Surviving parts stories and problems with delays in CBI

Survivors of sexual attacks told their stories in the State Capitol in a town hall on Monday that revolved around the human tribute of delayed DNA results in cases of sexual assault. At the moment it takes a year and a half or more for the Colorado Bureau of Investigation to process evidence in cases of sexual attacks.

“They feel more and more powerless every week, they feel less and less like a person,” said Miranda Spencer, who has been waiting for the results of her sexual attacks for two years.

“When my estimated processing came and went, I spent weeks to grab straws to get someone to listen to me to take care of me,” she said.

The town hall was organized by the Colorado Coalition against sexual assault. Nina Petrovik described the process of occupying the hospital after her sexual assault in 2020 in order to obtain a complete medical examination and to collect medical employees DNA evidence.

“It was probably one of the lonely experiences I've ever had in my life,” she said, adding that nurses had to inspect everything. “It just felt so humiliating for me that it didn't have anyone to turn to.”

Petrovik's results lasted nine months longer than the state's 90 -day directive.

“We do not meet your expectations and we will not meet ours,” said Chris Schaefer, director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Chris Schaefer, survivors and legislators. Schaefer, who has been in position for two years, announced his retirement just a few hours after the town hall. He said he always intended to withdraw with the organization after his 30th anniversary and had not been asked.

“In fact, I only supported my colleagues at the Department of Public Safety,” he said in a written explanation in which he announced his departure. He said his office endeavors to repair the gap.

CBI officials informed the legislators and survivors that they had processed all 1,407 current cases in the backlog until the end of the calendar year. The goal is that new cases are processed within 90 days.

“These 90 days are not an end point, that is the goal,” said the deputy director of CBI, Lance Allen. “And when we arrive there, we will continue to work to go down further.”

In January 2025, the backlog was lighted in a very public way during a joint hearing of the house and the Senate. The CBI officials said that the long waiting time last year doubled, partly because of the discovery that former CBI forensic scientist Yvonne “Missy” Woods allegedly manipulated more than a thousand DNA test results. Woods faces more than 100 criminal charges.

Stephanie Wolf/CPR News

Director Schaefer informed the legislators that the Woods situation had taken half of the DNA scientist from CBI out of the Commission while they checked their cases and let new cases accumulate. The hearing shocked the legislator in both parties.

The Democratic Senator Mike Weissman from Aurora works on laws and guidelines to give CBI more money for the outsourcing of kits and to demand more transparency and accountability. CBI already provides the legislators monthly progress reports and has started a public dashboard of public status on their website.

“The people who knew about it are survived at an individual level who check in, where is my case?” Weissman told CPR News. “And you are said, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. In four and 500 days in some cases. What happened here is that at least now there is awareness of how bad this problem is. “

He said he was open to everything that will accelerate the process for victims.

“We use terminology such as kits and turnaround here and discussions on a political level,” said Weissman. “But the reality is, behind each of them is a person who has suffered something terrible and we want to help do justice.”

The democratic MP Jenny Willford also kept the problem in Capitol in the foreground and increased the effects of delayed DNA results on the victim. Willford said she was sexually attacked by a Lyft driver in Thornton a year ago and was still waiting for CBI's DNA analysis.