State stuck paying millions after forensic lab tech ‘cut corners’ in DNA testing

Taxpayers in Colorado are being stuck with a bill that will total in the millions of dollars because a forensic lab tech for the state’s bureau of investigation “cut corners” with DNA tests that now have undermined the results in hundreds of criminal cases.

Colorado Public Radio reported the next step in the disaster is for the CBI to reach a contract deal with a Wisconsin company that is to assess the state’s forensics lab and its operations.

That comes after former forensic tech Yvonne “Missy” Wood was found “to have manipulated DNA test results of more than 800 cases.”

“CBI told lawmakers that it will cost almost $7.5 million to retest DNA sample tests and potentially retry cases affected,” the report said.

The disaster resulted after Woods’ 29 years with the CBI, and her involvement in multiple high-profile cases, including the 2003 investigation of the late NBA star Kobe Bryant on accusations of rape.

An internal affairs investigation at the CBI was opened in 2023 and Woods placed on leave. She then retired before the investigation was finished but the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, which was helping, opened a criminal investigation of her just days ago.

The alleged failures surfaced when an intern reviewing DNA testing and reports found some data was missing, the report said.

State authorities have identified 809 cases going back to 2014 in which Woods was involved.

The situation should not have surprised anyone, as her co-workers had warned of her reputation for cutting corners and there even had been earlier claims of faulty evidence.

Officially, an investigation showed she didn’t falsify DNA matches but did deviate from standard protocols.

The costs now are estimated to reach $3 million to retest 3,000 cases, and another $4.3 million for the review and post-conviction processes that will be needed to resolve case questions.

“Two watchdog groups, the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and the Korey Wise Innocence Project from the University of Colorado Law School sent a joint letter to CBI seeking clarity in the Woods investigation Wednesday,” the report said.

Both groups have expressed concern about how Woods’ work was allowed to continue for so long without intervention by officials.

“CBI allowed Missy Woods to alter forensic evidence for years. This misconduct brings CBI’s entire forensic operation into question, and a thorough, independent audit, followed by full disclosure of the results to stakeholders and the public is essential,” Emma Mclean-Riggs, ACLU of Colorado lawyer, said in a statement.

Prosecutors have been making adjustments in some of the affected cases already, with a murder conviction that ended with a life sentence being reduced to 42 years in one situation.