DNA evidence has connected serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of a Utah teenager, authorities announced Tuesday, exactly 52 years after the victim's body was discovered. Bundy, who died in 1989, has been linked to at least 30 confirmed murders of women and girls across multiple states in the 1970s, with many more victims escaping or surviving with injuries.
Investigators are now satisfied that Bundy was responsible for killing 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, whose death had been classified as a cold case. According to Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson, crucial connections were made using DNA found on Smith and Laura Aime, another of Bundy's victims whose case was resolved in April in Utah County. Bundy's DNA was already on file from Florida, where he was convicted and later executed.
Olson stated that Smith's death exhibited hallmarks of Bundy's established pattern, motive, means, and opportunity. The Utah state crime lab's acquisition of new technology in 2023, capable of extracting DNA from small or degraded samples, was instrumental in resolving the case. Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera emphasized the importance of preserving evidence, noting the ongoing commitment to solving cold cases, including those linked to Bundy.
FILE - Ted Bundy attends the second day of jury selection in his murder trial, June 27, 1979, in Miami, Fla. (AP Photo,File)
Bundy was executed by electric chair in Florida for the 1978 murders of two women at the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University. In his final days, he provided confessions to several crimes previously unknown to police, though not all of these have been confirmed.
Authorities have identified Bundy's victims in Florida, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and Washington state. Investigations are ongoing into the 1974 death of 16-year-old Nancy Wilcox of Utah. Det. Ben Pender of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office, which is handling the Wilcox investigation, stated that while information points towards Bundy, certainty has not been established, and efforts to solve that case will continue.