Former Colorado Crime Analyst Sentenced to 10 Years for Manipulating DNA Evidence.
State District Judge Andrew Poland sentenced Yvonne 'Missy' Woods, 66, to 10 years in prison Tuesday in Golden, Colorado. Woods, a former Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA analyst, had pleaded guilty in June to perjury, forgery, cybercrime, and attempting to influence a public servant.
- At least 1,003 cases spanning 1994 to 2023 were affected by her misconduct.
- 1 murder conviction was vacated; Michael Clark was released from prison in 2025.
- More than $11 million: the projected cost of the state's response to her actions.
- Concerns about her work surfaced as early as 2014, per a 2024 internal affairs report.
Why it matters: Woods handled DNA evidence in homicide, sexual assault, and robbery cases for nearly 30 years. Authorities say she altered data to conceal tampering, deleted records of failed troubleshooting steps, and sometimes withheld results until tests produced her desired outcome.
- Two homicide defendants accepted lesser plea deals because prosecutors feared her involvement would undermine their cases at trial.
- An arrest affidavit states Woods told investigators she changed data to finish cases faster.
How 7 sources split on this story
Where they split: Outlets differ on the total sentence: The Independent and CTV News report 10 years, while the Daily Mail reports 25 years by adding consecutive terms across all four counts.
Center coverage, 3 sources: The center presents the case as a straightforward accountability story, detailing the plea, the sentence, the case review process, and the bureau's stated reform efforts without strong evaluative framing.
Left coverage, 2 sources: The left frames the story around systemic failure and harm to defendants, emphasizing that warning signs went unheeded for years and that real people — including those wrongly convicted — bore the consequences.
Right coverage, 2 sources: The right emphasizes the scale of deliberate misconduct, the thousands of pieces of evidence affected, and the high-profile convictions Woods helped secure that are now in question.
What’s next: Prosecutors plan to retry Michael Clark, whose murder conviction was vacated due to Woods' misconduct.
- Convictions in additional cases remain under challenge in courts across Colorado.
- How many additional convictions will be vacated or reduced as courts finish reviewing cases tied to Woods' work?
- Will anyone at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation face accountability for missing early warning signs flagged as far back as 2014?