A longtime Colorado crime lab analyst was hit with greater than 100 prison counts Wednesday after she allegedly mishandled and altered studies tied to sexual assault instances over a 15-year span – conduct first found by an intern, based on prosecutors.
Colorado Bureau of Investigation forensic laboratory scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods is accused in additional than 30 sexual assault instances of deleting particular info in samples and handing over studies to businesses that mirrored, “No Male DNA discovered,” when traces might need truly been current, the District Lawyer for the First Judicial District stated.
The studies might need additionally had doable contamination during which extra lab work was required, prosecutors alleged.
The alleged misconduct affected greater than 20 legislation enforcement departments statewide and is estimated to have value the CBI greater than $11 million already, the district lawyer’s workplace stated.
However that quantity may balloon with the alleged malfeasance anticipated to trigger wider issues throughout Colorado’s authorized system.
The doable prison conduct by Woods was first found by a CBI intern who was engaged on a venture within the lab in September 2023.
The intern was going over quantification knowledge in vestibular swabs tied to historic sexual assault instances when she or he observed particular knowledge was lacking, prosecutors stated in an affidavit.
An inside probe was then launched which revealed a lot of comparable discrepancies inside Woods’ workbooks, together with altering or deleting knowledge that’s necessary to the standard management course of, based on the district lawyer’s workplace.
The South Dakota Division of Prison Investigation was requested to analyze the matter main as much as the prison expenses.
Woods allegedly hid doable contamination, and adjusted or deleted quantification values and reran batches of DNA a number of instances with out noting.
At one level when she was confronted by a colleague about some points in her work, Woods gave off a “befuddled” look, based on the affidavit.
Woods, who began with the CBI in 1994, is going through prison expenses tied to alleged actions between 2008 and 2023.
The CBI staffer stepped down in 2023 as a substitute of going through termination after issues have been present in about 1,000 instances, based on an inside probe, the Denver Submit reported.
“We need to thank the South Dakota Division of Prison Investigation for his or her diligence in conducting a posh investigation,” District Lawyer Alexis King stated in a press release.
“Based mostly on the accessible details and after cautious authorized evaluation, we now have filed expenses and can now proceed with a prison prosecution. My workplace stays dedicated to reviewing all affected instances inside our jurisdiction on behalf of the defendants and victims concerned.”
Woods is going through 102 mixed expenses, together with a depend every of cybercrime and first-degree perjury with many of the counts consisting of try to affect a public servant and forgery.
She was launched from jail after posting $50,000 bond, WRIC reported.
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