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GOLDEN, Colo. — <\/span>A judge sentenced a former forensic analyst for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to 10 years in prison on Tuesday after authorities said her manipulation of DNA data<\/a> had raised questions about the validity of hundreds of criminal cases.<\/p>\n Yvonne \u201cMissy\u201d Woods pleaded guilty<\/a> in June to perjury, attempting to influence a public servant, forgery and committing a cybercrime. Dozens of other counts were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.<\/p>\n Problems with the scientist\u2019s work were found in cases involving homicide, sexual assault, robbery and other crimes, according to authorities. Prosecutors were forced to review hundreds of cases, and at least one murder conviction was overturned as a result of Woods\u2019 misconduct.<\/p>\n Woods had faced between 8 and 16 years in prison during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing before state District Judge Andrew Poland in Golden, Colorado.<\/p>\n She resigned in 2023 after a decades-long career. Authorities accused her of altering data to conceal tampering, deleting data that showed she failed to troubleshoot issues within the testing process and not thoroughly documenting tests performed in case records.<\/p>\n Woods apologized during Tuesday’s hearing but said she knew saying sorry would not undo the harm she caused, the Denver Post<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n \u201cFor 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,” she said.<\/p>\n The investigation into her misconduct began in September 2023 after an intern at the bureau discovered missing information in a case that Woods handled in 2018. According to an arrest affidavit, Woods allegedly told investigators at one point that she had changed data to complete cases more quickly.<\/p>\n In the overturned murder case, Michael Clark was released from prison in 2025 after his lawyers argued that DNA evidence was mishandled by Woods. Prosecutors said they would seek to retry him. <\/p>\n