How science and tech helps SLED solve violent crimes across SC

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – Lawmakers heard from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) about how science is helping solve violent crimes throughout the state, from linking shootings across county lines to cracking cold cases decades old.

SLED leaders said advancements in DNA and firearms technology are changing the way justice is served in the Palmetto State.

The state’s Firearms Identification and DNA Database Units are helping detectives connect the dots.

“I will say most of our suspects are not old enough to own a firearm,” said Suzann Cromer, who works with SLED Firearm and Tool Mark and Department of Forensic Services Laboratory.

Examiners study the microscopic markings left on bullets and upload them into a national database that can link shootings and weapons used in multiple cases.

SLED Chief Mark Keel said this technology has been especially critical in drive-by shooting investigations.

“If nobody’s there but shell casings are in road… you pick them up and get them to us, because generally that gun has been somewhere else in that county or in an adjoining county. We can’t tell you who used it, but we can tell another agency that entered shell casings that was similar and was fired from the same weapon, and put those agencies together,” said Keel.

Across the hall, DNA experts focus on who committed the crime. Through the state’s DNA database, which connects to the national Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), SLED scientists have helped solve cases many once thought impossible.

That includes a 1980 Beaufort County murder and sexual assault case, solved decades later when a DNA sample from a 2016 arrest produced a match identifying the killer.

“Rapid DNA instruments aren’t as cost-effective as traditional analysis,” said Keel. “But rapid DNA gives you efficiencies in time.”

Last year alone, SLED’s DNA team analyzed more than 14,000 samples, while the firearms unit tested over 1,300 guns — connecting crimes across 54 agencies and three states.

SLED officials said these scientific advances are about more than just evidence, they’re about delivering justice faster and bringing long-awaited answers to victims’ families.