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DNA Links Serial Killer Ted Bundy To 1974 Utah Murder

Published 5h ago · Latest report 32m ago · Investigation

Affects United States · Covered in 4 countries

AI summary43s readNegative

Advanced DNA testing links executed serial killer Ted Bundy to a 1974 Utah teenager murder.

Utah authorities have linked deceased serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith using advanced DNA testing. The breakthrough was announced exactly 52 years after her body was discovered in a wooded area. Investigators continue to expand the tally of victims attributed to Bundy, who was executed in 1989.

The victimMelissa Ann Smith went missing before her body was found by a hunter in 1974.
The investigationSummit County and Salt Lake County detectives led the cold case review.
The killerBundy confessed to or was linked to numerous murders across several states during the 1970s.

What's new · 25m agoOfficials officially identified Melissa Ann Smith as a victim of Ted Bundy following recent DNA analysis.

Why it matters

Cold case investigations increasingly rely on modern DNA profiling to resolve decades-old homicides and provide closure to grieving families. The identification of historical victims illustrates how forensic technology continues to shed light on notorious serial offenders long after their deaths.

By the numbers3

52 yrsyears since victim discovery

17victim age

30confirmed female victims

How outlets cover it

What outlets agree on

Authorities in Utah used DNA evidence to connect deceased serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, 52 years after her body was found.

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