DNA Ties Ted Bundy to 1974 Melissa Ann Smith Murder, Closing 52-Year Cold Case

Q: If Bundy was long suspected in Melissa Ann Smith’s murder, what new forensic breakthrough made authorities confident enough to close the case now?

Authorities gained confidence to close Melissa Ann Smith’s case after new DNA testing produced a usable male-line Y-STR profile from preserved evidence collected during her autopsy and matched it to DNA already tied to Ted Bundy in the 1974 Laura Ann Aime murder. The breakthrough depended on the earlier forensic success in Aime’s case, where advanced DNA analysis of decades-old biological evidence linked Bundy directly to that killing. Investigators then compared the Bundy-linked Y-STR profile from Aime’s case with the Y-STR profile recovered from Smith’s evidence and found them consistent. Officials said newer genotyping methods introduced by the Utah State Crime Lab in recent years made it possible to extract and analyze degraded evidence that older techniques could not fully use. Because Y-STR profiles can also be shared by male relatives, investigators did not rely on DNA alone. They said the genetic match, combined with Bundy’s established pattern, motive, means and opportunity, gave them enough evidence to formally identify him as Smith’s killer and close the cold case.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Oct 29

Salt Lake County investigators formally closed Melissa Ann Smith’s 1974 murder Tuesday after DNA evidence linked Ted Bundy to the 17-year-old’s killing 52 years after her body was found.
A breakthrough came when DNA developed in the 1974 murder of another Utah teen, Laura Ann Aime, matched Bundy and was then compared with evidence preserved from Smith’s case for more than five decades.
Detective Ben Pender said the match, combined with Bundy’s pattern, motive, means and opportunity, gave authorities the proof they had long lacked despite decades of suspicion.
Pender said investigators will keep the Bundy-linked evidence for other possible cases, including missing teen Nancy Wilcox, because some unsolved killings may still yield answers as forensic technology improves.
Bundy confessed to 28 murders before his 1989 execution, but investigators believe his true victim count may be far higher and say each case still requires independent proof.