Authorities in Utah announced Tuesday that DNA evidence connects serial killer Ted Bundy to the death of a teenager whose body was found by a hunter more than five decades ago.
The Summit County prosecutor said investigators are satisfied that Bundy killed 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith in 1974. Her death had long been classified as a cold case.
Bundy died in 1989, but the number of his confirmed victims has continued to grow as DNA testing has advanced. He killed at least 30 women and girls across multiple states in the 1970s, and many others escaped or survived with injuries.
Sergeant Mike Reynolds of the Utah County Sheriff's Office, who took part in the investigation, noted similarities between the Smith case and that of Laura Aime. The DNA that pointed to Bundy came from the Y-chromosome, which is found only in men. A highly similar DNA profile was found in evidence taken from Smith's autopsy.
Officials said DNA evidence recovered from another victim matched Smith's body. Utah County officials presented that evidence to the Summit County Sheriff's office on Oct. 7. Authorities have been in touch with Smith's next of kin, none of whom still live in the area.
"This case demonstrates the importance of preserving evidence," said Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera.
Reynolds spoke about what each resolved case means. "With every case closure, may we stomp the memory of Ted Bundy out," he said.
Bundy was executed in the electric chair in Florida in 1989 for the 1978 murders of two women at the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University.
In his final days, Bundy gave a series of confessions, including to some crimes that police had not previously known about. Not all of those cases have been confirmed.
