By Sohaib Shams
DNA evidence has linked serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith in Utah, authorities announced Tuesday. The breakthrough comes months after detectives confirmed Bundy's responsibility for another Utah girl's death that same year.
DNA breakthrough closes cold case
Smith went missing in 1974 before her nude body was discovered days later. The Y-STR DNA profile recovered from her body matched a genetic profile previously obtained from the body of Laura Ann Aime, another 17-year-old Utah girl killed in 1974. That match allowed investigators to close Smith's homicide investigation.
Earlier confirmation in Aime case
In April, Utah county detectives confirmed that Bundy had killed Aime, who was last seen at a Halloween party and found dead in late November 1974. Bodily fluid extracted from Aime's body matched Bundy's known DNA profile, backing confessions he made before his 1989 execution for two other murders.
"This case demonstrates the importance of preserving evidence, even when decades have passed," said Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera. Utah County Sheriff's Sergeant Mike Reynolds added that the voices of the victims "ring louder than the hate and sedition of the one that took their lives."
Between 1974 and 1978, Bundy sexually assaulted and killed at least 30 women across the American West and Florida.
