The Korey Wise Innocence Project and the ACLU of Colorado have sent a letter to the Director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with concerns over its response to the misconduct of former DNA analyst Yvonne “Missy” Woods.
As of August 27, CBI has identified 809 cases impacted by Woods. It has been shown that she tampered with DNA testing by altering or omitting some test results from case files. For example, Woods deleted data showing that male DNA was present in swabs from sexual assault kits administered on female victims. By deleting the data, Woods could quickly close the case without testing for male DNA profiles.
CBI started auditing Woods’ cases when an intern noted anomalies in her work in 2023. However, records show concerns about Woods’ work dating all the way back to 2014.
That is one reason for the letter from the two agencies to Chris Schaefer, Director of Forensic Services at CBI. The agencies question the scope of the proposed audit of Woods’ cases, given her nearly three decades-long tenure in the laboratory. They also say that CBI’s response to Woods’ misconduct is not in conformance with the requirements of their federal grant.
First concern: audit timeline
On July 25, 2024, CBI posted a solicitation for bids to conduct a Forensic Services Audit and Assessment. The investigative agency ended up contracting with Forward Resolutions, LLC, who is CC’ed on the letter from the Korey Wise Innocence Project (KWIP) and ACLU. However, the CBI’s solicitation indicated that Forward Resolutions’ external audit would cover only a two-year period: from 2022 to 2024.
This timeline is part of the ACLU’s concern. Woods began working at the CBI lab in 1994. By the agency’s own account, a coworker first questioned Woods’ testing of evidence in a case and reported concerns to a Technical Leader in 2014. Then, four years later in 2018, Woods was accused of data manipulation. After a review, she was reinstated. It wasn’t until an intern reported anomalies in Woods’ work in September 2023 that official investigations were undertook. Woods was placed on administrative leave on October 3 and retired on November 6, before the investigation could be completed.
While CBI has vowed to internally review Woods’ work dating back to 1994, the ACLU believes external auditors should be reviewing much more than 2 years of work. Additionally, they question the independence of the audit as the CBI has said executive staff will “oversee it and identify key stakeholders who could provide insights into the assessment.”
“The external auditors responsible for reviewing the root cause of the unchecked misconduct at the crime laboratory will not be tasked with reviewing the complete record, dating back to when Ms. Woods’ misconduct was first detected and reported,” reads part of the letter sent to CBI and Forward Resolutions. “[Moreover,] an independent audit is one that is free from the influence and direction of CBI. External auditors should be free to engage with the many departments, government agencies, and organizations who receive information about, work with, and challenge crime laboratory practices and findings.”
Second concern: grant conformance
As required by CBI’s current Paul Coverdell Forensic Sciences Improvement Program grant, the agency named CBI named the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) as the government entity that would conduct investigations into allegations of misconduct. However, when KWIP filed an open records request on JCSO asking for all records concerning their role as the independent investigator of CBI, JCSO said it had no such records.
Indeed a spokesperson for JCSO told The Denver Gazette last week that it “can confirm that the JCSO would only investigate conduct involving the CBI at the request of the CBI, and we have not received any such request.”
“We ask for clarification as to why CBI did not use its designated Coverdell entity in response to the allegations of negligence and misconduct by Ms. Woods,” reads the letter. “We request that CBI explain what process it believed was in place for external investigations of serious negligence or misconduct at CBI and how that process conformed with federal law.”
KWIP and the ACLU of Colorado sent the letter to the CBI—and released it online—on Tuesday, November 12.
On Friday, November 15, the CBI responded with the following: “In response to your letter dated November 12, 2024, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation has communicated and collaborated with multiple partners to ensure accountability in this investigation and compliance with our responsibilities under this grant. We have implemented improvements across Forensic Services, and we are looking forward to instituting additional improvements with the insight of the independent external assessors who will conduct a full assessment of our laboratory operations.”
Increased urgency: murder cases on trial
In the letter, KWIP and ACLU note, “Our urgency in this matter stems from the fact that forensic evidence is being used every day in criminal trials and the longer it takes to resolve questions regarding Ms. Woods’ misconduct, the longer it will delay relief for those impacted by her misconduct.”
As of now, at least three cases have been impacted by Woods’ misconduct.
In June 2024, Boulder County prosecutors agreed to a plea agreement in the 2019 felony murder conviction of Garrett Coughlin. After jury found him guilty of killing three people at a home in 2017, Coughlin was originally sentenced to life behind bars without possibility of parole. But, following the plea agreement, he was sentenced to 42 years in prison.
Similarly, in August, Douglas County prosecutors agreed to a plea deal with Michael Jefferson, allowing him to plead guilty in exchange for facing no more than 32 years in prison when he is sentenced in January. Jefferson pleaded guilty to felony murder and a violent crime for the November 1985 murder of Roger Dean. Jefferson had been charged with first-degree murder and if convicted at trial, could have spent life in prison. Now, it will be no more than 32 years for a murder case the former Douglas County sheriff called “airtight.”
Most recently, the Boulder County district attorney has asked for new DNA testing in the case of Michael Clark, who was convicted in 2012 of the 1994 murder of Marty Grisham, and is serving life without parole. Woods originally tested a small jar of lip balm found outside Grisham’s apartment the morning after the murder. She concluded—and testified in court—that Clark’s DNA matched the partial profile she had developed from inside the Carmex container, placing Clark at the scene of the murder. Clark has maintained his innocence since he was arrested.