[CLSTR]
< Back to situations

Monitor this situation.

[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE] · [CRIME]

2 clusters · 18 sources · 3 days · First seen · Last updated

Colorado forensic analyst DNA data manipulation scandal

Overview

Yvonne “Missy” Woods, a former forensic analyst for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to four felonies: perjury, attempting to influence a public servant, forgery, and committing a cybercrime.

The misconduct, which spanned nearly 30 years, involved altering, omitting, or deleting DNA data to increase productivity and hide testing errors. Investigations triggered by an intern in 2023 revealed that Woods had manipulated reports in at least 53 cases. This included 32 sexual-assault cases where she allegedly deleted DNA values indicating the presence of male DNA or contamination, leading to reports that falsely stated no male DNA was detected.

The scandal has impacted more than 1,000 criminal cases involving homicide, robbery, and sexual assault. The legal consequences include the overturning of at least one murder conviction, resulting in the release of Michael Clark. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation estimates the cost of reviewing impacted cases and retesting evidence at approximately $11 million.

Entities

Colorado Bureau of Investigation · Yvonne “Missy” Woods · Michael Clark · Yvonne Missy Woods · Darren Kafka

Timeline

  1. 1 day ago

    [CRIME] 5 sources
    Former Colorado DNA analyst sentenced to 10 years for evidence tampering

    Former Colorado forensic scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods was sentenced to 10 years in prison for tampering with DNA evidence in hundreds of criminal cases, prompting a review of over 1,000 investigations.

  2. 5 days ago

    [CRIME] 13 sources
    Yvonne Woods sentenced to 10 years for Colorado DNA data manipulation

    Former Colorado forensic analyst Yvonne “Missy” Woods received a 10-year prison sentence for manipulating DNA data, impacting over 1,000 criminal cases and costing the state an estimated $11 million.

Sources

100percentfedup.com · anglophone-direct.com · brandspurng.com · ca.sports.yahoo.com · coloradosun.com · csidds.com · durangoherald.com · haberaktuel.com · ibtimes.co.uk · independent.co.uk · justthenews.com · krdo.com · srnnews.com · theguardian.com · troyrecord.com · vg.no · wltreport.com · wtop.com