Crime Seen

Crime Seen

by Jessica Canlas

“All you have to do is tell the truth.”

This is what Dr. Karl Larsen tells his students on the first day of his course in expert witness testimony and courtroom demeanor.

Clinical Professor Dr. Karl Larsen

“Our job is to make sure that our analysis and results get represented in a true and proper way.”

“You’d think it’s easy, because [telling the truth] is what you’re supposed to do. But our court system is adversarial so each side often tries to shift our testimonies to benefit them.

Larsen, clinical professor and director of the College of Pharmacy’s Master of Science program in forensic science for the last decade, spent the previous 35 years of his career as a forensic scientist in the Illinois State Police’s Division of Forensic Services and has worked on cases like the Chicago Tylenol Murders, a series of cyanide poisoning deaths resulting from drug tampering with the over-the-counter pain medication in 1982.

UIC’s forensic science program dates back to 1972, when it was housed within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In 1988, when LAS no longer wanted it, Eugene Woods, former professor and department head, recognized the program’s value, and forensic sciences found its new home.

An expert in drug chemistry and toxicology, Larsen now heads up one of the top forensic science programs in the nation. UIC’s location lends itself to valuable partnerships with facilities like the nearby Illinois State Police crime lab, as well as the renowned McCrone Research Institute, a nonprofit research organization dedicated to training and research in applied microscopy. These collaborations give students access to valuable, hands-on instruction.

Jonathan McGrath, MS ’02, credits his unique training at UIC for preparing him for his entry to the field with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in the Department of Homeland Security.

Jonathan McGrath, MS '02

“I had the experience from UIC to get the position simply because of the connection with the ISP and McCrone,” he says. “Customs scientists usually went to McCrone for training as well, so I had that institutional knowledge.”

McGrath, who also holds a PhD in analytical chemistry, says he wanted to use his education to “make an impact.” Today, he does just that as a senior policy analyst with the National Institute of Justice in the Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences, where he develops strategic policy initiatives for the NIJ’s research and development grant programs, mainly in transitioning emerging technologies into practice as primary program manager for the NIJ Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

A specialist in DNA and bodily fluids, Assistant Professor Ashley Hall says her “heart is in the science.” As a molecular and microbiologist who once considered law school, forensic science was a perfect fit.

“When we answer a question, it is immediately useful,” she explains.

At the moment, one of the questions Hall is working on with students is determining activity level propositions.

“Say your DNA is found on the handle of a knife at a death scene,” Hall explains. “The prosecution will say, ‘You held the knife, so you were at the scene.’ The defense will say, ‘You shook hands with the killer.’ We can’t dispute your DNA is there, but we have to work out how it got there.”

Activity level propositions, Hall says, involve generating empirical data, like quantifying DNA loss, to assign probabilities to possible scenarios in order to determine what is most likely to have occurred.

“It’s a unique program for a college of pharmacy,” says Dean Glen Schumock. “There are good synergies in terms of the science.”

One of those synergies, Schumock explains, is in the growing field of emergency room pharmacy, where knowledge in toxicology and drug overdose is essential. Another is in sports pharmacy, which specializes in safe performance enhancement supplementation as well as the athlete testing for appropriate substance use.

“As an educational program, it’s important and necessary,” Schumock says. “Graduates fill a vital need in society,”

James Snaidauf, MS ’15, believes that need is a simple one: to help solve crimes and take criminals off the streets by speaking truthfully for the evidence. With a degree in medical laboratory sciences, Snaidauf joined the ISP in 1995 and began teaching at UIC in 2003, a role he continued when he joined the DEA in 2005 and, subsequently, the IRS in 2008, where he remains as a fingerprint specialist.

In 2013, Snaidauf enrolled in the master’s program. Today, he is an adjunct professor at UIC.

“From a teaching perspective, going back to school in my mid-40s as both teacher and student gave me a better perspective on what students should be learning and how.”

James Snaidauf, MS ’15

Celeste Grover, MS ’03, says she learned “great life lessons at UIC—how to be a professional, what is expected of you as a scientist, and what it’s like to work at a government agency.”

Now a trace evidence examiner with the Oregon State Police, Grover specializes in hair and fiber analysis. She also serves as a member of of the Trace Materials Subcommittee for the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science, the professional organization that maintains and develops industry standards.

Celeste Grover, MS ’03

After nearly 20 years, Grover admits she still gets nervous in court. “Dr. Larsen would say, ‘You should always be nervous [in court], because you are affecting people’s lives in a very real way.’”

Marc Pomerance, MS ’05, doesn’t exactly enjoy testifying before a judge and jury. He does, however, get satisfaction out of helping others understand the work that he’s done to help paint the picture for an investigator before the trial or the for the jury in the courtroom.

Marc Pomerance, MS '05

“We don’t try to sway the investigation one way or another,” says Pomerance. “We care about the facts.”

Pomerance, who originally envisioned a career in ecology with his biological sciences degree, joined the ISP 22 years ago and was trained as a forensic scientist in firearms and toolmarks. He believes that the program gave him a well-rounded view of the workings of a forensics lab as a whole, resulting in a broader perspective of his own discipline.

Today, he and colleague Caryn Tucker, MS ’03, ISP training coordinator for firearms and toolmarks, assist in teaching that portion of the pattern evidence class–which also includes fingerprints, documents, and blood spatter—at UIC. Tucker admits to a love of comparison microscopy and considered a career in medicine while studying biology in college. She has been with the ISP since 1995 and says she was drawn to forensics after attending an informational talk and pursuing an independent research project on the topic. She appreciated UIC’s access to medical and lab facilities and believes a strong science background is key to a career in forensics.

Caryn Tucker, MS ’03

“This is an exciting time to be in our discipline,” says Tucker. In her own lab, she’s begun researching 3D comparison technology to analyze scanned pieces of evidence. “There’s potential for so much change in the next few years.”

Charles Steele, MS ’14, visiting lecturer of physical science and forensic science coordinator at Purdue University Northwest, is on the cutting edge of that change. With a degree in physics and a background in product development, Steele has designed more than 1,300 consumer products throughout his career. More recently, he collaborated with Larsen on a nextgeneration, data-interactive virtual reality crime scene training tool based on real-world physics data modeling.

“Forensic scientists are scientists first,” he explains. “But, for us, the next great discovery only means something if it’s improving the human condition or promoting justice.

“And, at the end of the day, I like to know that I was smarter than the guy who was trying really hard not to get caught.”