Ted Bundy could have more undiscovered victims after DNA links him to murder of chief’s daughter: detective

DNA evidence has linked Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of Melissa Ann Smith, solving a case that had remained unresolved for 52 years. The detective who helped establish the link says Bundy may have had other victims whose identities are still unknown, and investigators plan to retain the evidence for possible use in related cases.

Smith was 17 and the daughter of Midvale’s police chief when hunters found her body in a wooded area on 27 October 1974. Investigators had suspected Bundy but could not prove his involvement until a DNA profile developed in the separate 1974 killing of 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime provided a basis for comparison with evidence preserved from Smith’s case. Salt Lake County Detective Ben Pender said the DNA, combined with other case evidence, helped establish the connection.