Serial killer Ted Bundy is linked through DNA to the 1974 murder of a Utah teenager
Ted Bundy killed at least 30 women and girls between 1974 and 1978, including a 17-year-old girl in Utah in 1974. DNA evidence linked him to the murder, with semen from her body matching his profile. Authorities confirmed the death and said investigators were satisfied he was responsible. The case remains a key example of how preserved evidence can identify a killer decades later.
- Ted Bundy killed at least 30 women and girls in multiple states in the 1970s.
- Ted Bundy has been linked to a Utah teenager's death via DNA evidence.
- Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson stated investigators were satisfied Bundy caused Smith's death.
- Authorities said Bundy had victims in Colorado, Idaho, and Washington state.
- Utah's crime lab has new technology since 2023 to examine small DNA traces.
- Melissa Ann Smith disappeared near Salt Lake City in Utah on October 18, 1974.
- Rosie Rivera, Salt Lake County Sheriff, stated the case shows the importance of evidence preservation.
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