The direct evidence Gu Nianzhi had obtained from the prosecutor was the surveillance footage of an antique store across the street from Seth's apartment.
The evidence was so important that the righteous officers in the Roslau Police Department had a tacit understanding and didn't mention it to their superiors, York and Ramona. That was why they didn't know about the existence of the evidence until now.
The surveillance footage was originally used by the antique store to protect its own store, but it happened to include the area in front of the apartment building across the street.
Seth's head jerked up and he looked at Gu Nianzhi in horror. Gradually, a cruel glint flashed across his eyes as he slowly lowered his head and licked his dry lips with his scarlet tongue.
The judge and the defendant's stepfather, York, felt their hearts sink.
When did they get this evidence?!
How did they not know about it?!
The defendant's lawyer paled but immediately stood up to ask, "May I ask where the plaintiff's lawyer obtained this evidence? Why wasn't it reported to the court before? "
Gu Nianzhi had already saved the surveillance footage onto her laptop from the flash drive the prosecutor had given her. She had also uploaded it to the Hua Xia Empire's cloud backup, so she wasn't afraid of anyone deleting it.
She replied calmly, "Of course it was the surveillance footage from the antique store. What else do you think? As for why it wasn't reported … We only just obtained this footage. "
The defendant's lawyer was bewildered and couldn't help turning to look at York.
York nodded at him expressionlessly.
The defendant's lawyer had an idea and said to Gu Nianzhi, "What surveillance footage? We have to show it to the court to know if it's real or fake. If it's a fake … "
"Then let's play it in court." Gu Nianzhi generously raised her laptop. "If the court doesn't have the equipment to play it, I can use my laptop to show it to you."
How could the court not have the equipment to play it?
The judge looked at Gu Nianzhi for a while before saying, "You can connect it to the big screen in court."
Gu Nianzhi and the court staff connected their computers to the big screen in court.
Soon, the scene in front of Seth's apartment building appeared on the big screen.
The footage showed the time of May 11th last year at around five in the afternoon, which was when the victim, Li Haiqing, disappeared!
The female defendant, Nina, let out a low howl and collapsed on the table to cry.
Her image appeared on the surveillance camera.
She walked out of Seth's apartment building and circled the door a few times. At that moment, a petite and pretty Chinese female exchange student jogged over in beige sportswear and entered the range of the surveillance camera.
It was the victim, Li Haiqing.
Nina quickly walked over and called out to Li Haiqing.
Li Haiqing stopped, and the two of them seemed to be talking about something. Then, Nina practically pulled Li Haiqing's arm into Seth's apartment.
Gu Nianzhi pressed the pause button and didn't ask the male defendant Seth. Instead, she asked the female defendant Nina, "Nina, were you with Seth on May 11th last year?"
Nina nodded expressionlessly.
The evidence was conclusive, and she could not hold on any longer.
"May 11th last year, the day Li Haiqing was killed. Why did you stop her?"
Before Nina could answer, Seth suddenly yelled, "She volunteered to have a threesome with us! You're meddling too much! "
Gu Nianzhi wasn't angry. She replied with an "oh" and asked Seth in return, "Then which day was it 'voluntary'? Do you want to think about it again? Was it the 10th or the 11th?! "
Seth's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Gu Nianzhi, unable to speak for a long time.
"You're not going to say anything? This surveillance camera isn't fake, right? The day you saw the victim, Li Haiqing, was clearly May 11th. "Gu Nianzhi pointed at the temporary image on the big screen.
Seth was still stubborn and said, "What's the difference between the 10th and the 11th? Can I remember wrongly? She volunteered anyway! We didn't force her! Also, she was clearly fine when she left. Who knows what happened after that?! "
Gu Nianzhi nodded. "Ok, the first point of doubt is that you did indeed see the victim on the day of her death. This proves that you were lying before."
"I remembered wrongly! I remembered wrongly! How is that a lie?! "Seth almost roared.
Gu Nianzhi glanced at him coldly and turned to look at the judge. "The defendant is shouting in court, and Your Honor is not going to do anything?"
Only then did the judge reluctantly say to Seth, "Defendant, please control your emotions. I will not allow you to frame a good person."
"Yes, we will never let a bad person go." Gu Nianzhi followed up and almost made Seth jump again.
The defense lawyer quickly came over to calm him down, but he still glared at Gu Nianzhi with hatred.
Gu Nianzhi wasn't afraid of him at all and said, "You said she willingly had sex with you and then left. But I went through the surveillance footage of this antique shop from that day until now, and I didn't see any images of Li Haiqing leaving your house. May I ask how she left your house? Did she fly out? Or did she jump out of your window? "
Seth panicked and quickly said, "She jumped out! She jumped out of her own accord! "
Li Haiqing's body was found in the woods behind Seth's apartment building, facing the back window of Seth's house.
"Haha, you live on the third floor. Did she jump from the third floor? That's amazing … "Gu Nianzhi said meaningfully and opened the video again. She said to Seth's parents sitting in the courtroom," And you two, I'll ask you again. Did you go to Seth's house to help him destroy the evidence? Oh, no, I should say, clean up. "
Seth's stepfather, York, was livid, and his hands began to tremble.
Gu Nianzhi quietly looked at York, the male defendant's stepfather. She didn't speak or retreat.
This person was the root cause of the difficulty of the entire case.
He had absolute power in the area where the crime occurred, and in the words of the Hua Xia Imperial bureaucracy, he was the head of the local public security, prosecution, and justice department. He was also the leader of the local democratic party and a representative of the People's Congress.
This man was quite hardworking for his stepson.
Gu Nianzhi secretly cursed him. If Seth was his biological son, he would probably have forcefully closed the case long ago …
York also looked at Gu Nianzhi, and in that instant, he actually calmed down.
This female lawyer looked quite brave, probably because she was a foreigner and thought he couldn't do anything to her. That was why she dared to speak and do what she wanted.
The corners of York's mouth twitched. He looked down and looked away, no longer meeting Gu Nianzhi's gaze.
Gu Nianzhi smiled faintly and focused her attention on the female defendant, Nina. She could tell that Nina was about to break down. She was the only way to get the entire truth of the case.
Gu Nianzhi walked to her and began to ask, "Nina, what did you say to the victim, Li Haiqing, that day that made her follow you into the apartment? Why did you ask her to enter the apartment? "
Nina hugged her head with both hands and wailed. She finally spilled the beans. Pointing at Seth, she said loudly, "… It was him! He kept saying that I couldn't satisfy him! He wanted to break up with me! Unless I found another woman to have a threesome with him! "
"Find another woman? You found the victim, Li Haiqing? When did you meet her? "Gu Nianzhi was also nervous, but she still asked calmly.
She could hear the sound of her blood gurgling in her ears. It made her excited and agitated.
Now was the time to face the truth.
"Shut up!" Seth roared at Nina and brandished his fists to threaten her.
Nina also yelled at him, "You bastard! You wanted my cousin to have a threesome with you! My cousin agreed first, but then she rejected! She didn't come that day, so you beat me up and forced me to find another woman! Otherwise, we would break up! I was confused and went downstairs to look for someone. I happened to see Li coming over, so I said I had something to do and asked her for help. She followed me in … "
"And then?" Gu Nianzhi pressed.
Nina began to dodge.
Gu Nianzhi composed herself and said, "Even if you're guilty, you'll at most be an accomplice. If you can expose the real murderer, I'll help you plead with the judge and jury."
Nina took a deep breath as if she had found hope. She said, "… She knew she was tricked the moment she came in and wanted to run. Then …" Nina pointed at Seth. "He beat her up. It hurt so much. I'm most afraid of him hitting me …"
Nina curled up as if remembering the days when she was beaten by Seth.
"What else?" Gu Nianzhi asked again, hoping Nina would spill everything in one go.
"… But that girl didn't seem to be afraid of pain and fought back with all her might …" Nina murmured. Her gaze was blank as if she was reminiscing. "Seth was so angry that he had no choice but to use all his strength to beat her until she fainted. Then he raped her."
"How many times did he rape her?"
"Five or six times? Or seven or eight? I can't remember … "Nina lowered her head and her voice trailed off.
"Objection!" The defense lawyer stood up again.
Gu Nianzhi turned around and snapped at him, "Shut up! I'm still interrogating the defendant! Is that not allowed?! "
Her eyes flashed, and her angry aura was a bit frightening.
The defense lawyer was stunned by her. He opened his mouth, then sat down and began to search for information.
Nina saw Gu Nianzhi's anger and was encouraged by her. She wasn't so afraid of Seth's family anymore. She continued, "After he vented enough, he realized the girl was almost dead. I was terrified at the time. Seth said to dump her here and come back when she was dead. That way, he would have an alibi. But three hours later, when we came back and found she wasn't dead, Seth threw her out the window. "
Gu Nianzhi nodded and added, "Seth's apartment is on the third floor. She was thrown out from the third floor."
Then Gu Nianzhi took out the autopsy report from the medical examiner. "This autopsy report states that Li Haiqing's death was caused by a brutal beating that resulted in fractures and massive bleeding. The soft tissues under her skin broke down into free fat, causing lung blockage and cerebral hypoxia. That was the true cause of her death."
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