March is women's history month and about 80% of the staff at cedri County's Regional Forensic Science Center is women here's a breakdown of the few of those roles all five administrative positions are held by females six of the seven DNA scientists are women four of the five drug chemists women both Firearms examiners women all seven medical investigators you guessed it are women and six of the seven toxicology scientists are also women women K Hannah King is here now with this incredible story
that's right first let's break down what the center is the regional Forensic Science Center is made up of one the office of the district coroner and two the forensic science Laboratories one provides autopsies to determine how someone died and the other functions as a crime lab assisting with law enforcement I followed a few of the scientists who make up the center around to see what exactly it is they do here's one it's sort of a unique facility because there aren't a lot like it in the United
States where both of those functions are under the same roof I oversee both coroner's office and the forensic science Laboratories Dr Shelley Stedman is the director of Sedwick County's Regional Forensic Science Center we're the district Corner's office so we carry out medical legal death investigations which as you said um our primary Ary mission is to determine the cause and manner of death that is how did people die why did they die on the other side uh we you're interested in assisting in uh
criminal investigations and adjudicating cases and that's what our primary function is for the forensic science Laboratories we receive evidence um involved in criminal investigations and we can carry out a variety of forensic disciplines anything from toxicology to DNA testing um to help figure out what that evidence can tell us talents and skills and knowledge and education everyone coming together for the common goal which is which is what to do good science it's to um accurately determine t
he cause of man or or death it's to U serve our constituents with compassion and it's to do good quality of work um to serve our courts with Justice getting Justice for people you know or finding answers for loved ones tell me about just that responsibility you have and how much pride you take in it I think everybody here has a strong sense of pride in what they do every day we come here we have to be um at the the top of our game I always felt like when I opened a piece of evidence that uh ther
e was a strong sense of responsibility um I didn't have any leeway to make a mistake sometimes when I would extract the DNA sample that DNA sample would be consumed by the testing that I performed and so I had one chance to get it right and the answer that I got from that sample would be presented to a jury to decide if uh somebody was guilty or innocent and there's a strong sense of responsibility by everybody that works here um whether they're receiving a piece of evidence and safeguarding tha
t evidence by storing it properly or testing it and providing those answers to a jury of all the materials that came through your laboratory for analysis on this case my clients DNA was found essentially on a white washcloth and a multicolored towel that came out of his own apartment is that a fair summary yes no further questions around the same time when the witch State Grant started applying for jobs the building opened its doors that was nearly 30 years ago this is my 27th year what keeps yo
u going why do you keep doing it we do our work until the work is done and not CU we get paid any overtime so um I think the people people around me have continued to motivate me um over the course of my career here I've worked a lot of cases um some of those cases have gone unsolved for a long period of time but as technology has advanced especially with um some of the new technology with genealogy testing I've had the the pleasure of seeing investigative leads many many years later and getting
to see those cases come to their final conclusion and get to go back and and provide expert witness testimony and trials on those and that's been incredibly rewarding is that because you get to see you know murders get solved finally or rewarding because you know finally someone's getting charged and arrested and sentenced for something they did 30 years ago and they thought they were going to get away with it how is it rewarding to you I can sit and remember reading a story of um you know mayb
e a rape and uh thinking you wow uh that person is same age as I am that could have happened to me or um running DNA on uh some skeletal remains and thinking maybe we'll never know who this is and then 20 years later uh putting a name to those bones that's just pretty interesting and ask for advice I always tell all of my employees take every opportunity stay motivated um if somebody asks you to do something uh take the approach that that's an opportunity not an extra task that um you're being a
sked to do um just go for it tune in during the same time tomorrow as I introduce you to a Firearms examiner as she shares with me how she helps solve crime in studio hany king cake news on your side
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