The Science of Justice

Life is nothing like CSI for forensic analyst Shelly Steadman.

No detail is too small for Shelly Steadman. As lab manager of the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center, her job is finding the truth by putting people under the microscope. Steadman has processed evidence from some of the biggest cases in Wichita history at the county’s crime lab. In addition to her work as a forensic analyst, she and her brother run Mulvane’s sole liquor store, Partyline Liquor.

Most mornings, the 35-year-old gets in before 7:30 a.m. and punches in a pass code to enter the state-of-the-art building. On her way to the lab, she passes classrooms where she meets with attorneys and law enforcement employees to discuss cases. Nearby, a pungent odor from the autopsy room fills the hall. The bulk of Steadman’s work, however, takes place in the forensic crime lab.

Despite the common portrayal of her job on TV shows like CSI, Steadman’s work requires a wealth of patience and an eye for detail. She handles many “low-copy” cases, situations in which there’s only a small amount of genetic material gathered at the crime scene. She uses a large table to screen evidence—from blood-soaked carpet to thong underwear—with an alternate light source that detects traces of blood, semen and other biological material. She then composes DNA profiles from hair, perspiration and other sources of DNA and compares it with DNA from victims and suspects. “The DNA profiling is an individualizing technology and a very informative technology for the purposes of the jury,” says Steadman. As part of her job, she also regularly testifies in court.

Steadman’s interest in forensics comes from a lifelong passion for biology. “I have always been very interested in the most basic level of how things work,” she says. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Kansas Newman College and then completed her master’s at Wichita State University, shortly after getting a job as an analyst at the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center. In 1999, Shelly married Kyle Steadman, a lawyer with Foulston Siefkin. She started her remote doctorate program in forensic science from Scotland’s University of Strathclyde, and worked on her research jointly through WSU in her spare time over the past four years. A month after beginning her Ph.D. program, the lab began receiving evidence from the Dennis Rader case. “For a year of my life, I worked on BTK and was also trying to work extra for my program,” she says. “I wasn’t home very much.” It wasn’t until after the case that she had any free time. Afterward, the UK Discovery Channel interviewed her for the documentary Crimes that Shook the World.

Now, she goes to court far less often. A DNA match with other circumstantial evidence makes a powerful case, leading many defendants to settle via plea bargains. “It’s not that we’re working fewer cases; it’s that the science has gotten better,” she says. In one instance, for example, the lab’s database identified the perpetrator of seven rape cases that spanned the country. But she still testifies in trials in which DNA doesn’t solve the case or when test results need interpretation.

Besides the trials and technical details, Steadman’s interest in science and forensics is fueled by a desire to help victims, especially children, the elderly and people with disabilities. Although typically reserved, Steadman gets teary-eyed as she says, “I get satisfaction out of findings that speak for somebody who can’t speak for themselves.”