A former forensic analyst with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation pleaded guilty Tuesday in Jefferson County court to four felony counts arising from her work in the agency’s DNA unit. Yvonne “Missy” Woods entered guilty pleas to committing a cybercrime, perjury, attempting to influence a public servant and forgery. Dozens of other counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement, according to court records.
Woods was scheduled to stand trial later this year. Under the terms of the agreement, she faces between 8 and 16 years in prison when she is sentenced in September. She and her attorneys declined to speak with reporters after the hearing.
Prosecutors accused Woods, who resigned in 2023 after more than two decades at the CBI, of altering data to conceal tampering, deleting records that showed she had failed to troubleshoot issues within the testing process, and failing to thoroughly document tests performed in case records. The allegations span her time handling DNA evidence for criminal investigations across Colorado.
The misconduct has prompted reviews of hundreds of cases in which Woods conducted DNA analysis. The CBI and district attorneys’ offices have been notifying defendants and reviewing convictions potentially affected by the tainted work. The full scope of the impact remains under investigation.
Woods’ guilty plea resolves charges that had been pending since her arrest in 2024. The case has drawn widespread attention to quality-control procedures in forensic laboratories and the reliance on individual analysts’ work in criminal prosecutions.