4 publishers · first seen Tue, 27 Oct 2026 20:01 UTC · updated Fri, 30 Oct 2026 19:11 UTC
DNA evidence has linked serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, allowing investigators to close the case 52 years after her body was discovered. Smith, the daughter of then-Midvale Police Chief Louis Smith, disappeared on October 18, 1974, and was found dead nine days later in the Summit Park area near Park City. An autopsy revealed she had been sexually assaulted, beaten, and strangled. The breakthrough came through DNA technology acquired by the Utah State Crime Lab in 2023, which enabled a complete genetic profile to be reconstructed from degraded evidence.
Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson said the DNA evidence, combined with pattern, motive, means, and opportunity, confirms Bundy's responsibility. Bundy, who confessed to the crime before his 1989 execution, was already linked to the murder of another Utah teen, Laura Ann Aime. Smith's family has been notified and expressed relief. The case is the second Utah cold case linked to Bundy this year.
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