NewsTampa Bay TimesOctober 27, 2026Hillsborough County
DNA Evidence Links Serial Killer Ted Bundy to 1974 Cold Case Murder of Utah Teenager
Photo: Tampa Bay Times
Advances in DNA testing have allowed authorities in Utah to connect executed serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, closing a decades-old cold case. Investigators utilized new state crime lab technology to match DNA found on Smith with evidence preserved from another victim.
Read the full story at Tampa Bay TimesWhy It Matters
The announcement resolves a 51-year-old for a Utah teenager's family and demonstrates how modern forensic technology continues to attribute unsolved historical homicides to the deceased killer.
Key Facts
- DNA evidence connected serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith in Utah.
- Smith's body was originally discovered in the woods by a hunter exactly 52 years before the announcement.
- Utah's state crime lab acquired new technology in 2023 capable of extracting DNA from small, degraded, or mixed samples.
- Investigators linked DNA found on Smith with evidence from another Bundy victim, Laura Aime, whose case was resolved in April.
- Bundy's DNA profile was preserved on file in Florida, where he was convicted and executed in 1989.
- Authorities state that Bundy killed at least 30 women and girls across multiple states during the 1970s.
- Law enforcement officials are continuing to investigate the 1974 death of 16-year-old Nancy Wilcox in connection to Bundy.
- Bundy was previously executed by electric chair in Florida for the 1978 murders of two women at a Florida State University sorority house.
Who's Mentioned
locationWashington state“State where Bundy had victims”OrganizationFlorida State University“Location of the 1978 sorority house murders”locationFlorida“State where Bundy was convicted, executed, and his DNA was on file”PersonNancy Wilcox“16-year-old missing teenager whose 1974 death is under investigation”PersonMelissa Ann Smith“17-year-old victim whose 1974 murder was solved”OrganizationSalt Lake County Sheriff's Office“Law enforcement agency investigating related homicides”locationUtah“State where the victim's body was discovered and investigations occurred”OrganizationChi Omega“Sorority house where murders occurred in Florida”PersonTed Bundy“Serial killer identified through DNA in a cold case”PersonMargaret Olson“Summit County Attorney”PersonLaura Aime“Previous Bundy victim whose case was resolved in Utah County”locationColorado“State where Bundy had victims”PersonMike Reynolds“Utah County Sergeant”locationIdaho“State where Bundy had victims”OrganizationSummit County Sheriff's Office“Law enforcement agency involved in the case”PersonBen Pender“Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office Detective”PersonRosie Rivera“Salt Lake County Sheriff”