DENVER (KDVR) – The Colorado Bureau of Investigation may not be in compliance with federal terms for a forensic science grant, according to a letter released by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and the Kory Wise Innocence Project.

The two watchdogs are calling for the CBI to be transparent about how it responded to the misconduct of former DNA analyst Yvonne “Missy” Woods. Woods worked for the agency forensics division for 29 years before the “anomalies” were flagged in her DNA testing work. However, an internal affairs report shows that colleagues has questioned Woods’ work since 2014. She was accused of data manipulation in 2018.

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CBIs the review showed no evidence of falsified DNA matches or DNA profiles manufactured from Woods. However, the agency found that she “deviates from standard testing protocols and cuts corners,” raising concerns about how reliable her testing might have been.

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The CBI said Woods’ work could have affected hundreds of criminal cases that were prosecuted across the state, as she was involved in thousands of cases. It already is led to at least one murder case that ended in a plea deal as prosecutors weighed the forensic evidence and impact.

The agency said in March that it identified 652 Woods cases worked between 2008 and 2023 that were affected by data manipulation.

On November 12, the ACLU of Colorado and KWIP sent a letter to the CBI discussing the watchdog’s investigation into how the CBI allowed Woods’ behavior to go unchecked for nearly a decade. The press release discussing the contents of the letter said investigative teams found that the CBI “apparently failed to comply with federal funding requirements, requirements designed to prevent exactly this type of rampant and unchecked misconduct.”

The ACLU and KWIP said Woods’ conduct was only made public by an intern who spoke up.

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Woods worked on several important cases during his time at the CBI, including the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case that was dropped, the Susannah Chase murder case that went to trial in 2009 and The case of the Alex Ewing hammer murders.

Alleged Noncompliance with Federal Forensic Science Grant

The letter to the CBI describes a series of events, beginning with the CBI receiving federal funding from Paul Coverdell Grants Program for the Advancement of Legal Science. According to the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice Department of Public Safety, the CBI was a the beneficiary of the grant since at least 2017.

The ACLU and KWIP said the program requires the recipient to certify that “a government entity exists and an adequate process exists to conduct independent external investigations into allegations of negligence or serious misconduct.” and cited US law. The letter states that the government entity was the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, but the agency said it never had a process to investigate wrongdoing at the CBI labs.

The letter to the CBI states: “From our communications with the JCSO, it appears that the JCSO:

• It would conduct investigations involving the CBI only at the request of the CBI

• He has never received or investigated an allegation of gross negligence or misconduct at the CBI

• They may not have known it was the CBI’s Coverdell entity prior to KWIP’s open records request.”

KWIP and the Colorado ACLU also noted the CBI’s contract with a Wisconsin consulting firm to audit forensic services, but said the contract is only for investigating Woods work completed in 2022-2024. This would leave years of Woods’ work uninvestigated after she was accused of tampering with the data, which was in 2018. The letter also said CBI directors would “oversee” the independent audit and identify key stakeholders for the deal.

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“We urge you to ensure that the CBI audit is retrospective and comprehensive; that the auditors are permitted to review all relevant documents … that the auditors have the knowledge, skills and abilities based on education and experience to perform the audit; and that the auditors carry out their duties in a manner that is independent, objective, fact-based, non-partisan and insulated from CBI influence. Given the gravity of these circumstances, we expect the CBI to pursue other initiatives to restore confidence in Coloradans,” the ACLU and KWIP wrote for the CBI.

CBI directors respond in a short letter

A letter sent by the CBI on Friday provides an insight into the agency’s modus operandi.

Dear Director Moyes and Chief Executive Richardson,

In response to your letter dated November 12, 2024, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation communicated and worked with multiple partners to ensure accountability in this investigation and compliance with our responsibilities under this grant. We have implemented improvements in our forensic services and look forward to introducing further improvements with the help of independent external evaluators who will conduct a full assessment of our laboratory operations.

Chris Schaefer, director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation

It is not clear what these improvements are in the forensic services division, and the CBI has not discussed how its independent audit is fully conducted without internal bias.

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