A former DNA analyst with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation — who was employed there at the time of JonBenét Ramsey‘s 1996 murder — was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Tuesday, September 8 after pleading guilty to four charges related to mishandling or manipulating investigations.
As In Touch previously reported, an internal investigation by the CBI found that Yvonne “Missy” Woods, 66, had omitted facts, tampered with DNA results and violated lab policies in more than 1,000 cases. She agreed to plead guilty to cybercrime, perjury, attempt to influence a public servant and forgery in a deal in which 100 other charges were dropped.
“At its core, this case is about trust — the extraordinary trust placed in Ms. Woods, and her breach of that trust,” District Judge Andrew Poland said as he imposed the sentence in Jefferson County Court in Golden, Colorado, per The Denver Post.
“I know an apology cannot undo the harm or restore the trust that was lost,” Woods said during the hearing, the outlet reported. “For many years I was entrusted with evidence that could have profound consequences for defendants, victims, families and the courts. I failed that responsibility. I am deeply sorry for that failure.”
It’s unclear what involvement Woods may have had in DNA analysis following the murder of JonBénet, who was found bludgeoned and strangled in the basement of her family’s upscale Boulder home on December 26, 1996.
However, the attorney for Michael Clark — whose conviction for a 1994 murder in Boulder was overturned in 2025 because DNA testing was botched by Woods — attempted to connect the two cases ahead of his retrial. Defense lawyer Adam Frank tried to subpoena the records from the first 48 hours after the 6-year-old’s death, alleging investigators were “woefully incompetent” and “committed colossal mistakes,” according to court documents obtained by In Touch.
A judge rejected his request, according to Colorado Politics, but Woods’ plea sparked renewed interest in one of the country’s most enduring unsolved mysteries.
Hellbound and Down 