The Colorado Bureau of Investigation allowed a longtime DNA scientist to stay on the job for years despite repeated concerns about the quality and reliability of her work, according to an internal report obtained Wednesday by The Denver Post.
The agency’s inaction allowed Yvonne “Missy” Woods to continue to mishandle DNA testing for nearly a decade after a colleague first raised alarm in 2014, until an intern rediscovered problems in 2023 and a subsequent investigation called nearly all of the scientist’s three decades of work into question.
The CBI has since found that Woods cut corners in much of her DNA testing and then covered up her shortcuts by altering, deleting or omitting data in her lab work. She also omitted relevant facts from criminal justice records and tampered with DNA testing by omitting some results, the bureau found.
The agency has so far identified problems in 654 of Woods’ cases between 2008 and 2023, and hadn’t yet finished a review of her cases between 1994 and 2008.
The CBI this year requested $3 million from state legislators to retest 3,000 DNA samples through a third-party laboratory, and sought another $4.4 million to pay out to district attorney’s offices across Colorado to address claims by people who say they were wrongly convicted because of Woods’ work.
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