DNA links Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of a Utah girl, 17, nearly 40 years after his execution
Ted Bundy, whose confirmed victim count has risen to 32 after DNA evidence linked him to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith in Utah.
DNA analysis has confirmed Ted Bundy as the killer of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, murdered in Utah in 1974, closing one of the state's longest-running cold cases more than 52 years after a hunter discovered her body in woodland outside Salt Lake City. Summit County Sheriff Casey Bates revealed the development at a Tuesday news conference, adding that the same forensic technology — which can disentangle mixed DNA samples — had already tied Bundy to a second Utah killing from 1974, six months prior.
Bundy's verified victim total has risen to 32, exceeding the 30 murders he admitted to before his execution in 1989.
Prior to his death, Bundy told detectives he did not recognise Smith's name and denied any involvement in her killing — a claim the DNA evidence has now directly refuted.
Utah investigators say they are continuing efforts to link Bundy to the 1974 death of Nancy Wilcox, which could push his final tally even higher.
