Chinese Movie Star Yu Menglong's Death

Special interest Article
Anthony J. Iantosca, BCFE
IAFEI

Published by Anthony Iantosca, BCFE
For the International Academy of Forensic Examiners and Investigators.

Chinese Movie Star
Yu Menglong's Death

All suspicious deaths are always investigated as a homicide first before investigators state a possible suicide or accident. This does not seem to be the case with the death of Chinese movie and TV star Yu Menglong. He was a very beloved movie star with millions of followers both in China and overseas. His followers in China are in a state of rage right now regarding his death. They do not believe the government officials and the investigators involved in investigating his death. The government officials came out very quickly stating his death was because of his alcohol consumption and him falling out a high-rise apartment window the night of his death and calling his death a terrible accident. This case is closed. His body was cremated shortly thereafter. That in itself is very questionable.
Did they take forensic photographs of his body before the autopsy was performed. A second independent autopsy should have been done to reassure his family and his many followers that his death was an accident and would be consistent with the first autopsy report. A second autopsy would detect possible bruising if any on his body that was not consistent with a fall from a window. Did they take a sample of his blood and do a toxicology report to determine his blood alcohol level at the time of his death. Did investigators take forensic photographs of his body on the ground and determine if the fall was consistent from a fall from a window. From what I understand there was a window screen on the outside of the window he fell from, this would have broken his fall to some degree. His body would have fallen straight down below the window. How far away was his body from the building. If the position of his body was further away from the building this would indicate he was pushed by force.

Did the investigators when they entered the crime scene detect and investigate the possibility of "Masking or Staging." What is "Masking and Staging." Below is an explanation of "Masking and Staging."

There are two types of crime scene staging:

Staging
Masking

Staging is present when a killer purposely poses a body in a way that is psychologically comforting or purposely demeaning towards the victim. Staging can also be intended to send a message to law enforcement.

Another type of staging occurs when a criminal alters a crime scene to cover up the true circumstances of what took place. An example would be when a killer attempts to cover up a homicide by setting a fire, hoping investigators will think the victim died as the result of an accidental fire.

Crime scene masking refers to actions taken to cover up the scene of a murder by cleaning and removing evidence and/or the body, according to Polish scholar Karol Kagan. The goals of masking are to add great difficulty and confusion to criminal investigations, avoid scrutiny by law enforcement, and ultimately avoid being convicted of the crime. Statistically, male perpetrators engage in staging and masking much more often than females.

However, masking is not without serious risk. It is a fact that the longer a perpetrator stays at a murder scene and the more items he or she touches, moves, or cleans, the more evidence is left behind by the criminal. Engaging in masking, however, leads to more evidence of the killer, rather than less.

Additionally, masking increases the killer’s chance of being caught at the scene by a family member, neighbor, or bystander because of the additional time it takes for the masking process.

When it’s determined that an offender attempted to clean up or mask the scene, investigators should immediately consider people who have the closest known connection to the victim or to the location where the crime took place.

Only killers who perceive an obvious connection between themselves and the scene and/or victim clean up after committing the murder. It is extremely rare for a murderer who has a negligible connection to the scene or victim to stay around for a clean-up – the risk is not worth the extra effort.

A 24-year law enforcement veteran and retired Chief of Police has a wealth of experience in homicide investigations. He recalled several murder scenes he attended where a clean-up had been completed or attempted by the killer.

In every single case, the killer was a known associate or, more commonly, an intimate partner of the victim. Also, that killer was usually a resident of the location where the murder occurred.

This lack of transparency has only fueled the suspicions of his followers in China and around the world and the talk of a government cover up. When I was asked to look into his death and give an opinion I researched as much as I could both on news media pages and the many U-Tube videos regarding his death. There are many unanswered questions here. How did investigators handle the crime scene, did they search the apartment for any trace evidence, possible blood splatter, possibility of a violent encounter, did they take forensic photographs of the crime scene first, how many people were present in the apartment at the time of his death, if so did they interview everyone separately to determine if their stories were consistent with each other regarding this alleged accident. I have seen very little in the media or from the Chinese government regarding these questions. There are a flood of theories regarding his death. I will not list them in this article without proof, facts and evidence that these theories are accurate.

Anyone who took to social media stating otherwise was arrested and their social media pages were taken down. The good people in China do not have freedom of speech as we do here in the United States. They will accept what they are told or else. The only truth from government officials in China is the truth they want to give you, their truth.