The Forgotten Crimes

03. A Political Hype

At midnight on the same day, the Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau officially designated this heinous murder case as the "January 3rd Dismemberment Case." They formed a special task force as the case’s Special Investigation Team, consisting of detectives from the Criminal Investigation Division of the Municipal Public Security Bureau and Chuansha County Public Security Bureau. Gu was appointed as the team leader and entrusted with full authority over the investigation.

In the early hours of January 4th, at 2:30am, the special investigation team held its inaugural briefing. After discussions, they decided to immediately mobilize police resources and conduct interviews and investigations within a 10-mile radius centered around the location where the dismembered remains were discovered. Their goal was to swiftly establish the victim's identity and uncover crucial leads to solve the case.

On the morning of January 4th, Beijing time, just 24 hours after the discovery of the victim's head, the "Voice of America" Chinese-language radio station aired a special report on the "January 3rd Dismemberment Case" in Shanghai.

The report roughly stated: "A rare and gruesome murder case occurred yesterday in Shanghai, China's largest city. It is reported that the victim was a young rural woman who was brutally killed by the perpetrator, dismembered into 13 pieces, and then the remains were disposed of separately in fields and rivers in rural Chuansha County along the Huangpu River. There is currently no consensus on whether this is a typical criminal case or one with political implications."

At this point, apart from some officials of the Chuansha County, the majority of Shanghai's residents were unaware of the case. The speed at which this radio station obtained insider information was indeed surprising.

However, it should be noted that their report was not entirely accurate. There was still no definitive information regarding whether the victim was a rural woman. In reality, there were 18 dismembered pieces, including the head, making a total of 13 oiled-paper-wrapped bundles, rather than just 13 pieces.

On the same evening, the New York-based newspaper published a commentary article on the second headline position titled "Is the Shanghai Dismemberment Case a Signal?"

This article incorporated some of the content from the "Voice of America" report regarding the "January 3rd Dismemberment Case" but added sensationalized "information."

It claimed that the victim had died from gunshot wounds, had been subjected to gang r**e by multiple men before her death, and stated that an organization called the "Oriental Killers" had posted flyers on the streets of Shanghai claiming responsibility for the violent incident. The organization purportedly declared its intention to continue similar violent activities in Shanghai until spring arrives.

After listing these "facts," the author pointed out that the reference to "spring arriving" alluded to the Chinese New Year, and President Nixon planned to visit China after the 1972 Chinese New Year, including a visit to Shanghai. The author implied that the statement by the "Oriental Killers" might be a signal, suggesting they could resort to violence against President Nixon during his visit.

At that time, some members of the Democratic Party in the United States were opposed to President Nixon's visit to China and had made repeated attempts to block it. The gruesome dismemberment case in Shanghai provided them with an opportunity to exploit the situation, and they began to sensationalize it in newspapers.

As a result, this heinous criminal case that occurred in Shanghai became widely known in the United States. Furthermore, newspapers in major American cities such as New York, Washington, Philadelphia, Denver, and others published articles discussing the case and called on President Nixon to reconsider or postpone his visit to China.

"Voice of America" later claimed, "The security situation in Shanghai has become intolerable."

In the early hours of January 6th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China urgently compiled a report on the "January 3rd Dismemberment Case" and the comments from the American news media regarding President Nixon's visit to China.

They presented this report to Premier Zhou Enlai. Subsequently, Premier Zhou, on behalf of the Prime Minister's Office, contacted the Ministry of Public Security, urging them to solve the case before the Chinese New Year (February 15, 1972), and demanded daily reports on the progress of the investigation.

On the morning of January 6th, the Shanghai special investigation team received an urgent notification from the Ministry of Public Security, feeling an unprecedented pressure to solve the case.

During the subsequent case analysis meeting, the special investigation team decided to prioritize the identification of the victim as the initial breakthrough in the case. Dr. Huang Baisen, the forensic expert, provided his assessment based on the autopsy report.

1. From the style of the victim's hairstyle, it was concluded that her place of residence before her death was not a rural area or another city but the urban area of Shanghai.

2. The victim's hands had larger palms with thick and tough skin, indicating she had engaged in manual labor, primarily using her right hand, for an extended period. However, the outermost layer of skin on her palms had started to soften, suggesting she had likely stopped manual labor approximately two to three months before her death.

3. The victim's teeth showed a certain degree of wear, likely caused by long-term chewing of hard foods like roasted soybeans, fried broad beans, or small walnuts. Considering this in conjunction with her hairstyle, it was surmised that while she lived in the urban area of Shanghai, she probably came from a lower socio-economic background, most likely born into a working-class family.

4. Approximately 2 to 3 hours before her death, the victim had consumed cabbage, shredded pork, and rice cakes. This, in addition to her preference for foods like roasted soybeans and yellow beans, indicated that she was possibly a resident of Shanghai (specifically referring to the primary urban areas at that time).

These findings provided valuable insights into the victim's background and lifestyle, narrowing down the focus of the investigation.

Dr. Huang's meticulous analysis, coupled with the fact that no useful leads had emerged from the interviews and investigations conducted within a 10-mile radius of the dismemberment site, led the special investigation team to mobilize the resources of the Municipal Public Security Bureau to conduct inquiries in the whole urban district.

Because the Yangsi Town, where the body parts were discovered, and the urban Nanshi District faced each other across the Huangpu river, the district became the first and primary focus of the investigation.

However, due to the considerable attention the case had already garnered overseas, the Municipal Public Security Bureau emphasized the utmost secrecy in all investigative activities.

The special investigation team divided more than 40 detectives into 22 small teams, each consisting of 2 officers.

They were tasked with visiting local police stations to review residential records and conducting inquiries at neighborhood committees. Whether facing colleagues at the police stations or neighborhood committee staff, the detectives adhered to a unified stance, stating that they were searching for a missing person.

The special investigation team worked day and night for three days, and by January 9th, they had completed the investigation in the entire Nanshi District without finding any clues related to the victim.

At this rate, it would take at least a month to conduct similar investigations in all ten districts of the urban area. Even if the victim's identity was discovered a month later, it would only mark the beginning of the investigation. No one could guarantee whether the case could be solved before the Chinese New Year or even before President Nixon's visit to China.

As a result, the Municipal Public Security Bureau approved the special investigation team's request to mobilize the masses to assist in identifying the victim.

On the evening of January 9th, tens of thousands of "Collaborative Investigation Notices" bearing the victim's facial photograph and textual descriptions of physical features related to the "January 3th Dismemberment Case" were distributed to various industrial enterprises, institutions, neighborhood committees, public security sub-bureaus, detention centers and prisons in all ten districts and counties throughout the city.

By the following day, January 10th, almost all the city's residents had seen the "Collaborative Investigation Notices."