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Utah teen Melissa Ann Smith killed in 1974 identified as Ted Bundy victim
The Salt Lake Tribune • • nation
Key Points:
- Authorities have confirmed that serial killer Ted Bundy was responsible for the 1974 murder of Utah teen Melissa Ann Smith, closing a cold case more than 50 years old based on DNA evidence.
- Investigators linked Smith’s case to Bundy after matching DNA from her remains with evidence from another Utah cold case victim, Laura Ann Aime, whom Bundy was also confirmed to have killed this year.
- New genotyping technology introduced in 2023 enabled Utah’s crime lab to build full DNA profiles from degraded samples, facilitating the connection to Bundy’s complete DNA profile from Florida.
- Bundy was first suspected in Smith’s death in 1976 while serving a prison sentence in Utah, and he is believed to have killed at least five to eight young women in Utah, with some victims’ bodies still missing.
- Bundy was executed in Florida in 1989 after confessing to killing at least 30 young women nationwide, and Utah investigators continue to explore other cold cases potentially linked to him.
