EDITOR'S NOTE: Tune in to Denver7 News at 10 for complete coverage of how a former Colorado Bureau of Investigation scientist accused of mishandling DNA evidence played a role in a man's sentencing.It has been more than a year since an investigation into a former forensic scientist with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began, but some are feeling the impact now.The State of Colorado has allocated roughly $7.4 million to CBI to address the fallout of the investigation, resulting in victims waiting hundreds of days for the results of sexual assault testing.It all stems from the allegations surrounding Yvonne "Missy" Woods.Who is Yvonne "Missy" Woods?Woods had a 29-year career with the CBI, handling DNA for more than 10,000 criminal cases throughout her tenure. She took part in examining high-profile cases, including the 2003 sexual assault case against Kobe Bryant.In September 2023, anomalies were found in DNA during a research project at the CBI laboratory.On Oct. 3, 2023, CBI opened an internal affairs investigation and Woods was placed on administrative leave. That November, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) began assisting with the internal affairs investigation.Woods retired a few days later, just as the allegations were made public.On June 5, 2024, CBI released the internal investigation findings and revealed Woods omitted material facts in official criminal justice records, tampered with DNA testing by altering or omitting some test results from the case file, and violated CBIs Code of Conduct and laboratory policies, spanning from data retention to quality control measures.The findings also noted that in 2014, a coworker questioned Woods testing of evidence and Woods was also accused of data manipulation in 2018.In December 2024, CBI completed its comprehensive review of all the cases involving Woods and identified 1,003 impacted cases."It's just incredible that this was allowed to go on for so long, that there's at least 1,000 tests that are potentially bad. That just is really unacceptable," Sen. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, told Denver7 Investigate.How much will this cost?Since receiving the roughly $7.4 million from the state last year, CBI has spent more than $67,000.More than $58,000 was spent on DNA retesting in 37 cases requested by local district attorneys, and more than $8,000 has been reimbursed to DAs conducting post-conviction reviews involving cases Woods handled.Meanwhile, Colorado is facing an estimated $750 million budget deficit."It feels like an epic fail that we're now having to spend this money to correct that," Amabile said.The backlogsDuring a presentation to the Colorado Joint Budget Committee on Dec. 13, CBI Director Chris Schaefer acknowledged the agency is dealing with a severe backlog.Based on our former scientist and her misgivings, we are experiencing a backlog. This is the driving factor for that," Schaefer said.And it's not just one backlog. Both DNA evidence cases and sexual assault tests are experiencing delays.The average turnaround time for a rape kit tested by CBI is more than 500 days, and more than 400 days for DNA cases.At a Department of Public Safety oversight hearing earlier this month, a woman testified about the toll that waiting more than 400 days for her rape kit results has taken on her."How can we expect people to report crimes like this when the process is so brutal for the survivor? We've already been through so much," she said.In a statement to Denver7 Investigates, a spokesperson for CBI said, "We acknowledge 517 days is too long."CBI currently has 16 DNA scientists and 15 more in training. The legislature has also allocated funding to hire more scientists. Training a scientist can take up to two years. Last year, more than half of all lab work was devoted to reviewing Woods' cases. That review is now finished. CBI's goal is to have a 90-day turnaround on testing. Read the full CBI statement below <i>"The Colorado Bureau of Investigation acknowledges the backlog to process DNA cases is far longer than any of us want it to be. The primary factor involved former DNA scientist Yvonne Missy Woods. She retired in November of 2023 soon after CBI learned of anomalies with her work that required reviewing every case during her 29-year history with the bureau. The CBI Forensics unit had to devote significant staff time and effort to determine how many cases were impacted by the alleged shortcuts Woods took with her work.</i> <i>The CBI now has 16 DNA scientists on staff and another 15 in training. Additionally, CBI will be hiring additional DNA scientists in the next few months. While the CBI is committed to reducing this backlog with the addition of new staff, it will not take shortcuts. Testing DNA and processing results is complicated, time-consuming work, and provides valuable investigative information towards achieving answers and accountability in our criminal justice system. As the Director stated at a recent legislative hearing, our goal is a 90 day turnaround time. We are in the process of working with many parties to identify the path forward to make that goal a reality as soon as possible.</i> <i>The CBI continually triages cases with law enforcement agencies and District Attorneys to prioritize testing to meet required deadlines."</i>