Forensic nurses vital for making case

Forensic nurses vital for making case
3/23/2007 5:34 PM http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/local_news/?ArID=135934&SecID=2
By: Megan Bradley

CHARLOTTE -- Police may arrest sexual assault suspects but forensic nurses are vital to making the cases. Without them, the arrests might never happen.

Just this week, police arrested a Gastonia man and charged him with sexually assaulting a six-year-old. Cemal Roberts, 26, is behind bars in large part because of evidence collected by a forensic nurse.

The nation is glued to crime investigation television. Real life forensic work may not be as glamorous, but the approach is the same.

“Thinking outside the box, getting evidence from places you’d never thought you would be able to collect evidence from,” explained Manager of Forensic Nurses Kellie Harney.

Forensic nurses like Harney preserve and document evidence from assault victims who enter the ER. The collection begins with clothing and continues until every possible clue has been uncovered.

“If a victim is drug out into the woods, we collect evidence like leaves and stuff in that area that was on the victim, so we can pinpoint certain areas that further investigation will allow us to put together the pieces of the puzzle,” Harney continued.

A DNA finding is the ultimate goal of the exam. Find that and you can almost count on a conviction.

It's why Harney does it.

“I like empowering women to be able to do something about what happened to them,” she said.

That’s possible now because of the teaming up with the District Attorney’s office and law enforcement.

“Between all of us, it’s a huge victory,” Harney said.

In addition to sexual assault, forensic nurses play key roles in domestic violence, child neglect and elder abuse cases. Just like the hit dramas on television, every day more of these programs pop up in real-life emergency departments.

Both Presbyterian Hospital and Carolinas Medical Center have forensic nurses on staff.

Watch video at http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/local_news/?ArID=135934&SecID=2