DNA Links Serial Killer Bundy to Another Utah Teenager’s 1974 Death
DNA resolves Smith case
Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson said investigators were satisfied Bundy killed Smith in 1974. Her death had long been treated as a cold case. Officials have contacted Smith’s next of kin, none of whom still live in the area.
A broader pattern of killings
Investigators do not know when Bundy began his attacks. His killings took place in settings including sorority houses and parks, and his arrest drew widespread attention.
DNA evidence and cold cases
A vial of Bundy’s blood, drawn in 1978 when he was arrested in the death of a 12-year-old girl, was found in Florida in 2011. The full DNA profile was added to the FBI’s national database.
The profile gave investigators a way to test potential cases linked to Bundy. The DNA comparison in Smith’s case ultimately connected her death to Aime’s, allowing investigators to close the cold case.
Key points
- DNA evidence linked Bundy to Melissa Ann Smith’s 1974 killing in Utah.
- Smith was 17, and her case had remained unsolved for more than 50 years.
- Investigators connected Smith’s DNA evidence with that of Laura Aime, another Bundy victim.
- Bundy’s full DNA profile entered the FBI’s national database after his blood vial was found in 2011.