DNA links serial killer Ted Bundy to the death of another Utah teenager, authorities said Tuesday, exactly 52 years after her body was discovered in the woods by a hunter.
Bundy has been dead since 1989, but tally of confirmed victims continues to grow thanks to advances in DNA testing. He killed at least 30 women and girls in several states in the 1970s, and many more escaped or survived with their injuries.
Investigators are convinced that Bundy is responsible for the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, a death that has long been listed as an unsolved case, Summit County Prosecutor Margaret Olson said at a news conference.
They were able to close the case by making crucial connections to DNA found on Smith and Laura Aime, another Bundy victim whose case was solved last April in Utah County. Bundy’s DNA was on file in Florida, where he was convicted and ultimately executed.
In addition to this evidence, Smith’s death shows characteristics of Bundy’s “pattern, motive, means and opportunity,” Olson said.
The Utah State Crime Lab is getting new technology in 2023 that extracts DNA from samples even if they are small, degraded by age or contain DNA from multiple people.
“This case demonstrates the importance of preserving evidence,” said Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera, whose department also investigated Bundy-related homicides.
“We have to solve these cases to the best of our ability,” she said, explaining the importance of appealing to science, even many years later. “No one is going to go away and blame Ted Bundy, even though many cases have played out this way. Here in the state of Utah, we take this very seriously.”
Smith’s relatives were contacted about the findings but declined to attend the news conference and speak to reporters, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office said.
“With every case closed, may we erase the memory of Ted Bundy,” said Utah County Sgt. Mike Reynolds said.
Bundy was executed by electric chair in Florida in 1978. murders of two women at Chi Omega sorority at Florida State University.
He made a series of confessions during his final days, including to certain crimes previously unknown to the police. Not all of these cases have been confirmed.
In addition to Florida and Utah, authorities said Bundy had victims in Colorado, Idaho and Washington state. They said they were particularly working to solve the 1974 death of 16-year-old Nancy Wilcox of Utah.
Solving Smith’s homicide “doesn’t close the book on Ted Bundy,” Det. Ben Pender of the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
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