken before Camila was removed from the crime scene. “He didn’t want to look at her after what he did.”
The three proceeded with the forensic protocol, carefully removing Camila’s clothing and placing it in order on a nearby table. Every garment, meticulously folded, could contain crucial traces: fibers, biological residues, maybe even fingerprints. The scene had to be analyzed in the greatest detail; the killer had left a signature—they just needed to learn how to read it.
“What a shame… This girl had a future ahead of her,” Masuka muttered, clicking his tongue with a hint of sorrow he could only share slightly with his colleagues.
Larry didn’t respond. He ignored the forensic examiner’s words and focused on the autopsy. There were too many unanswered questions, and every detail could be crucial.
On the front of Camila’s short-sleeved school uniform, fragments of tree bark were found adhered to the fabric, as if she had been dragged or pressed against the trunk at some point before her death.
The cause of death was clear: mechanical asphyxia. The body showed the characteristic signs of this type of death. As in many strangulation cases, the loss of control over the sphincters had caused the victim to excrete urine and feces, soiling her clothes. An uncomfortable detail, but crucial in determining the sequence of events.
Larry and his team proceeded with surgical precision: they removed the shoelaces that had been used as strangulation tools, tied around Camila’s wrists and neck. Each knot was documented with photographs before being carefully bagged as evidence.
Larry pointed at one of the knots with his finger, his expression hardening. “Look at this—do you see it? It’s the same type of knot we found on Greta’s wrist when she died.”
Masuka frowned, squinting as he processed the information. “So… do we have a pattern?”
Larry nodded slowly. If the killer repeated the same methods, there might be more victims. And if they understood his technique, they could start profiling him.
“Are you concluding that Greta Mayer and Camila Wells were murdered by the same person just because of the knot?” Masuka asked skeptically.
Larry kept his eyes fixed on the evidence before responding calmly, “The knot is just part of the reason. But there’s more: the choice of crime scene, the method used, and, above all, the way the killer repeatedly checked whether the victim was dead. Everything points to the same pattern.”
Max, who had remained silent until then, clenched his fists and asked, “But there’s a big difference. Greta Mayer died from hemorrhagic shock, while Camila was strangled.”
Larry looked at both men with composure and asked, “Do you remember the knife embedded in Greta Mayer’s perineum?”
Masuka and Max nodded, recalling the scene with discomfort.
“The killer didn’t do it just out of hatred or sadism.” Larry paused before continuing. “He had another purpose: he wanted to make sure Greta was really dead.”
There was a tense silence before Larry resumed his work.
“Max, send all the collected objects and samples from the scene for analysis. The killer didn’t have time to clean up. If he didn’t wear gloves, we might find traces of his DNA on the shoelaces.”
Max nodded and took notes.
“Remind Dexter to compare the DNA with the samples taken from yesterday’s suspects,” Larry added while jotting things down in his personal notebook.
Without wasting time, Max left the room to send the samples to the lab. Now, it was just a matter of waiting.
The autopsy revealed unmistakable signs of strangulation. Camila’s face was swollen, with pinpoint hemorrhages on her skin and conjunctiva. Additionally, the typical loss of sphincter control had occurred, with urine and fecal discharge—common indicators in deaths caused by mechanical asphyxia.
Larry opened the victim’s neck, chest, and abdomen, examining each internal organ with precision.
“Fracture in the upper angle of the thyroid cartilage…” Masuka murmured, observing the injury closely.
The subcutaneous hemorrhage in the neck grooves was evident, with four deep dark brown marks—clear signs of the pressure exerted during the strangulation.
The internal organs displayed the typical effects of asphyxiation: congestion in the right atrium, right ventricle, liver, and kidneys. The lungs showed severe congestion with pronounced emphysema, along with petechial hemorrhages under the serous and mucous membranes. The blood, dark red in color and fluid in texture, confirmed respiratory collapse.
Only small amounts of fibers and chyme were found in the stomach, indicating that death occurred more than six hours after the last meal.
After measuring the rectal temperature of the body, Larry began calculating the time of death.
"Do you remember the formula for determining the time elapsed since death based on body temperature?" Larry asked without looking at anyone.
Masuka nodded, but Larry directed the question to his assistant. "Max, you answer it. You're studying, after all. We need to teach you the details."
The young man nodded confidently and said, "The time elapsed since death is equal to 37 minus the rectal temperature of the body, divided by 0.33, multiplied by the coefficient."
"And the coefficient? Name them all," Masuka joined in on the lesson being given to Max.
"One in spring and autumn, 1.4 in summer, and 0.7 in winter," Max responded without hesitation.
After applying the formula, they determined that Camila's death occurred between 4:30 and 5:00 in the morning, within a margin of four hours.
"That means the light the security guard saw… was emitted by the killer."
Larry nodded, taking a swab to collect a sample from the victim. After sealing it in an evidence bag, he looked at Masuka and said, "There’s an old laceration in the CN membrane. It needs to be sent for review."
"This proves that your earlier judgment was correct," Masuka said, understanding Larry better. He always seemed to have the answers instantly, but since evidence was needed, he moved toward it until he found it.
"Camila’s parents knew exactly what their daughter had done and didn’t stop her."
Larry nodded, a hint of sadness in his expression.
The idea that money is everything has led young people today to be prematurely exposed to the dark side of society.
Being born into a family—this was also Camila’s pain, silent and suffocating.
Larry carefully sutured the deceased’s body, doing his best to keep it intact.
Once again, this was the least he could do for the bodies that victims left behind.
…
Upon returning to the office at eleven in the morning, Larry stared blankly at a photo of white leather on his computer screen.
Max stood behind Larry, drinking water while perched on a stool, swinging his legs.
"Larry, you’ve been staring at this picture for half an hour. Can you tell me what information it contains?"
"It could be the key…"
"Maybe something feminine?"
Larry suddenly turned and stared at Ángel, who had just said that.
Something feminine!
Yes, why hadn’t he thought of it before?
"I know who the killer is!"
"You figured it out?"
But who was the killer?
Larry pointed at the white leather in the photo and said, "Valeria—the shadow we didn’t even consider. This is the ornament on her shoes that she wore the day of the interrogation. Remember it, Ángel, you questioned her."
But before Ángel could be surprised, Dexter burst into the homicide office.
"Are the results in yet?"
"Well, the test results just came in."
Sergeant Doakes, slightly excited, handed them to Larry.
"They found a person’s DNA on the shoelaces that strangled Camila and under her nails. You’ll never guess who it is!"
The two men stared at Dexter and paused. Larry frowned, thinking for a moment.
"Why no reaction?"
"Larry already has the answer. How about a bet?"
"That’s disturbing."
"Yeah, forget what I said," Max felt embarrassed by his suggestion and fell silent.
"It’s Valeria, Greta Mayer’s second friend in their group of four."
Dexter's eyes widened in surprise—it was unexpected. Larry’s words were far more shocking than his own reaction to receiving the report.
"How did you figure it out?"
"I just connected the patterns. Unexpectedly, a shadow like Valeria was the stain right in front of us, but one we hadn’t noticed."
