New DNA Evidence Links Bundy To Teen’s Murder

Scientist analyzing DNA model on computer in laboratory — Photo: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock

Utah officials closed a 52-year-old homicide after DNA from Melissa Ann Smith’s autopsy linked her 1974 killing to serial murderer Ted Bundy, confirming what families feared for decades.

Story Snapshot

Utah authorities say new DNA ties Bundy to Melissa Ann Smith’s 1974 murder.
A Y-chromosome profile from Smith matched one from victim Laura Aime’s remains.
Investigators had already linked Aime’s profile to Bundy’s known DNA in Florida records.
Prosecutors say the DNA plus pattern and opportunity support case closure.

What Investigators Announced and Why It Matters Now

Summit County officials said on October 27, 2026, that modern testing connected Ted Bundy to the 1974 killing of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, and they are closing the case. The Utah State Crime Lab reported a Y-chromosome DNA profile from Smith’s autopsy evidence that matched a Y-profile found on victim Laura Aime, another Utah teen murdered in 1974. Prosecutors said that profile match, plus case patterns and Bundy’s known movements, supports the official finding.

Authorities said Utah investigators had already tied the Laura Aime DNA profile to Bundy using his known reference profile kept in Florida, where he was convicted before his 1989 execution. That bridge allowed detectives to link Smith’s killing once the Y-profile match between the two Utah victims was confirmed. Officials emphasized the result came from preserved biological material collected during Smith’s autopsy, not only from behavioral comparisons or past assumptions.

How Y-Chromosome DNA Helped Unlock a Cold Case

The Utah State Crime Lab used Y-chromosome short tandem repeat testing. This method targets male DNA and can help separate a male profile even when mixed with female DNA. Because the Y chromosome passes from father to son, a Y-profile points to a paternal line rather than one single man, which is a known limit of the method. Even with that limit, investigators treat it as powerful when combined with other evidence from the time and place of the crime.

Prosecutors said the total record—pattern, motive, means, and opportunity—aligned with Bundy’s known crimes in Utah during 1974, when several young women vanished or were found murdered. Officials described the DNA finding as the key that let them connect preserved autopsy evidence to an established Bundy-linked profile from the Aime case. Families in Summit County have waited more than five decades for a clear answer, and this announcement delivers one backed by lab work and case history.

Families, Public Trust, and What This Says About Institutions

Cold-case breakthroughs show why careful evidence storage and modern testing matter. When police log, protect, and later retest items with new tools, old crimes can be solved and families can get answers. This case also shows a basic boundary of Y-chromosome testing: male relatives on the same paternal line can share the same profile, so investigators rely on the full case file to focus on one person. Officials said that broader file points to Bundy here.

Utah authorities announced today that DNA links Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith — the Midvale police chief's daughter. It's the 2nd Bundy cold case Utah has closed in 2026. 🧵 https://t.co/lbxO9AoS7p

— Red True crime (@redtruecrime) October 28, 2026

Many Americans feel that big institutions miss the mark and act too slowly. This closure pushes the other way. Local officers, a state crime lab, and county prosecutors worked across decades to keep evidence safe, use new science, and report a clear result. In a time when Washington fights crowd the headlines, this win came from steady work on the ground. It does not fix the system, but it shows public service can still deliver when it stays focused.