WELD COUNTY, Colo. — The Weld County District Attorney’s Office will not file charges against a former DNA analyst who was fired after anomalies were found in her work.
“The Weld County District Attorney’s Office has reviewed the investigation concerning Chiara Wuensch, a DNA analyst who worked for the Weld County Sheriff’s Office at the Northern Colorado Regional Forensic Lab … (and) has determined there is no probable cause to believe Ms. Wuensch committed a crime,” a spokesperson for the 19th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said.
In a news release, the spokesperson for the Weld County DA said that in order to prove a criminal charge, prosecutors must not only prove the commission of the criminal act, but also the defendant’s criminal intent.
“Proof of the act alone is insufficient,” the statement reads.
The Weld County DA spokesperson said Thursday a review of her work revealed only five anomalies among thousands of DNA data entries, falling into three categories: Alleged deletion of data indicating a small amount of male DNA; alleged deletion of the word “undetermined” to a cell in a spreadsheet; alleged alteration of values related to potential contamination to a small number.
The spokesperson said those anomalies “could be seen as intentional acts to avoid additional work required by CBI’s standard operating procedures.”
During the investigation into those anomalies, however, Wuensch “denied intentionally altering or deleting the data, attributing any discrepancies to potential mistakes in using Excel.”
In an interview, Wuensch told investigators there was no reason for her to intentionally change the data as she still performed DNA amplification required by those standard operating procedures, which the DA spokesperson said was corroborated by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which confirmed that those anomalies “did not impact any DNA amplification or elimination in criminal cases.”
“After a comprehensive review of all the evidence and circumstances, it is clear that the anomalies found in Ms. Wuensch’s work do not meet the legal threshold for criminal charges,” Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke said. “The evidence does not support a finding of criminal intent, and therefore, it would be inappropriate to pursue charges in this matter.”
The internal investigation into Wuensch began on Jan. 31, 2024, which revealed she had violated the Weld County Code for expectations of proper conduct, and the sheriff’s office standards of conduct policy for not cooperating with the agency’s internal investigation.
Based on those findings, she was fired on Feb. 28, 2024.
