A former DNA analyst for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has pleaded guilty to evidence tampering, potentially jeopardising hundreds of criminal convictions. Yvonne 'Missy' Woods, who worked at the CBI crime lab for 29 years, admitted to manipulating data during her career.
The CBI announced on Friday that 652 cases handled by Woods between 2008 and 2023 have been affected, with some 3,000 samples requiring re-testing. Officials are now reviewing her work dating back to 1994, and have allocated $7.5m (£5.8m) for new tests, retrials, and potential compensation for wrongful convictions.
According to the CBI, Woods deleted, altered, and omitted data in official criminal justice records. However, the investigation did not find that she falsified DNA matches or fabricated profiles; rather, she deviated from standard protocols and cut corners, raising questions about the reliability of her testing.
Woods' lawyer stated that she is cooperating with the investigation and maintains that she never created false DNA matches or testified falsely. The CBI has also discovered another analyst, Chiara Wuensch, who was fired from the Weld County Sheriff's Office last week for similar data anomalies, and is now under separate investigation.
CBI Director Chris Schaefer emphasised the importance of public trust, vowing a thorough and transparent response to what he called an 'unprecedented breach of trust.'
