Authorities closed the 1974 murder case of Melissa Ann Smith, 17. DNA links Ted Bundy to her killing.
Utah authorities announced Tuesday that DNA evidence links serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, closing a cold case more than 50 years old.
The announcement came at a news conference in Park City, 52 years to the day after a hunter found Smith’s body in American Fork Canyon in Summit County. Summit County Sheriff Kacey Bates said that although there was much speculation about a suspect at the time, no suspect was ever named and the case was never officially closed. Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson said DNA, considered alongside evidence of pattern, motive, means and opportunity, established that Bundy was responsible.
The breakthrough stemmed from another Utah cold case. In April, investigators linked Bundy to the killing of Laura Ann Aime, 17, in Utah County in November 1974. The Utah State Crime Lab developed a DNA profile from evidence in the Aime case and matched it to Bundy’s known profile. A highly similar profile was found in evidence from Smith’s autopsy, officials said. Investigators compared DNA collected in Utah with Bundy’s complete profile, which is held in Florida. Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said the case shows the importance of preserving evidence.
Bundy, who was living in Salt Lake City and studying law at the University of Utah in 1974, was arrested in Utah in 1975 and executed in Florida in 1989. He is linked to more than 30 murders in Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Idaho and Florida. Investigators said the Smith case does not close the book on Bundy. They are still working on the case of Nancy Wilcox, a 16-year-old from Salt Lake County who disappeared in October 1974 and is believed to be Bundy’s first Utah victim.
Information for this report was provided by The Salt Lake Tribune, KSL, FOX 13, ABC7, Newsweek and The Associated Press.