Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: DNA Testing

Former Colorado Bureau of Investigation Scientist Sentenced to 10 Years After DNA Evidence Misconduct
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

Former Colorado Bureau of Investigation Scientist Sentenced to 10 Years After DNA Evidence Misconduct

By Olivia Prentzel | The Colorado Sun Yvonne “Missy” Woods ordered to serve 10 years behind bars after pleading guilty to four felonies in June. Former state forensic scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday, a milestone in a years-long scandal that cast doubt on DNA evidence in more than 1,000 criminal cases and continues to ripple through Colorado’s courts. Woods, who had worked for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for 29 years, pleaded guilty to four felonies in June. In exchange, prosecutors dropped the remaining 100 charges against her.  “At its core, this case is about trust — the extraordinary trust placed in Ms. Woods, and her breach of that trust,” Jefferson County District Judge Andrew Poland said before del...
Justice on hold: Lawmakers race to fix Colorado’s rape kit backlog
Top Stories, Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Justice on hold: Lawmakers race to fix Colorado’s rape kit backlog

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice A backlog of 1,369 untested sexual assault kits at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation delays justice and drives significant costs, per a June 2025 report from the Common Sense Institute. Authored by former Denver DA Mitch Morrissey and Senior Analyst Erik Gamm, the report estimates clearing this backlog could prevent 1,481 crimes—including 1,030 sexual assaults—and save Colorado $234.7 million.  The Yvonne “Missy” Woods scandal, involving manipulated DNA in over a thousand cases since 2014, worsened this crisis, exposing gaps in CBI’s processes.  Two bills, HB25-1275 and SB25-304, address these issues, as Rep. Matt Soper (R-Delta), co-sponsor of HB25-1275, detailed in a Rocky Mountain Voice interview. The Wo...