Ted Bundy DNA link closes 1974 Utah teen murder case that stayed open for decades
Investigators say DNA has tied Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, closing a Utah cold case.
A Utah murder investigation that had remained open since 1974 has now been closed after detectives said DNA identified Ted Bundy as the killer of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith. The announcement means one of the state's long-unsolved cases has finally been resolved, with investigators saying the breakthrough came from forensic work used in another Bundy-linked cold case.
A decades-old case has been closed
Smith's body was found by hunters in a wooded area along the border of Salt Lake and Summit counties on Oct. 27, 1974. Her killing had remained an open investigation from that day until now.
Investigators revealed Tuesday that DNA evidence identified Bundy as the person who killed her. Summit County authorities said they have contacted Smith's next of kin and told them about the progress in the case.
According to the sheriff's office, finding direct relatives was difficult because so much time had passed. The family member detectives were able to reach was described as very grateful that the case had finally been brought to a resolution.
The breakthrough came from another Utah cold case
Authorities said the development followed a recent break in a separate Utah County investigation, the murder of Laura Ann Aime. The same DNA profile that linked Bundy to Aime's killing was also used to solve Smith's case.
Investigators in Utah County had said in April, when Aime's case was announced as solved, that the DNA profile had been shared with other departments in the hope it could help close additional investigations. Summit County Sheriff Kacey Bates said those developments brought the Smith case back into focus and helped solve the decades-old mystery.
Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said advances in forensic science now allow investigators to revisit cases repeatedly in search of answers for families. Utah County Sergeant Michael Reynolds said the pain left behind for victims' families and communities still remains, and said the memories of Melissa Ann Smith, Laura Aime and others should stand louder than the man who took their lives.
Why the name still carries weight
Bundy has been confirmed to have killed and assaulted women in Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah and Florida between 1974 and 1978. He confessed to 28 murders, though investigators have long believed the true number could be far higher.
He was executed in Florida in 1989.
For Smith's case, the change is immediate. After more than five decades as an unsolved homicide, investigators now say the file can be closed.
