DNA SCANDAL EXPLODES — FORMER FORENSIC ANALYST SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS AFTER MANIPULATING EVIDENCE

She was trusted with DNA evidence that could determine the fate of suspects and victims. Now, a former Colorado forensic analyst is behind bars after investigators uncovered years of manipulated data.

For years, Yvonne “Missy” Woods worked behind the scenes of Colorado’s criminal justice system — analyzing DNA evidence that could help determine who was responsible for a crime and who was not.

Now, that trust has been shattered.

Woods, 66, a former forensic analyst with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, has been sentenced to 10 years in state prison after admitting to manipulating DNA data over a period spanning more than a decade.

The misconduct has forced authorities to examine hundreds of criminal cases and raised troubling questions about evidence that prosecutors, defense attorneys and courts once believed they could trust.

THE INVESTIGATION STARTED WITH ONE MISSING PIECE OF DATA

The scandal began in September 2023, when a CBI intern discovered that DNA data was missing from a sample Woods had processed in 2018.

That discovery triggered a much broader review.

Investigators eventually found evidence of repeated alterations and deletions in Woods’ work, prompting the CBI to request an independent criminal investigation by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.

What investigators uncovered was far larger than a single questionable laboratory result.

53 CASES WITH FALSE OR MISLEADING REPORTS

Authorities identified 53 cases involving false or misleading laboratory reports containing statements attributed to Woods.

Even more disturbing, 41 of those cases never resulted in criminal charges against a suspect.

Among them were 32 cases involving women and children who had reported sexual assaults, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said Woods deleted values from laboratory data indicating that male DNA was present and then produced reports stating that no male DNA had been detected.

That meant investigators potentially lost opportunities for additional testing, comparisons and investigative leads.

SOME CASES HAD ALREADY REACHED COURT

Twelve of the false reports were connected to cases in which suspects had been charged.

Three of those cases went to trial.

One resulted in a conviction.

Two ended in acquittals.

Woods also pleaded guilty to a perjury charge connected to false testimony she gave during the trial that resulted in a first-degree murder conviction, prosecutors said.

The remaining nine charged cases resulted in six plea agreements, two dismissals and one case remaining in warrant status.

BUT THERE IS AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION

Despite the enormous scope of the scandal, investigators did not find evidence that Woods created false DNA identifications, fabricated DNA comparisons or generated false positive results.

Instead, prosecutors said her manipulation involved DNA values and laboratory notes, as well as reports that could be misleading or inaccurate.

That distinction is critical.

It does not mean every case Woods ever worked on was invalid.

But it does mean authorities must determine whether her misconduct affected the reliability of evidence used in numerous investigations.

HUNDREDS MORE CASES WERE TOUCHED

The investigation found that Woods’ manipulation of laboratory notes extended beyond the 53 cases involving false or misleading reports.

Her conduct affected hundreds of additional cases, prosecutors said.

However, those alterations did not result in a false report being issued in those cases.

Woods had worked for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation since 1994 and remained with the agency until November 2023.

“I FAILED THAT RESPONSIBILITY”

Woods pleaded guilty in June to four felony counts:

• Cybercrime
• First-degree perjury
• Attempting to influence a public servant
• Forgery

She apologized in court before receiving her sentence.

Woods acknowledged that she had been entrusted with evidence capable of having enormous consequences for defendants, victims, families and courts.

But prosecutors argued that the damage went far beyond paperwork.

The judge described her conduct as intentional misconduct by a highly trained professional occupying a position of extraordinary trust.

10 YEARS BEHIND BARS

On Sept. 8, 2026, a judge sentenced Woods to 10 years in state prison.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has also promised reforms following the scandal.

The agency called Woods’ conduct a betrayal of the scientific standards and professional values expected from its forensic laboratories and said it has taken steps to strengthen confidence in its work.

THE DAMAGE MAY LAST FOR YEARS

The sentence closes one chapter — but the consequences of Woods’ actions are likely to continue.

Every case potentially affected by manipulated data must be examined through a different lens.

For victims, defendants, investigators and families, the question is no longer simply whether DNA evidence exists.

It is whether the evidence — and the records surrounding it — can still be trusted.

One missing piece of DNA data exposed a scandal that stretched across years.

And now, a forensic analyst who was trusted with some of the most consequential evidence in the justice system will spend the next decade in prison.

The science was supposed to reveal the truth. Instead, investigators say one person’s misconduct left hundreds of cases facing difficult questions.