A new victim of Ted Bundy identified after 52 years

Investigators in Utah have attributed the killing of Melissa Ann Smith, a 17-year-old girl whose body was found in 1974, to serial killer Ted Bundy. The case was solved more than five decades later following new DNA analyses of evidence preserved from the autopsy.

Evidence collected from the teenager’s case was compared with evidence from the case of Laura Aime, another Bundy victim, which was solved in April in Utah County. According to investigators, the genetic profile identified in Melissa Smith’s evidence is highly similar to the one associated with the killer.

Prosecutor Margaret Olson said authorities consider the case solved. In addition to the DNA evidence, the circumstances of the crime match Bundy’s criminal pattern, including its motivation, means and opportunity.

Ted Bundy was executed in Florida in 1989 after being convicted of killing two female college students. He admitted involvement in dozens of murders, but not all of his confessions were confirmed. Investigators continue to review old cases, including the disappearance of Nancy Wilcox, a Utah teenager considered a possible victim of Bundy.