Former Colorado Bureau of Investigation forensic scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods turned herself in to Jefferson County authorities Wednesday afternoon and now faces a 102-count indictment. She is being held at the county jail on a $50,000 bond.
Court documents list charges of cybercrime, perjury, public servant attempt to influence and forgery. Jefferson County District Attorney Alexis King said the charges stemmed from Woods’ employment by CBI from January 1994 to November 2023. She worked at two laboratory locations within Jefferson County.
“Based on the available facts and after careful legal analysis, we have filed charges and will now proceed with a criminal prosecution,” King said in a statement. “My office remains committed to reviewing all affected cases within our jurisdiction on behalf of the defendants and victims involved.”
Woods appeared at her pretrial hearing on Thursday virtually from the JeffCo Jail in a red inmate jumpsuit.
Her attorney told Judge Graham Peper that Woods has cooperated with the authorities by turning her in Wednesday afternoon. She said that Woods had been out of town when the indictment came down. She noted that bought a plane ticket and returned to Colorado once she found out.
Woods was ordered to surrender her passport. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 20 at 2 p.m.
Woods spent 29 years with CBI and was considered a star in the profession. She worked on several high-profile cases including the 2003 investigation of late basketball player Kobe Bryant and the murder of the University of Colorado student Susannah Chase.
An intern research project assigned by management at a CBI laboratory found anomalies in Woods’ testing. According to investigation documents, Woods had a reputation for cutting corners. The discovery meant Woods had manipulated data in the DNA testing process, leading to incomplete test results in certain cases.
As of August, officials identified 809 cases dating back to 2014 that Woods had a hand in.
CBI opened an Internal Affairs Investigation in the fall of 2023 and placed Woods on administrative leave. She retired before the investigation was completed.
The internal affairs investigation report released in 2024 found that Woods deviated from standard protocols and cut corners, but didn’t falsify DNA matches or fabricate DNA profiles.
According to state budget documents, it will cost CBI $7.5 million to retest DNA samples tampered with by Woods. The cost to retest 3,000 cases will be $3 million. Nearly $4.3 million will cover the costs of review and post-conviction processes.
The reassessment of CBI labs is expected to last 85 days.
The CBI also announced Wednesday that it finalized the contract with a Wisconsin-based firm to conduct a complete assessment of CBI policies, procedures, and operational performance. The contract also allows for an internal investigation.
“Forward Resolutions LLC’s comprehensive plan will give CBI the feedback it has been seeking to make sure we have policies and procedures in place to successfully deliver reliable scientific results to the Colorado criminal justice community,” said CBI Director Chris Schaefer in a released statement. “CBI promised to hold itself accountable in a transparent manner to maintain public trust and this contract proves action will always follow our words.”
