Golden, Colorado (AP) — A judge sentenced a former forensic analyst for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to 10 years in prison on Tuesday after authorities said her manipulation of DNA data raised questions about the validity of hundreds of criminal cases.
Yvonne “Missy” Woods pleaded guilty in June to perjury, attempting to influence a public servant, forgery and committing a cybercrime. Dozens of other counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Problems with the scientist’s work were found in cases involving homicide, sexual assault, robbery and other crimes, according to authorities. Prosecutors were forced to review hundreds of cases, and at least one murder conviction was vacated as a result of Woods’ misconduct.
Woods had faced between 8 and 16 years in prison during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing before state District Judge Andrew Poland in Golden, Colorado.
She resigned in 2023 after a decades-long career. Authorities accused her of altering data to conceal tampering, deleting data that showed she failed to troubleshoot issues within the testing process and not thoroughly documenting tests performed in case records.
