Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: CBI lab

Colorado’s backlog leaves sexual assault survivors without answers, without closure
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado’s backlog leaves sexual assault survivors without answers, without closure

By Bente Birkeland | Colorado Sun, CPR and Andrea Kramar Editor’s note: This story contains details of sexual assault and might be difficult for some readers. Originally published at cpr.org. It’s a situation Miranda Spencer never thought she’d find herself in. The Denver mom was going through a divorce in November of 2023, when she decided to try a dating app for the first time. She used Bumble.  “That’s one I thought was safe,” she recalled. After a few uneventful first dates, Spencer agreed to meet a man who had been persistently messaging her.  “So I let a friend know, ‘hey I’m gonna go out,’ and the exact words that I used were, ‘on this pity date. You can come over afterwards and hang out.’” Those ended up to be fateful words. She said she only remembers the fi...
‘This is unacceptable’: Review of former CBI DNA scientist’s 10,786 cases causes rape evidence logjam
Approved, coloradopolitics.com, State

‘This is unacceptable’: Review of former CBI DNA scientist’s 10,786 cases causes rape evidence logjam

By Jenny Deam | Colorado Politics, via The Gazette The time to process a rape kit in Colorado has now nearly doubled, leaving victims in limbo due to the continuing scandal at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the director of the embattled agency told lawmakers Wednesday. While in November 2023 it took an average of 275 days to analyze the DNA evidence in a sexual assault case at the forensic lab, it now takes on average 517 days, admitted CBI Director Chris Schaefer in testimony before the legislature's joint judiciary committee. "This is unacceptable," Schaefer acknowledged. READ THE FULL STORY AT COLORADO POLITICS