Your forensic approach correctly identifies the fundamental errors in traditional soul doctrine. The biblical evidence consistently contradicts the immortal soul concept.

**The Soul Forensic Examination:**
- Genesis 2:7: "man became a living soul" - not received a soul
- Ezekiel 18:4: "the soul who sins shall die" - souls are mortal
- 1 Corinthians 15:45: "The first man Adam became a living soul" - same phrasing
- Numbers 23:10: "Let me die the death of the righteous" - death is cessation

**Animal Soul Evidence:**
- Genesis 1:20: "living creatures" (Hebrew *nephesh chayyah*) - same term for animal life
- Genesis 1:24: "living creature" used for land animals
- Revelation 16:3: "every living soul died in the sea" - includes animal life

**The Spirit in Man Concept:**
- Job 32:8: "the spirit in man"
- Zechariah 12:1: "forms the spirit of man within him"
- 1 Corinthians 2:11: "spirit of the man which is in him"
- This spirit records our character/memories and returns to God at death (Ecclesiastes 12:7)

**Christ's Death Forensic Evidence:**
- Acts 2:31: "His soul was not left in Hades" - proving His soul died
- Matthew 12:40: "three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" - complete death
- 1 Corinthians 15:3: "Christ died for our sins" - actual death, not separation
- Hebrews 2:9: "He tasted death for everyone" - experienced genuine death

**The Resurrection Necessity:**
- 1 Corinthians 15:16-18: "If the dead are not raised...then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished"
- John 5:28-29: "All who are in the tombs will hear His voice"
- The resurrection proves death is real and requires divine intervention to reverse

**Ecclesiastes 3:19-21 Context:**
- Verse 19: "Man has no advantage over beasts" in death
- Verse 20: "All go to one place" - the grave
- Verse 21: Questions whether man's spirit ascends - not a statement of fact
- The context is emphasizing our physical mortality, not endorsing beast immortality

**Forensic Conclusion:**
The evidence consistently shows:
1. Souls are mortal and die
2. Death is unconscious sleep (John 11:11-14, Ecclesiastes 9:5,10)
3. Resurrection is required for future life
4. The "spirit in man" preserves our identity for resurrection
5. Christ's genuine death validates the penalty for sin

This dismantles the Platonic dualism infiltrating Christianity and restores the biblical view of humanity as physical beings dependent on God for eternal life through resurrection. The traditional heaven/hell immediate afterlife doctrine cannot withstand textual scrutiny when examined forensically.

The implications are profound: if souls aren't immortal, then salvation becomes God's gift of immortality through resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:53-54), not the rescue of an inherently immortal soul from torment. This aligns with God's character as life-giver rather than eternal torturer.