Case Record (I)

Case Record (I)

Case File No.: GANO. F. 422. Op. 6. D. 1899 Subject: Investigation Into the Discovery of the Body of Cincinnatus C., a Staff Member of the Svetloledovka Administration Case Status: Closed Report At dawn on March 15 of this year, a report was received from a train attendant of the Snezhnaya Royal Railway Transport Bureau. A body was found slumped in a seat on the right-hand side of a train traveling from Svetloledovka to the Snezhnaya central Station. The deceased was later identified as Cincinnatus C., a staff member of the Svetloledovka Administration. Examination Record The autopsy revealed purplish-blue discoloration and swelling of the face, as well as cyanosis of the oral mucosa. Distinct ligature marks and strangulation marks were visible on the neck, with subcutaneous and muscular hemorrhaging and a fracture of the greater horn of the hyoid bone. The findings were consistent with mechanical asphyxiation caused by external compression of the neck, resulting in airway obstruction and compression of the cervical blood vessels, leading to cerebral hypoxia and impaired venous return. However, no murder weapon was found at the scene. Based on the findings of the crime scene investigation, the death should be classified as a homicide. However, according to the train attendant's report to the Snezhnaya Royal Railway Transport Bureau, this was the first train service of the day. The train attendant clearly remembered that Cincinnatus C. had been the train's sole passenger. Witness Testimony Record Name: Y. I. Luzhin Rank: Commoner Age: 35 Identity: Head of Finance, Svetloledovka Administrative Affairs Office (Human) Testimony: "Cincinnatus was our colleague. I can't believe he's... This is all so strange. Punin, Cincinnatus, and I usually take the early train to work together. Today, we didn't see him even by the time the first train (Note: This refers to the first train of the day from the Snezhnaya central station to Svetloledovka) departed, so Timofey and I boarded without him... I even asked the train attendant if the train could wait a little longer, but Cincinnatus wasn't at the central station at all. He was still in Svetloledovka... Could it be that he never returned the night before?" Name: T. P. Punin Rank: Commoner Age: 40 Identity: Cashier, Svetloledovka Administrative Affairs Office (Human) Testimony: "Yes... Ah, what a cold morning. Luzhin and I boarded the train to Svetloledovka together, just as we usually do. We live in Zolnyy, so the commute is quite a hassle. Sigh... We have to drag ourselves out of bed before dawn, or we'd never catch the train. Sorry, I'm getting off track. Anyway, we were just as surprised as anyone... As for Cincinnatus, he was a stickler for the rules, and he'd rubbed quite a few people the wrong way in Svetloledovka... I'm sure this was another case of that..." "Maybe someone killed him in Svetloledovka... and then put his body on the train..." Name: F. Godunov-Cherdyntsev Rank: Commoner Age: 20 Identity: Train Attendant, Snezhnaya Royal Railway Transport Bureau (Human) Note: This train attendant was responsible for the first train of the day from Svetloledovka to the Snezhnaya central station. Testimony: "Yes... Since there aren't many passengers on the first train, I went to the driver's cab to rest for a bit after checking the tickets. But I can assure you that no one boarded or got off along the way. That would have been impossible, sir. I didn't know the strangled gentleman at all. I had absolutely no motive..." "The only thing I found a little strange was... all the windows on the side of the train where the poor strangled gentleman was sitting were wide open... He'd been bundled up so tightly in his overcoat before, with his face tucked away beneath his scarf and hat. Yet when he died, he seemed to want to cool off... Oh, sorry, I didn't mean any disrespect. It was such a cold morning. When I went from the driver's cab into the passenger carriage, it felt like stepping into an ice cellar." "Do you have any idea when the windows were opened? For it to get that cold, they must have been opened somewhere along the way, wouldn't you say?" Name: H. H. Kimbote Rank: Commoner Age: 23 Identity: Train Attendant, Snezhnaya Royal Railway Transport Bureau (Human) Note: This train attendant was responsible for the first train of the day from the Snezhnaya central station to Svetloledovka. Testimony: "The first train... So there really were only two passengers. I remember it clearly. The bearded gentleman even asked if we could wait for his friend. But rules are rules, aren't they, sir? The other one... The other one seemed to be wearing an overcoat, I think. Haha, sir, I carry dozens, if not hundreds, of passengers on my trains every day. How could I possibly remember every face?" Case Closure Report This case is classified as intentional homicide. The perpetrators were Y. I. Luzhin and T. P. Punin, who acted in collusion. The investigation established the following sequence of events: On the evening of March 14, the day before the murder, T. P. Punin did not return to Snezhnograd, instead remaining in Svetloledovka. In fact, the person who boarded the train with Y. I. Luzhin on the morning of March 15 was not T. P. Punin, but the victim, Cincinnatus C. By claiming that his friend had not yet arrived and asking the attendant to wait a little longer, Y. I. Luzhin led H. H. Kimbote, the train attendant, to believe that the two men were traveling together. During the journey, Y. I. Luzhin strangled Cincinnatus C. to death with a scarf. To prevent accidents, Train A, traveling from the Snezhnaya central station to Svetloledovka, and Train B, traveling from Svetloledovka to the Snezhnaya central station, proceeded slowly while passing each other in accordance with railway operating regulations. During this time, Y. I. Luzhin and T. P. Punin transferred Cincinnatus C.'s body from Train A to Train B through a window. T. P. Punin then climbed back onto Train A through another window. In this way, they pulled off an identity-switching ruse: T. P. Punin was made to appear to have been traveling on Train B, while the body of Cincinnatus C., who had originally been aboard Train A, was transferred to Train B. The evidence is as follows: The Scarf That Y. I. Luzhin Failed to Destroy Completely A local employee once saw Y. I. Luzhin burning refuse outside an abandoned wooden cabin in a remote part of Svetloledovka. The employee thought there might be something valuable inside worth salvaging, but found only some seemingly useless documents and half a woolen scarf. Subsequent examination confirmed that the woolen scarf belonged to the victim, Cincinnatus C., and had also been the murder weapon. The Unsigned Letter of Accusation Shortly after Cincinnatus C.'s murder, an anonymous letter was delivered to the Snezhnaya Royal Railway Transport Bureau headquarters. The letter accused Y. I. Luzhin and T. P. Punin of having long profited from their positions by manipulating two sets of account books. Handwriting analysis confirmed that the letter had been written by the victim, Cincinnatus C. Case Closure Report In the name of Her Majesty Anastasya Feodorovna Snezhnaya, and pursuant to the judgment handed down by the Court of Novokitezhgrad on June 3 of this year, Y. I. Luzhin and T. P. Punin have been convicted. The judgment has been carried out, and the case file is hereby archived. Few people can face their own wrongdoing with honesty and accept the punishment they deserve. More often, they commit even greater sins in an attempt to conceal the ones they have already committed. Investigating Officer's Signature N. A. Staranov