forensic investigation is the center of many criminal investigations, Missy Woods was responsible for more than 1,000. /Envato Market
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Attorneys Prepare for First Lawsuit in Historic Forensics Scandal
More than 1,000 cases in question as Colorado DNA analyst is charged with misconduct
June 25, 2025
DENVER, CO – More news is breaking today in the largest forensics scandal in American history as Andrea Shelton has hired two prominent Colorado attorneys to seek justice for her father, Alan Phillips, who she says was wrongfully convicted of double murder in 2022 based on the manufactured evidence and testimony of disgraced Colorado Bureau of Investigation forensic scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods. Woods, who has been accused of mishandling more than 1,000 cases over her nearly three-decade career, now faces 102 felony charges including Cybercrime, Perjury in the First Degree, Attempt to Influence a Public Servant and Forgery.
Shelton is represented by prominent civil rights attorneys Kevin Mehr and Tyler Jolly for Mehr Jolly PLLC who have represented a number of high profile clients including Dalvin Gadson, the 29-year-old Black man who received a $2.1 million settlement after he was mercilessly beaten by three Colorado Springs police officers while he was unarmed and handcuffed, and Kenneth Espinoza, the 71-year-old grandfather who was awarded $1.5 million after being illegally assaulted and repeatedly tased by two Las Animas County sheriff’s deputies.
In 2022, Phillips was convicted of the 1982 murders of Bobbie Jo Oberholtzer and Annette Schnee based on Woods’ DNA analysis and testimony. But, according to the attorneys, that analysis is fraught with numerous red flags. In fact, the tissue that contained the DNA that initially implicated Phillips was not only found on the side of a public road nowhere near any of the victims but was produced by Oberholtzer’s husband who was long suspected of the murders himself. In addition, despite the absence of any DNA evidence connecting Phillips to Schnee, Woods reportedly “discovered” new DNA 40 years after the fact and then deleted her analysis.
Phillips committed suicide in prison on Feb. 27, 2023 after being sentenced to two life sentences for the murders.
Attorneys say they are requesting information from authorities including the Park County District Attorney as they prepare for a likely civil lawsuit, the first connected to the Woods scandal.
“In this case, all signs indicate that critical evidence against Mr. Phillips was completely fabricated,” said Mehr. “Mr. Phillips is only one of hundreds if not thousands of individuals impacted by this wild act of corruption, and we encourage all of them to come forward.”
“It’s not enough to hold Missy Woods accountable,” said Jolly. “We have to stand up against the system that empowered her because if they can convict an innocent man of murder and get away with it, then none of us are safe.”
Click HERE for the attorneys’ request to the Park County District Attorney.
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