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DNA and forensic testing has been an interesting source of subject material in recent years, but those reality-based and fictional primetime dramas can make a very complicated science look far too easy.
WACH FOX News recently got an inside look at the State Law Enforcement Division's DNA, lab free of any Hollywood hype. But, the spotlight does have its advantages according to DNA casework lab supervisor Lieutenant Robin Taylor.
"It keeps forensics in the public eye," says Lt. Taylor. "It makes people aware of what we're doing and that's not a bad thing for us."
Taylor came to SLED from the medical field almost 20 years ago. Those who do this kind of work have extensive scientific backgrounds and Taylor has seen big changes in the crime-fighting tool over the years.
In the mid-1990s, DNA testing could take months to generate a profile. Now the potential is overnight and analysts can can do it with as few as 10 cells from things like blood or saliva found at a crime scene.
"We use DNA for anything from auto break-ins on to up to homicide," says Lieutenant Bryant Hinson of the Forest Acres Police Department.
Lt. Hinson says DNA helped Forest Acres police crack a brutal homicide in June 2004. Retired doctor Joseph Dillard was shot several times during a break-in at his Stepp Drive home.
"That case was very unique," says Lt. Hinson. "We had some partial fingerprints we found at the scene, but that doesn't help you unless you have a suspect. So DNA was crucial to that case."
Investigators also found something else at the crime scene. They discovered a cigar butt. SLED officials tested it for traces of DNA. Analysts got what's called a cold hit. It led police to Kevin Goodwin, a career criminal whose DNA was already in a database after a previous conviction. He was arrested days after the murder.
"I can't say that we wouldn't have made an arrest," says Lt. Hinson. "But it definitely wouldn't have happened as fast as it did."
The crucial DNA evidence played a key role in Goodwin's 2006 murder conviction. He was sentenced to life in prison.
"We're doing a lot of good," says Lt. Robin Taylor. "We're solving cases that would not be solved otherwise. It's a tremendous tool."
