Serial killer Ted Bundy linked to teenage girl's murder after 52 years
Authorities in Utah used advanced DNA technology to solve the cold case decades after the notorious killer was executed.
Serial killer Ted Bundy linked to teenage girl's murder after 52 years
Authorities in Utah have used advanced DNA technology to connect notorious serial killer Ted Bundy to the killing of a 17-year-old girl whose body was found by hunters 52 years ago.
Melissa Ann Smith, the daughter of a local police chief, was discovered on 27 October 1974 with signs of rape and torture.
In April, Utah officials identified teenager Laura Ann Aime as another of Bundy's victims. Evidence from that case was later used to help resolve Smith's case.
Before his execution in 1989, Bundy had admitted to killing two other teenage girls in Utah. He has been linked to at least 30 murders across the US.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Utah County Sgt Mike Reynolds said more Bundy cases were still being reviewed in the state. "With every case closure may we stomp the memory of Ted Bundy out," he said.
Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said the case should show other cold case victims "that there is hope out there".
"Every single day forensics is changing and we have the ability to take a look at these cases again and again," she said.
She also commended detectives for keeping evidence from the case for so long, saying it "demonstrates the need to preserve evidence even when decades pass".
In April, the director of the Utah Bureau of Forensic Services told the Salt Lake Tribune there were 444 unsolved death investigations in the state, including 258 homicides.
Bundy is one of America's most notorious serial killers, and began his killing spree by attacking victims across the US Pacific north-west.
He was known to approach women in public places, win their trust with his charm or a fake injury, and then lead them to isolated areas and kill them.
He was first arrested in 1975 for kidnapping a woman and sentenced to 15 years in prison. But in 1977 he escaped by jumping out of a prison library window.
He was recaptured for eight days and then escaped again, continuing to kill until he was finally caught in 1978.