WELD COUNTY, Colo. — A murder case that was more than 40 years old went unsolved until, investigators say, DNA testing helped them find a suspect. Now, the case against James Dye is under question.
The DNA analyst at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation who tested evidence in this murder case is under criminal investigation. An internal affairs investigation found Yvonne "Missy" Woods manipulated data in more than 650 cases from 2008 to 2023. A review of her work from 1994 to 2008 is still ongoing.
District Attorney Michael Rourke filed a subpoena against CBI this month to learn more about how these findings could impact his prosecutions. Court documents say there are anomalies in Woods' work on the case against Dye.
Dye, who had a multistate criminal history, was arrested in Witchita, Kansas in 2021 in connection with the death of 29-year-old Evelyn Kay Day. Her murder was one of the county's oldest cold cases.
"Information about the anomalies in the work of the DNA analyst, as it applies to this case and generally, is clearly discoverable. However the People have been provided with minimal discovery relevant to those issues," the document says. "Given that there is an internal investigation and open criminal investigation into these issues, CBI, through the Attorney General's Office, has restricted what materials have been provided."
Rourke is asking for the whole internal affairs investigation file - not just the 94-page summary report. Rourke said CBI has identified more than 60 criminal cases in his judicial district that have been impacted by anomalies in Woods' work.
Dye's next court appearance is on March 29. Prosecutors are still waiting on retesting of the evidence to be completed.
District Attorneys in Colorado have been provided a list of cases where anomalies were found. Prosecutors know generally what issues were uncovered during internal affairs investigations, but they don't know specifics.
The district attorney's office in Boulder County also filed a subpoena against CBI this month for the internal affairs investigation. A murder trial against Garrett Coughlin was postponed due to the investigation into Woods. A review found Woods manipulated data in this case.
Coughlin was found guilty in 2019 for shooting and killing three people in Coal Creek Canyon. The conviction was tossed out in 2020 due to misconduct by two jurors. His retrial was supposed to start in April. A judge rescheduled it for July. A Boulder County judge issued a protective order so the report can only be shared with parties involved in Coughlin's case.
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