Imagine discovering that the forensic expert whose work helped convict people for serious crimes—murder, assault, kidnapping—might have been submitting flawed or even manipulated evidence for years.

That’s the reality now unfolding in Colorado, where former DNA analyst Yvonne “Missy” Woods is facing over 100 criminal charges, and the justice system is left scrambling to clean up the mess.

Defense Asks for Time as 45,000+ Case Files Pile Up

Woods’ legal team appeared in Jefferson County Court on Monday, asking for more time before her arraignment, saying they’ve been buried under a mountain of evidence—over 45,000 discovery files so far, and counting.

Her attorneys, Lindsay Brown and Tom Ward, said just that morning they received another 5,000 pages.

They’ve requested to push the arraignment to late October to make sense of it all.

Prosecutors agreed, calling the case an “exceptional circumstance.”

29-Year CBI Veteran Now Facing Over 100 Charges

Woods spent nearly three decades working at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

But in January 2025, she was hit with 102 charges stemming from 58 separate incidents of alleged misconduct, ranging from cybercrime and first-degree perjury to forgery and attempting to influence public officials.

She hasn’t entered a plea yet. The accusations stretch back as far as 2008 and run through 2023.

One Intern Uncovered What Turned Out to Be a Widespread Problem

Ironically, it wasn’t an audit or an oversight committee that discovered the problem—it was an intern.

In 2023, a fresh set of eyes spotted inconsistencies in Woods’ work.

What started as a few anomalies quickly spiraled into what the First Judicial District Attorney Alexis King called “a number of similar discrepancies.”

Woods was placed on administrative leave in October 2023 and officially resigned a month later.

One Murder Conviction Already Overturned

The consequences have already started. At least one murder conviction was vacated after it was revealed that the DNA analysis used in the trial—handled by Woods—was flawed.

Now, plaintiffs’ attorneys are preparing lawsuits, and one Colorado law firm has already filed a formal notice against both Woods and the CBI.

Over a Thousand Cases Now Potentially Compromised

In April 2025, CBI updated the number of potentially affected cases to a staggering 1,022.

These aren’t minor infractions—here’s the breakdown:

472 sexual assault cases
211 burglaries
58 assaults
47 robberies
19 kidnappings

Each of these now hangs in legal limbo, pending reanalysis or possible retrial.

Deleted DNA Values and Falsified Reports at the Heart of the Allegations

Woods is accused of deleting or altering data that formed part of the lab’s quality control process, including DNA quantification values, according to the DA.

In some cases, she ran entire batches of DNA tests multiple times without leaving any record of what she did—or why.

In over 30 sexual assault cases, she allegedly deleted evidence of male DNA and submitted reports stating “No Male DNA Found.”

But later checks suggested traces of male DNA were actually present, or the samples may have been contaminated and needed retesting.

South Dakota Investigators Called In for External Review

Because of the seriousness of the accusations, CBI brought in an outside agency—the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (SDDCI)—to conduct a full, year-long investigation into Woods’ work.

Their findings only added weight to the already damning evidence.

Concerns Were Raised as Early as 2014—but Overlooked

It turns out that concerns about Woods’ practices were flagged years ago.

According to CBI’s internal affairs report released in 2024, a colleague expressed doubts as far back as 2014 and brought them to a technical supervisor.

In 2018, Woods faced a data manipulation allegation and was temporarily reassigned during an internal review—but was later reinstated.

Financial Damage Nears $11 Million and Growing

Beyond the legal implications, the financial fallout is steep.

By the end of 2024, the estimated cost of cleaning up Woods’ alleged misconduct hit $11,071,486.

That includes everything from reinvestigating cases to legal fees and forensic reviews.

CBI Says Policy Reforms Are Underway

In response to the scandal, CBI has said it has already implemented policy changes to prevent anything like this from happening again.

They haven’t released full details, but they’ve promised tighter controls and oversight on how forensic data is handled and reviewed internally.