by Jo Ellen Nott

20th Judicial District Court Judge Patrick Butler unsealed a troubling internal affairs report from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (“CBI”) in June 2024 that revealed a decade of missed opportunities to address misconduct by Yvonne “Missy” Woods, a veteran DNA scientist.

For almost three decades Woods, now 60, was Colorado’s star forensic scientist whom police and prosecutors relied on to test DNA evidence in the state’s most perplexing crimes. Her work on cold cases helped convict infamous murderers, including the “Colorado Hammer Killer,” Alex Ewing. The CBI report details how Woods, whom some fellow scientists called a “golden child,” allegedly manipulated DNA data in hundreds of cases, which in turn potentially jeopardizes thousands of convictions.

Woods’ work raised red flags for over a decade according to her colleagues. Despite repeated warnings from them dating back to 2014, CBI supervisors failed to take decisive action. Their concerns included mishandling of evidence, rushing protocols, and deleting male DNA results. One employee reported seeing Woods throw away fingernail clipping evidence but did not report it to her superiors because she feared retaliation due to Woods’ perceived favored status at the agency.

One of Woods’ most high-profile cases dates to 1984 when the Bennett family was found beaten to death with a hammer in their Aurora home. Another victim was raped and fatally beaten with a hammer in her Denver home around the same time. Fourteen years later, Woods helped identify Alex Ewing, who, by that time in 2018, was serving a lengthy prison sentence in Nevada for attempted murder in other bludgeoning attacks.

Woods’ testimony helped convict Ewing of the four Colorado hammer murders, and he was given four life sentences. Ewing is appealing one of those convictions, and the current controversy over Woods’ work bolsters the case according to his attorney Suzan Trinh Almony. The Jefferson County D.A.’s Office that prosecuted Ewing cannot comment on the appeal because it has also been assigned to prosecute Woods if criminal charges are filed.

Anomalies in a cold case homicide investigation in 2018 prompted a review of Woods’ work. However, the highly redacted CBI report does not allow the public to see if there is mention of the Ewing case. She was accused of data manipulation at the time and removed from casework. After a review, she was reinstated. The CBI director was never informed nor was the leadership at the Colorado Department of Public Safety. Woods was allowed to return to high-profile cases, even training new employees. This lapse in oversight is naturally raising questions about the effectiveness of CBI’s quality control measures.

Five years later, in 2023, an intern discovered new discrepancies involving deleted technical data in 30 cases, prompting a renewed investigation. Woods admitted feeling overwhelmed by her workload as a single mother but denied intentionally manipulating data. She was placed on leave in October 2023 and was forced to retire the next month.

The impact of Woods’ misconduct is far-reaching. Over 1,000 criminal cases are now under scrutiny, with the potential for wrongful convictions being identified. Colorado has allocated $7.5 million for retesting evidence and reviewing potentially impacted cases. An immediate impact of the report into Woods’ flawed practice of forensic science is the upcoming trial of Garrett Coughlin.

Attorneys for Coughlin, accused in the April 2017 shooting of three people in Coal Creek Canyon, are asking for his case to be dismissed after what they alleged to be 10 years of secrecy.

The case was set to go to trial again in July 2024 after an overturned conviction from the first trial where jurors were not truthful during the selection process.

During the investigation, Woods found DNA from four people, including “strong support” of Coughlin’s DNA, on a chair leg at the crime scene. She also found “very strong support” that Coughlin’s DNA profile was one of four samples found on the holster to the murder weapon. But, according to Coughlin’s attorney Mary Claire Mulligan, in Woods’ report, she deleted the reference to a male DNA sample found in the female victim’s bodily fluids.

“Why she did this remains a mystery to Mr. Coughlin,” Mulligan noted. In a motion filed on May 6, 2024, Mulligan blamed the state’s bureau of investigation. “CBI has known that Agent Woods has had credibility problems since at least 2014 and swept those problems under the rug.”

In the aftermath of the report’s release, the public is demanding accountability from and reform of the CBI. Lawmakers are urging a thorough review of the agency’s protocols to prevent similar misconduct. The South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation is conducting a separate criminal investigation into Woods’ actions to avoid a conflict of interest.

The scandal within the CBI again proves the need for accountable and transparent forensic procedures in the criminal justice system. When a trusted forensic scientist engages in misconduct, the consequences are potentially catastrophic in both terms of wrongful convictions and the loss of public trust.   

Sources: Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Denver Gazette, New York Post 

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