It’s a skill that can turn memories into evidence and, in some cases, break investigations wide open.
When there is no photo, no video and few leads, investigators turn to a different kind of tool, a forensic sketch.
A Georgia native and her mother are behind some of the images that have helped to crack major cases and bring long awaited answers to families.
Channel 2’s Karyn Greer sat down with them both to see how they continue bringing a voice to the voiceless.
A Georgia mother and daughter’s forensic sketches have helped law enforcement.
“A forensic artist is someone that law enforcement calls to get a drawing of what an unidentified person looks like,” forensic artist Kelly Lawson.
Her home studio is filled with pencils pastels and portraits. Justice for Kelly Lawson begins with a sketch.
“A rush almost, an exciting thing, especially when you’re able to put something on the paper that you feel great about and then they’re able to get that person identified,” she said.
For Kelly Lawson, this is more than art. This is a calling.
“My mom was a forensic artist for my entire life. In fact, I have photos of her standing, holding a drawing while she was pregnant with me. And so, forensic art has been a piece of my life forever, but my mom reached almost superhero status in the field.”
Kelly Lawson’s mom Marla is the highly esteemed first forensic artist for the state of Georgia.
When she retired from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, she tasked her daughter with picking up the pencil and carrying on the legacy of helping law enforcement turn memories into justice.
“Sometimes she would drive up to five hours to get to a sketch, draw for two hours, and then drive five hours home so that she could be on the other side of the state the next day,” Kelly Lawson said. “So, out of love for my mother, I wanted to do something to help her out. Honestly, having no expectations that I’d ever be good enough to fill her shoes.”
Marla Lawson, who is now in her 70s worked some of the state’s most notorious cases, including providing the sketch that helped identify Centennial Olympic Park Bombing suspect Eric Rudolph.
“So you helped solve one of the most famous cases in history,” Greer said.
“I don’t deserve any credit for that,” Marla Lawson said. “They worked like a dog to catch him because he just wouldn’t quit.”
“After the Olympics, you know we kinda maybe knew who we were looking for, but thought he’s changed his appearance. So we needed somebody with that ponytail, with the facial hair, and that’s what she was able to do. And we’ve all seen that composite. It is Eric Robert Rudolph, there’s no doubt,” said Sheryl “Mac” McCollum,
McCollum is a metro area crime scene investigator who has worked with Marla Lawson and Kelly Lawson, getting justice for families.
“It is absolutely a God given gift. In my opinion, it is not something you can teach because she’s got this trifecta. She’s got the ability to draw. She’s got the ability to listen to somebody and then she can translate that,” she said.
There are only a handful of fulltime forensic artists in the country. There isn’t an official count. That’s why Kelly Lawson is contacted by agencies across the country, all looking for help to solve difficult cases.
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