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Former Colorado crime analyst gets 10-year prison sentence for manipulating DNA data

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.

CNN2026-09-08 22:05查看原文 ↗

Stephen Swofford/Pool/The Gazette/AP

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.

Woods apologized during Tuesday’s hearing but said she knew saying sorry would not undo the harm she caused, the Denver Post reported.

“For many years I was entrusted with evidence that could have profound consequences for defendants, victims, families and the courts. I failed that responsibility. I am deeply sorry for that failure,” she said.

Following the sentencing, Colorado Bureau of Investigation officials said they have sought to reform their laboratories in response to the data scandal as they try to rebuild public trust.

“The actions of one individual never define this organization, and they do not define the dedicated public servants who continued showing up every day with integrity,” Bureau Director Armando Saldate said in a statement.

The investigation into Woods’ misconduct began in September 2023 after an intern at the bureau discovered missing information in a case that Woods handled in 2018. According to an arrest affidavit, Woods allegedly told investigators at one point that she had changed data to complete cases more quickly.

In the vacated murder case, Michael Clark was released from prison in 2025 after his lawyers argued that DNA evidence was mishandled by Woods. Prosecutors said they would seek to retry him.

In two homicide cases, the defendants received lesser sentences under plea deals than they could have faced if they went to trial because prosecutors were afraid Woods’ involvement could lead to acquittals.

Convictions in other cases also have been challenged in courts across Colorado.

A Colorado Bureau of Investigation internal affairs report in 2024 revealed that concerns about Woods’ work first surfaced more than a decade ago. As early as 2014, a worker questioned her testing of evidence, and in 2018 she was temporarily removed from working on DNA cases after being accused of data manipulation, the report said.

State officials have said that the response to Woods’ actions could end up costing more than $11 million.

Stephen Swofford/Pool/The Gazette/美联社

科罗拉多州戈尔登（美联社）——周二，一名法官判处科罗拉多州调查局前法医分析师 10 年监禁，此前当局称，她篡改 DNA 数据的行为引发了人们对数百起刑事案件有效性的质疑。

伊冯娜·“米西”·伍兹于6月承认犯有伪证罪、企图影响公职人员罪、伪造罪和网络犯罪罪。作为认罪协议的一部分，其他数十项指控被撤销。

据当局称，这名科学家的工作在涉及谋杀、性侵犯、抢劫和其他犯罪的案件中被发现存在问题。检察官被迫重新审查数百起案件，至少有一项谋杀罪名因伍兹的不当行为而被撤销。

周二，在科罗拉多州戈尔登市，伍兹在州地方法官安德鲁·波兰面前接受了量刑听证，他面临 8 至 16 年的监禁。

她在从业数十年后于2023年辞职。当局指控她篡改数据以掩盖其行为，删除显示她未能解决测试过程中出现的问题的数据，并且没有在病例记录中完整记录所进行的测试。

据《丹佛邮报》报道，伍兹在周二的听证会上道歉，但她表示，她知道道歉无法弥补她造成的伤害。

“多年来，我受托保管一些可能对被告、受害者、家属和法院产生深远影响的证据。我辜负了这份责任。对此我深感抱歉，”她说。

判决后，科罗拉多州调查局官员表示，他们已着手改革实验室，以应对数据丑闻，并努力重建公众信任。

“一个人的行为永远无法定义这个组织，也无法定义那些每天恪尽职守、正直奉献的公务员，”局长阿曼多·萨尔达特在一份声明中说。

对伍兹不当行为的调查始于2023年9月，当时该局一名实习生发现伍兹在2018年处理的一个案件中缺少信息。根据逮捕令宣誓书，伍兹据称曾告诉调查人员，她篡改了数据以更快地完成案件。