Serial killer Ted Bundy has been linked to the murder of a 17-year-old girl whose body was found by a hunter in Utah 52 years ago, following a major DNA breakthrough. Melissa Ann Smith, the daughter of a local police chief, disappeared in October 1974 after visiting a pizza parlour and a restaurant. Her body was discovered in a wooded area of Summit County, Utah, on October 27, nine days after she was last seen.
Decades-Long Investigation Closed
The killing remained unsolved for more than five decades, despite investigators considering a possible link to Bundy as early as 1976. Now, advances in forensic technology have enabled authorities to close the case and confirm the notorious serial killer was responsible. Investigators made the breakthrough after DNA evidence linked Bundy to another Utah teenager, Laura Ann Aime, whose murder was confirmed as one of his crimes in April this year.
Evidence recovered from Smith and Aime was compared, with investigators then matching the DNA profile to Bundy's DNA held in Florida, where he was convicted and ultimately executed. Utah's state crime laboratory introduced new technology in 2023 capable of extracting DNA from samples that are extremely small, degraded or contain genetic material from multiple people.
Findings Announced on Anniversary
The findings were announced at a press conference on Tuesday, exactly 52 years after Smith's body was discovered. Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson said investigators were satisfied Bundy was responsible for the teenager's death. Alongside the DNA evidence, the circumstances of the killing were consistent with Bundy's pattern, motive, means and opportunity, she said.
Smith's relatives were informed of the findings but declined to attend the press conference or speak to reporters, according to the Summit County Sheriff's Office. Both her parents are now dead. Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera praised investigators for preserving evidence for decades, allowing modern forensic methods to be used. She said: “This case demonstrates the importance of preserving evidence.”
Bundy's Criminal History and Ongoing Work
Utah County Sergeant Mike Reynolds, who has been involved in investigations into Bundy's crimes, said: “With every case closure, may we stomp the memory of Ted Bundy out.” Bundy was executed by electric chair in Florida in 1989 after being convicted of three murders. He is linked to at least 30 killings of women and girls across several US states during the 1970s. He targeted victims in states including Washington, Utah, Colorado, Idaho and Florida. Many of his victims were young women, and some survivors escaped or were left with injuries. His crimes continued after he escaped custody twice in 1977, before he was finally arrested in Florida in 1978.
But investigators have stressed that the latest breakthrough does not mean their work is finished. Authorities are continuing to examine other cases that may be connected to Bundy, including the disappearance and death of 16-year-old Nancy Wilcox in Utah in 1974. Detectives have said there are indications that Bundy may have been responsible for Wilcox's disappearance, but the case has not been conclusively solved. The latest DNA breakthrough offers fresh evidence of how forensic advances can help investigators resolve historic murder cases decades after the crimes were committed.
