One of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s top forensic scientists is the subject of an internal affairs and criminal investigation after the bureau discovered anomalies in her work as part of DNA testing in the lab.  

Yvonne “Missy” Woods, a former 29-year veteran of CBI’s Forensic Services section, is no longer working at CBI. While there, Woods specialized in DNA technology.  

The anomalies were discovered while reviewing a sampling of cases as part of an internal process. 

Woods leaves behind a career of impactful DNA work, sometimes peripheral in cold cases. 

Her testimony was key in the first-degree murder trial of Alex Christopher Ewing, accused in the brutal January 1984 hammer killing of the an Aurora family. Bruce and Debra Bennet and their daughter, Melissa, were murdered inside their Aurora home and Ewing’s DNA was found inside.

Woods was the prosecution’s final witness in the case. 

In April 2022, Ewing was given three life sentences in the triple killing.

Woods was also a critical expert in helping a judge find probable cause in the 1979 cold case death of 19-year-old Evelyn “Kay” Daye in Weld County. In 2020, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation re-amplified already extracted DNA to find DNA from the crime scene linked to James Dye. 

James Dye was criminally charged in the homicide in March 2021 by the Weld County District Attorney’s Office with two counts of first-degree murder. He was taken into custody in Wichita, Kansas.  That case has not gone to trial as Dye said he has plans to offer an alternate suspect in Kay’s death and the Colorado Supreme Court considers the appeal.

The CBI would not say which cases that Woods worked on, if any, could be compromised. But in a news release it did mention that the bureau is currently conducting an Internal Affairs investigation in conjunction with experts from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

Additionally, the CBI is working to identify an outside state investigative agency to conduct a criminal investigation.   

Woods attorney, Ryan Brackley, said in a statement that Woods “has been a well-respected, loyal and dedicated forensic scientist with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for close to 30 years. She’s worked with and trained generations of prosecutors, scientists and law enforcement agents over those years. She expects nothing less than a full, complete and professional investigation into these allegations and has already communicated her intent to cooperate with CBI’s inquiry.” 

As part of this comprehensive investigation, Woods’ work is being reviewed, CBI said in its news release, and that CBI Forensic Service is undertaking an exhaustive review of its testing procedures and processes to maintain confidence in its integrity as a forensic lab.

“These are extremely serious allegations, and I want to assure the public and our public safety partners that the CBI is committed to conducting a complete review of this matter to ensure the integrity of this critical function remains intact.” said Department of Public Safety Executive Director Stan Hilkey in the release.