Tarah Helsel is a Supervisor and Forensic Scientist, and testifying expert at RJ Lee Group. She is an expert in the preparation, analysis, interpretation and reporting of gunshot residue (GSR) evidence using Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). Ms. Helsel is also an active member of the team responsible for RJ Lee Group’s successful laboratory accreditation by ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board in the areas of Trace Evidence – Gun Shot Residue and GSR Distance Determination. Utilizing near-infrared spectroscopy to create a reference library of spectra, she also has researched the instrumentation and its relevant pharmaceutical applications.
Ms. Helsel has experience testifying for the defense and prosecution, and is accepted as an expert in the area of GSR in Kansas, Maryland, Delaware, Louisiana, Michigan, Hawaii, Washington, Florida, Pennsylvania, California, New York, Nebraska as well as Bermuda. She is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Forensic Scientists (MAAFS) and the American Society of Trace Evidence Examiners (ASTEE).
