DNA ties Ted Bundy to 1974 Utah teen murder
State officials said on Tuesday that DNA testing has linked notorious serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 killing of 17‑year‑old Melissa Ann Smith, who…
State officials said on Tuesday that DNA testing has linked notorious serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 killing of 17‑year‑old Melissa Ann Smith, who vanished in Utah and whose nude body was discovered days later. The announcement came at a news conference where authorities presented the forensic results as the decisive proof in the decades‑old case.
The development follows a finding earlier this year, when Utah county detectives announced in April that Bundy was responsible for the murder of another 17‑year‑old Utah girl, Laura Ann Aime, also in 1974. Both investigations have been revisited with modern DNA techniques after the original inquiries stalled.
According to The Guardian, the new evidence closes a long‑standing gap in the record of Bundy's crimes and adds another victim to the list of murders tied to him through scientific analysis.
Why it matters
The identification resolves a cold case from 1974 and demonstrates how DNA testing can link historic crimes to known perpetrators.
Key details
- Location
- United Kingdom · Europe
- Reported by
- The Guardian
- First reported
- Key names
- Utah, Ted Bundy, DNA, Bundy
- Section
- Science
- Figure cited
- The breakthrough in the investigation of Melissa Ann Smith’s death comes months after Utah county detectives confirmed in April that Bundy had killed another Utah girl, 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime, in 1974. (The Guardian)
Sources
This is an independent summary. Read the full, original reporting from the publisher:
Read the full story at The GuardianSpotted an error? Request a correction · How this summary was produced
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