52 years later, DNA evidence links serial killer Ted Bundy to 1974 murder of 17-year-old

Authorities in Utah have used advanced DNA technology to link notorious serial killer Ted Bundy to the murder of Melissa Ann Smith, a 17-year-old girl whose body was discovered by hunters 52 years ago. Smith, the daughter of a local police chief, was found on 27 October 1974 with signs of rape and torture. In April, Utah officials identified teenager Laura Ann Aime as another victim of Bundy. Evidence collected during that investigation was later used to help solve Smith's murder.

Before his execution in 1989, Bundy had confessed to killing two other teenage girls in Utah. He has been linked to at least 30 murders across the United States. At a press conference on Tuesday, Utah County Sergeant Mike Reynolds said authorities were still examining additional Bundy cases in the state. "With every case closure may we stomp the memory of Ted Bundy out," he said.

Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said the case should offer hope to other victims of unsolved crimes. "That there is hope out there", she said, describing what the case should represent to other cold case victims. "Every single day forensics is changing and we have the ability to take a look at these cases again and again," she said.

Rivera also praised detectives for preserving evidence from Smith's case over the decades, saying it demonstrates the need to preserve evidence even when decades pass. In April, the director of the Utah Bureau of Forensic Services told the Salt Lake Tribune that the state had 444 unsolved death investigations, including 258 homicides.

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Ted Bundy's history of murders and escapes

Bundy remains one of America's most infamous serial killers. He started his killing spree by attacking victims across the Pacific Northwest of the United States. He often approached women in public places and used his charm or a fabricated injury to gain their trust before luring them to secluded locations and killing them.

Bundy was first arrested in 1975 for kidnapping a woman and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. However, in 1977, he escaped by jumping out of a prison library window. After being recaptured, he escaped again eight days later and continued killing until he was finally apprehended in 1978. Bundy was executed in 1989.