Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy linked to death of another teenager in 1974 due to DNA evidence

Ted Bundy has officially been connected to yet another teenage girl's murder from the 1970s.Authorities in Utah had long believed the prolific serial killer may be responsible for the murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, but the death remained a cold case ever since her body was first discovered in the woods on October 27, 1974.The breakthrough in the case finally came when investigators connected DNA found on Smith and Laura Aime, another Bundy victim whose case was resolved last April in Utah County.In that case, police used a new genotyping technology that allows investigators to build a full DNA profile from degraded or mixed samples that older methods couldn't fully analyze in order to compare DNA collected from Aime with Bundy's complete DNA profile in Florida, where he was ultimately executed by electric chair.Then, on July 14, police compared the DNA with evidence collected from Smith's body and found a match. Besides that evidence, Smith's death showed hallmarks of Bundy's 'pattern, motive, means and opportunity,' Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson said at a news conference on Tuesday, exactly 52 years after Smith's body was found.'Although Ted Bundy is no longer alive to face prosecution, advances in forensic science and continued dedication of law enforcement professionals have helped provide answers in a case that has remained unsolved for over 50 years,' Olson said.'Most importantly, we remember Melissa Ann Smith and the somber significance of finally bringing this investigation to a close.' Authorities in Utah have determined that prolific serial killer Ted Bundy killed 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith (pictured) in October 1974 The breakthrough in the case came when investigators were able to match DNA collected from Smith's body to Bundy's complete DNA profile in FloridaSmith, the daughter of former Midvale Police Chief Louis S Smith, was first reported missing on October 18, 1974 after she failed to return home.She had left a friend at a pizza parlor in Midvale that night and was seen at a nearby restaurant a short time later, The Salt Lake Tribune reports. It now remains unclear what may have happened to the teenager after she was spotted at the restaurant, but her body was found nine days later in the woods by a deer hunter.One year later, investigators said they were seeking a possible link between Smith's death and Bundy, who at the time was serving one to 15 years in Utah State Prison for kidnapping another 17-year-old girl on November 8, 1974.He had also been served a warrant for murder in the death of Caryn Campbell, a Michigan nurse who was killed while vacationing in Aspen, Colorado.But the serial killer was ultimately only convicted of killing two sorority sisters at Florida State University and a 12-year-old girl in Florida, and was sentenced to be executed via electric chair.In the days before his execution, one Salt Lake County homicide detective interviewed Bundy in hopes of solving the murders of Smith and Aime, as well as the disappearances and possible homicides of Nancy Wilcox, Debby Kent and Nancy Baird, according to ABC 4. Authorities in Utah announced the breakthrough on Tuesday, exactly 52 years after Smith was found dead in the woodsHe then confessed to killing Kent and Wilcox and denied killing Baird. When it came to Aime and Smith, though, he had a hard time 'placing the names' and could not provide a recollection of encountering either of them. In total, Bundy admitted to killing at least 30 young women across Florida, Utah, Colorado, Idaho and Washington state, including to some crimes that were previously unknown to police. Not all of those cases have been confirmed and not all of the alleged victims' bodies have been found.Meanwhile, Chief Smith resigned from the Midvale Police Department in 1980 and died in 1985. Smith's mother, Joan, died in 2024 and her sister, Jolene, died in 2014.But Smith's remaining relatives were contacted about the findings, the Summit County sheriff's office said. 'This case demonstrates the importance of preserving evidence,' said Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera, whose department has also investigated homicides linked to Bundy.'We have to solve these cases to the best of our ability,' she said, explaining the importance of tapping science, even so many years later. 'Nobody is just going to walk away and just blame everything on Ted Bundy, even though many cases have been that way. Here in the state of Utah, we take it very seriously.' The serial killer was ultimately only convicted of killing two sorority sisters at Florida State University and a 12-year-old girl in Florida, and was sentenced to be executed via electric chair He admitted in the days leading up to his execution to killing at least 30 young womenAuthorities in Utah said they are now working to confirm whether Bundy was responsible for 16-year-old Nancy Wilcox's death. She is believed to be his first victim in the Beehive State.He is also believed to be responsible for the murders of Susan Curtis, a 15-year-old who disappeared in 1975 while attending a youth conference at Brigham Young University, and Deborah Smith, whose body was found near Salt Lake City International Airport in 1976.Solving the Smith homicide 'does not close the book on Ted Bundy,' said Det. Ben Pender of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.