DNA connects serial killer Ted Bundy to the death of a Utah teenager, authorities announced Tuesday, more than 50 years after her body was discovered by a hunter.
Bundy has been dead since 1989, but the tally of his confirmed victims continues to grow due to advances in DNA testing. He killed at least 30 women and girls in multiple states in the 1970s, and many more escaped or survived with injuries.
The Summit County, Utah, prosecutor said investigators are satisfied that Bundy was responsible for killing 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith in 1974, a death that had long been listed as a cold case.
“This case demonstrates the importance of preserving evidence,” said Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera.
Sergeant Reynolds with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office identified there were similarities between the Laura Aime and Melissa Smith cases. DNA that identified Bundy was from the Y-chromosome, which is only present in men. A highly similar DNA profile was found in evidence obtained from Smith’s autopsy. Officials have been in touch with Smith’s next of kin, none of whom still live in the area.
Officials confirm DNA evidence recovered from another victim matched Smith’s body. Utah County officials presented the DNA evidence to the Summit County Sheriff’s office on Oct. 7.
“With every case closure, may we stomp the memory of Ted Bundy out,” said Sergeant Mike Reynolds with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, who participated in the investigation.
Bundy was executed in 1989 by electric chair in Florida for the 1978 murders of two women at the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University.
Bundy gave a series of confessions in his final days, including to some crimes that were previously unknown to police. Not all of those cases have been confirmed.
