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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| 'Golden child' forensic crime scientist faces 102 criminal charges over scandalous mistakes |
| 2025-01-24 |
| [DM] A Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA scientist has been accused of jeopardizing hundreds of criminal cases after she cut corners and failed to follow testing protocols. Yvonne 'Missy' Woods was known as a 'golden child' during her 29-year career with the state agency - before she retired in 2023, as reported by Fox 21. But she was arrested Tuesday for 102 criminal charges, including dozens of counts of forgery, as she is accused of altering data in over 500 cases between 2008 and 2023. The investigation into her alleged misconduct began in September 2023 after an intern at the bureau discovered missing information in a sexual assault case that Woods handled in 2018. A probe into other cases found that Woods had altered data to conceal tampering or contamination, deleted information that showed she failed to troubleshoot issues within the testing process and did not thoroughly document tests performed in case records, authorities said. Woods allegedly admitted to deleting some historical data on a DNA instrument but claimed she was advised to do so during quarterly maintenance. Investigators then found the manufacturer had not recommended the deletion, per court documents. She was reportedly found to have deleted specific values in reports about at least 35 sexual assault cases and at least seven homicides. When Woods was asked about the alleged data manipulation, she reportedly said: 'I got to put out seven cases that day instead of five. I don’t know.' In the first prosecution in the state believed to be impacted by Woods’ work, a Colorado man in June pleaded guilty to lesser charges in the killings of three people in 2017. Prosecutors say they gave Garrett Coughlin the chance to plead guilty to second-degree murder partly because they were unable to call Woods to testify in a case that relied mostly on circumstantial evidence. The deal allowed Coughlin to avoid a possible life sentence for felony murder. Officials said Wednesday that the response to Woods’ alleged misconduct had cost more than $11 million. Among those costs, the Colorado Department of Public Safety last year asked the Legislature for $7.5 million to pay for an independent lab to retest up to 3,000 DNA samples and for district attorneys to review and potentially reprosecute cases that are affected by lab errors. State officials announced Tuesday they had hired a consulting firm to review the state’s forensic program. Bureau of Investigations Director Chris Schaefer said in a statement that the hiring of Forward Resolutions LLC was part of the agency’s effort to 'hold itself accountable' following the allegations against Woods. Concerns about Woods’ work first surfaced more than a decade ago, according to authorities. In 2014, a worker questioned her testing of evidence and in 2018 she was temporarily removed from working on DNA cases after being accused of data manipulation, the report said. Woods is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on a $50,000 cash bond. |
| Posted by:Skidmark |
| #2 Sounds like Missy is going to gets some feedback from some unhappy customers. Colorado probably houses men in women’s prisons. Solitary might be the way to go for her. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2025-01-24 14:11 |
| #1 Wonder what the names od and charges were for the initial 102 cases she is claimed to have "adjusted" ... Were they Elite/$$$$/Political situations? |
| Posted by: NN2N1 2025-01-24 14:06 |