Summit County deputies close 1974 Smith case, DNA names Bundy
Investigators say the same DNA profile that closed a Utah County cold case in April identified the killer of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith.
By Aiko Nakamura ·
Fifty-two years after hunters found her body in a wooded area, Summit County investigators said Tuesday they have closed the murder case of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith and identified the killer as Ted Bundy. Smith was found on Oct. 27, 1974, in a wooded area bordering Salt Lake and Summit counties.
The case has remained open since that day. Summit County Sheriff Kacey Bates said developments in a Utah County cold case brought the Smith investigation back to the surface and helped resolve the decades-old mystery.
In April, Utah County investigators announced the closure of the Laura Ann Aime cold case, which was tied to Bundy. A Utah County Sheriff's Office detective said at the time that the DNA profile used to link Bundy to Aime's murder had been shared with other departments, with the hope that it could lead to closing more cases. Investigators said the same profile was used to identify Bundy in the Smith murder.
Bundy is confirmed to have killed and assaulted women across Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah and Florida between 1974 and 1978. He confessed to 28 murders. He was executed by electric chair in Florida in 1989.
Source: KIVI-TV · original report published
