Melissa Smith. Credit: Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification
Fifty-two years after the body of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith was discovered by hunters in Utah, DNA evidence has now confirmed she was a victim of prolific serial killer Ted Bundy.
This is the second time this year that investigators have tied Bundy to a murdered Utah teenager—the other being Lisa Ann Aime, who was also murdered in 1974 at 17 years old, just days after Smith.
In fact, police and forensic scientists used insights and evidence from Aime’s now-closed case to make the breakthrough on Smith’s case.
Melissa Ann Smith
Back in April 2026, the Utah State Crime Lab isolated STR and Y-STR DNA profiles from a biological sample recovered from Aime’s body. The STR DNA profile was a direct match to Bundy’s known DNA profile on file in Florida.
A month later, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office contacted the Summit County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) to discuss how Aime’s case could be related to a very similar cold case—Smith’s.
The Utah County Sheriff’s Office asked for records from 50 years ago, and the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office was able to find all original investigative reports and physical evidence to provide to SCSO.
Then, on July 14, 2026, the Utah State Crime Lab confirmed that the Y-STR profile recovered from Amie matched the Y-STR profile recovered from Smith’s body.
“This DNA evidence, considered alongside evidence related to pattern, motive, means and opportunity establishes that Ted Bundy was responsible for Melissa Ann Smith’s murder,” said Summit County attorney Margaret Olsen.
It has been assumed for many years that Bundy was responsible for the murder of Smith, but the case couldn't officially close until substantial evidence was confirmed.
“No one is just going to walk away and blame everything on Ted Bundy, even though many cases have been that way. But here, in the state of Utah, we take it very seriously,” said Salt Lake County sheriff Rosie Rivera. “We're going to do everything we possibly can to find the truth. We owe that to the families of these cold cases.”
Laura Ann Aime
Aime, also 17 at the time of her murder, went missing on Halloween night 1974—13 days after Smith. About a month later, her body was found by hikers on the side of a highway in American Fork Canyon. Aime was bound, beaten and without clothing. Police said the evidence indicated that she had likely been kept alive for several days after her abduction.
Investigators long suspected that Bundy was responsible for both murders—police said he verbally acknowledged his culpability in both leading up to his execution in Florida in 1989—but the case remained open until evidence could confirm that fact.
In April 2026, that’s exactly what happened. Forensic scientists were able to deduce a Y-STR profile from a biological sample recovered from Aime’s body that pointed directly to Bundy. They then matched that same Y-STR profile to the Y-STR profile recovered from Smith’s body, confirming Bundy as the culprit in both murders.
“In homicide cases, we retain the evidence forever,” said Salt Lake County sheriff's detective Ben Pender. “We don’t ever destroy that evidence for this very reason. For cases like this, where we may say, we think it’s a Ted Bundy case. Even in cases we have solved, we maintain that evidence if something comes up down the road.”
Nancy Wilcox
Sixteen days before Smith was abducted and murdered, 16-year-old Nancy Wilcox also disappeared from a small suburb in Utah. Bundy confessed to killing Wilcox in October 1974, but—as with Smith and Aime—police are working on backing that up with evidence, especially since Wilcox’s body has never been found.
“This does not close to book on Ted Bundy,” said Pender. “Even though the information kind of leads to Ted Bundy, we're not certain on Nancy Wilcox either. We'll continue to work that case to see if we can get those results, as well.”
Bundy confessed to 30 murders across Utah, Washington, Florida, Oregon and Idaho, although police suspect there are more.
“Every single day forensic science is changing, and we have the ability to take a look at these cases again and again,” said Rivera. “We are all committed to continuing to do that.”
Bundy was executed in the electric chair at Florida State Prison on Jan. 24, 1989, at age 42.