DNA evidence links Ted Bundy to 1974 murder of Utah teenager
State officials said DNA testing has connected serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 killing of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, adding to a recent confirmation of his involvement in another Utah murder that year.
State authorities announced on Tuesday that DNA analysis has identified serial killer Ted Bundy as the perpetrator of the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, whose body was found days after she disappeared. The finding follows a confirmation earlier this year that Bundy was responsible for the 1974 killing of another Utah teenager, Laura Ann Aime, a case that was also solved through DNA matching to Bundy’s known profile.
Law enforcement officials said the Y-STR DNA profile recovered from Laura Aime’s remains matched the profile obtained from Melissa Smith’s case, allowing investigators to close the long-standing homicide investigation.
"This case demonstrates the importance of preserving evidence, even when decades have passed," said Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera. "We have the ability to take a look at these cases again and again."
Bundy, who was executed in 1989, was previously linked to a series of assaults and murders across the western United States and Florida between 1974 and 1978.
"The voices and cherished memories of Melissa Ann Smith and Laura Ann Aime and others involved in these cases ring louder than the hate and sedition of the one that took their lives," said Utah County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Mike Reynolds. "With every case closure may we stomp the memory of Ted Bundy out."