'Golden child' forensic crime scientist faces 102 criminal charges over scandalous mistakes

A Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA idiosyncratic has been accused of jeopardizing hundreds of transgression cases aft she chopped corners and failed to travel investigating protocols.

Yvonne 'Missy' Woods was known arsenic a 'golden child' during her 29-year vocation with the authorities bureau - earlier she retired successful 2023, arsenic reported by Fox 21. 

But she was arrested Tuesday for 102 transgression charges, including dozens of counts of forgery, arsenic she is accused of altering information successful implicit 500 cases betwixt 2008 and 2023.

The probe into her alleged misconduct began successful September 2023 aft an intern astatine the bureau discovered missing accusation successful a intersexual battle lawsuit that Woods handled successful 2018. 

A probe into different cases recovered that Woods had altered information to conceal tampering oregon contamination, deleted accusation that showed she failed to troubleshoot issues wrong the investigating process and did not thoroughly papers tests performed successful lawsuit records, authorities said.

Woods allegedly admitted to deleting immoderate humanities information connected a DNA instrumentality but claimed she was advised to bash so during quarterly maintenance. Investigators past recovered the shaper had not recommended the deletion, per tribunal documents. 

She was reportedly recovered to person deleted circumstantial values successful reports astir astatine slightest 35 intersexual battle cases and astatine slightest 7 homicides. 

When Woods was asked astir the alleged information manipulation, she reportedly said: 'I got to enactment retired 7 cases that time alternatively of five. I don’t know.'

In the archetypal prosecution successful the authorities believed to beryllium impacted by Woods’ work, a Colorado antheral successful June pleaded blameworthy to lesser charges successful the killings of 3 radical successful 2017. 

Prosecutors accidental they gave Garrett Coughlin the accidental to plead blameworthy to second-degree execution partially due to the fact that they were incapable to telephone Woods to attest successful a lawsuit that relied mostly connected circumstantial evidence. 

The woody allowed Coughlin to debar a imaginable beingness condemnation for felony murder.

Officials said Wednesday that the effect to Woods’ alleged misconduct had outgo much than $11 million.

Among those costs, the Colorado Department of Public Safety past twelvemonth asked the Legislature for $7.5 cardinal to wage for an autarkic laboratory to retest up to 3,000 DNA samples and for territory attorneys to reappraisal and perchance reprosecute cases that are affected by laboratory errors.

State officials announced Tuesday they had hired a consulting steadfast to reappraisal the state’s forensic program. Bureau of Investigations Director Chris Schaefer said successful a connection that the hiring of Forward Resolutions LLC was portion of the agency’s effort to 'hold itself accountable' pursuing the allegations against Woods.

Concerns astir Woods’ enactment archetypal surfaced much than a decennary ago, according to authorities.  In 2014, a idiosyncratic questioned her investigating of grounds and successful 2018 she was temporarily removed from moving connected DNA cases aft being accused of information manipulation, the study said. 

Woods is being held successful the Jefferson County Jail connected a $50,000 currency bond.