Salt Lake City, Utah: DNA Links Ted Bundy to the 1974 Murder of Melissa Ann Smith, 17, Closing a 52 Year Old Case

Utah officials said on Tuesday that DNA evidence has closed a murder case that stayed unsolved for 52 years. Serial killer Ted Bundy was responsible for the 1974 killing of 17 year old Melissa Ann Smith, Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson said at a news conference, on the exact anniversary of the day hunters found Smith's body in the woods.

Bundy was executed in Florida in 1989. He killed at least 30 women and girls in several states during the 1970s, and the count of his confirmed victims is still growing as crime labs test evidence that departments kept for decades.

A DNA profile shared by two victims

The Utah State Crime Lab concluded on July 14 that the DNA profile recovered from the body of Laura Ann Aime, another 17 year old Bundy victim, matched the profile recovered from Smith's body. Aime's case was closed in April in Utah County, where officials used DNA to link Bundy to her 1974 murder. Investigators presented the Smith findings, with other evidence and reports, to the Summit County Attorney's office on October 7.

"This DNA evidence, when considered alongside evidence related to pattern, motive, means, and opportunity, establishes that Ted Bundy was responsible for Melissa Ann Smith's murder," Olson said. She said Bundy can no longer face prosecution, but advances in forensic science and the work of investigators had provided answers in a case unsolved for more than 50 years.

Utah County Sergeant Mike Reynolds said a highly similar DNA profile linked to Bundy was found in evidence taken during Smith's autopsy. "With every case closure, may we stomp the memory of Ted Bundy out," Reynolds said.

Old reports and kept evidence made the match possible

Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said the case shows why departments must keep evidence, even for decades. When a Summit County detective contacted her agency in June 2025, a Salt Lake County detective found original investigative reports and evidence that helped connect the two cases. "It's super important for law enforcement to do their due diligence to solve a case," Rivera said. "We owe that to the families of these cold cases."

Smith was reported missing on October 18, 1974. Hunters found her body nine days later, on October 27, 1974, near the border of Summit County and Salt Lake County. She had long been suspected of being one of Bundy's victims, but investigators had never confirmed the link until now. Officials said they have contacted Smith's next of kin, none of whom still live in the area.

One more Utah case remains open

Bundy confessed to about 30 murders in his final days, including crimes that police had not known about, but he gave few details and not all of those claims have been confirmed. He was convicted of three murders and executed by electric chair in Florida in 1989 for killings that included the 1978 attack at the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University.

Utah officials said their work is not finished. Salt Lake County Detective Ben Pender said investigators also believe Bundy may be responsible for the killing of Nancy Wilcox, a 16 year old who disappeared in October 1974. That case is still under investigation.