Attorneys file $100M claim against CBI over alleged wrongful murder conviction linked to Missy Woods
DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) – Attorneys for a woman whose father was convicted of a decades-old double murder have filed a $100 million claim, alleging his conviction was based on falsified forensic evidence from a now-disgraced Colorado Bureau of Investigation scientist.
On January 6, 1982, two women hitchhikers vanished from the popular ski town of Breckenridge. They were later found shot to death.
The women, Annette Schnee, 21, and Barbara Oberholtzer, 29, had no connection, authorities said. Their bodies were discovered in separate locations months apart.
Investigators say then-30-year-old Alan Lee Phillips was rescued nearby on the same night the women disappeared, after his truck got stuck during a snowstorm.
DNA testing by Colorado authorities years later identified Phillips as a suspect in the murders.
He was subsequently convicted in 2022 on two counts of first-degree murder, among other charges, and served two life sentences. Phillips served only a year behind bars before dying in prison at the age of 72.
Now, attorneys representing his daughter, Andrea Shelton, have filed an official notice of claim against the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and disgraced former forensic scientist Yvonne "Missy" Woods, alleging that Phillips was wrongfully convicted of the murders.
The claim, filed this week, seeks $100 million in damages, arguing that Woods’ flawed and potentially criminal conduct led directly to Phillips’ 2022 conviction, as the case against him was heavily based on DNA evidence.
Woods has been accused of mishandling more than 1,000 cases over her nearly three-decade career with the CBI. She now faces 102 felony charges, including cybercrime, perjury, attempt to influence a public servant and forgery.
The claim alleges not only that Woods mishandled the evidence used to convict Phillips, but that members of the CBI “were aware of anomalies in Ms. Woods prior reporting of DNA results prior to the time that Mr. Phillips was arrested, charged, tried, and convicted,” and failed to disclose that information.
“This case is just the tip of the iceberg,” Kevin Mehr, one of the civil rights attorneys representing Shelton, said. “This kind of forensic misconduct has never been seen in American history. Alan Phillips and all of these victims deserve justice and we intend to make sure they have it.”
KRDO13 reached out to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, who said they would not comment on pending litigation.
Click here for a copy of the claim.
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