Coffee With a Criminalist

Q&A with Bodean and Darby Part II

Another mini episode where we answer your questions! Thank you so much for sending in your curiosities and reaching out. This week we explain some of the odd things we have obtained DNA profiles from, geek out over new DNA technologies, and explain that our jobs can be just like any other "normal job". 

Episode 3: Behind The Yellow Tape

Yellow tape, the boundary that separates the rest of the world from a crime scene. If you've ever driven past the tape and flashing lights and craned your neck to see just beyond the barrier, this episode is for you! This week we sit down with Sayer Dion-Smyczek from our crime scene unit. Sayer dishes up the 411on the sights, smells, and challenges of doing scene work.

This episode is fueled by Ripple Effect Coffee Co. A Reno cold brew coffee company that has a delivery service!  This small business was created and founded by Nicole Franks, a strong, confident, and kind woman who truly believes in doing good in this world. To find out how to get your very own growler of of this amazing cold brew (delivered right to your door) click here! Be sure to pay attention this episode, Ripple Effect is offering you a 10% discount on your first purchase!

Q&A with Bodean and Darby

This week we are answering some of your questions AND introducing this season's big GIVEAWAY! You can win a crime lab tour for you and one guest! Here's what to do to be entered to win:

1) Visit the coffee shops we feature and post a picture of your drink and/ or visit

2) Tag the coffee shop’s Instagram 

3) Use the hashtag #coffeewithacriminalist in your post 

Every post is an entry! The winner will be drawn at random at the end of season 1. 

Forensically Filed: The who, what, where, when, and why of the WCSOFSD

This week on Coffee with a Criminalist we are sitting down with Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam and Crime Lab Director Kerri Heward and discussing how we provide services to local law enforcement. Sheriff Balaam shares how the agency is organized, what it means to have a crime lab at the SO, and what misconceptions he once had about forensics. While Crime Lab Director Kerri Heward dives into the accreditation our lab holds, discusses which sections of the lab have eliminated their backlogs, and how the lab dealt and is dealing with COVID-19.

In this episode we are sipping on Lighthouse Coffee! A local Reno coffee shop that roasts in house and is family owned and operated. They make their coffee with LOVE and you can taste that with every cup.

Case Highlight: Krystal Steadman

Welcome to our first mini session. We aim to use these weeks to answer the questions you guys submit to us. Additionally we will feature a few short case highlights to give real life examples of how science can aid criminal investigations, and how some cases leave impacts in our local community. Today we discuss the homicide of Krystal Steadman and the Nevada Amber Alert Program. We briefly discuss genetic kinship and parentage. For more information about the basics of DNA click here!  

A Cuppa Criminalists

Gab a cup of coffee and get to know your hosts Bodean and Darby. They share about how they started their careers in forensic science, misconceptions about the field, real hardships that come with the job, and who they are behind the lab coats. This episode is fueled by the local Reno coffee shop, Old World Coffee Lab.

Season 1 Episode 1 Trailer

Be sure to tune in on March 19th for our fist episode EVER! As a Cuppa Criminalists spill the tea on what it's like to work in forensics.