Tag: Dna
-
Missy Woods pleads not guilty; trial set for fall
The former Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA expert charged with more than 100 felonies entered a plea of not guilty to all of them Wednesday in a packed Jefferson County courtroom. The plea was entered by her defense attorney Tom Ward. Yvonne Woods, who goes by the name Missy, was the state’s former top DNA…
-
Former CBI DNA expert Missy Woods plea delayed again
The case against Yvonne Woods, the state’s former top DNA scientist at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s forensic lab, was pushed back again Tuesday with an arraignment for her to enter a plea now scheduled for Feb. 11. The court case will have stretched a year next month. Woods, who goes by Missy, is at…
-
Colorado justices say access to Missy Woods data must be litigated in Jeffco
—
by
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday that defense attorneys seeking access to withheld information about a former DNA scientist’s misconduct must pursue the data in Jefferson County, where the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is located. Yvonne “Missy” Woods stands accused of intentionally deleting data,…
-
Colorado Supreme Court weighs whether Douglas County judge has authority over Missy Woods records
—
by
The state Supreme Court will decide whether a Douglas County judge has the authority to compel the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to release data related to the misconduct of a disgraced DNA analyst whose work affected numerous criminal cases. Yvonne “Missy” Woods was criminally charged in Jefferson County on Jan. 22 with 102 felony counts…
-
DNA scandal leads to plea deal that frees Colorado murder suspect from custody
—
by
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save A suspect in a decades-old murder and rape in Weld County could be released from jail as early as Friday after the district attorney there “very reluctantly” agreed to a plea agreement because key DNA evidence in the case was compromised by an embattled Colorado…
-
Accusations of flawed Colorado crime lab work haunt 2003 rape conviction
—
by
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Every Saturday, the call comes in at 10:30 a.m., on the dot. Vinnie Chacon knows that’s when her 64-year-old brother James Hunter will telephone her from Colorado’s Territorial Correctional Facility in Cañon City. Hunter has been incarcerated for more than 21 years, ever since his…
-
Glimpse of Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA testing backlash offered by first wave of court hearings
—
by
The curtain lifted Wednesday to unveil the first glimpse of how a Colorado Bureau of Investigation scandal involving the work of a veteran DNA scientist might play out in dozens of courtrooms across the Front Range. In an hour-long Boulder court hearing permeated by questions and uncertainty, a Boulder judge delayed the trial of an accused…
-
Over 1,000 Colorado criminal cases ‘in question’ after state DNA scientist accused of data manipulation
—
by
DNA findings in more than 1,000 criminal cases in Colorado are now “in question” due to data manipulation by former Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods, state officials announced on Friday when they unveiled the findings of an internal investigative report into Woods’ work. The internal CBI investigation found that Woods deviated…
-
Colorado cold cases: Pueblo County reaches out to Florida forensic expert for help
—
by
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save In September 2022, investigators with the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office discovered skeletal human remains in a remote location in eastern Pueblo County. With no leads, foul play suspected and DNA test results taking longer than expected, Pueblo County sheriff’s Detective Vanessa Simpson decided to embark on a different method for identifying the remains. On…
-
House unanimously approves expanding post-conviction DNA testing in Colorado
—
by
Robert “Rider” Dewey spent nearly 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Dewey was sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of a 19-year-old Palisade woman in 1994. Dewey said he repeatedly requested DNA testing while in prison but was denied for years until connecting with the Innocence Project in…