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.
In short
- DNA links Bundy to Melissa Ann Smith’s 1974 murder.
- The case remained unsolved for 52 years.
- Investigators will preserve evidence for possible links to other cases.
Explained simply
Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who murdered young women in several states during the 1970s. He was convicted of multiple killings and executed in 1989, but investigators have continued to examine unsolved cases for possible links to him.
Melissa Ann Smith was 17 when she was found dead in wooded land near Midvale, Utah, in 1974. Her father was the town’s police chief. At the time, investigators considered Bundy a possible suspect, but the evidence then available did not establish that he was involved.
DNA testing can compare biological material preserved from a crime scene with a profile from another case. Such comparisons may help investigators assess whether cases are connected, including when evidence has been kept for many years.