Utah Officials Tie Ted Bundy to Another 1970S Killing

WHO:

Fox News - Utah’s Summit County Sheriff’s Office and county attorney were expected to announce information about the homicide and identify its victim.

ABC News - The Summit County sheriff and county attorney were to provide information about the investigation, findings, and decision to close the case.

Fox News - The victim’s identity had not been released; 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith was identified in the article as a possible victim whose 1974 death had long been listed as a cold case.

Fox News - Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith said of the Laura Ann Aime case: “We bring this case to a closure and, more importantly, closure to the Aime family.”

Fox News; ABC News - Ted Bundy was linked by Utah authorities to the 1974 killing of 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime.

WHAT:

Fox News; ABC News - Utah authorities were expected to connect Bundy to another decades-old homicide and explain why the case was being closed.

Fox News; ABC News - Bundy killed at least 30 women and girls across multiple states in the 1970s; ABC News reported that many others escaped or survived with injuries.

Fox News; ABC News - Bundy confessed to multiple killings in his final days, including crimes previously unknown to police; not all cases have been confirmed.

Fox News - Bundy was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering two Florida State University students in 1979; the following year, he received another death sentence for raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl.

WHERE:

ABC News - The news conference was being held in Park City, Utah.

Fox News - Aime’s body was found by hikers near American Fork Canyon.

Fox News; ABC News - Bundy was executed in Florida’s electric chair.

WHEN:

Fox News; ABC News - Smith’s death and Aime’s killing occurred in 1974.

Fox News - Aime disappeared after leaving a Halloween party to buy cigarettes on Oct. 31, 1974; her body was found days later.

Fox News; ABC News - Bundy was executed in 1989.

WHY:

Fox News - Officials said the case was being closed after investigators linked Bundy to the homicide.

HOW:

Fox News - In the Aime investigation, Utah County investigators developed a male DNA profile from bodily fluids on her remains, entered it into CODIS, received a Florida match, and used further analysis to link the DNA to Bundy.

Fox News - Utah County authorities shared the DNA profile with other law-enforcement agencies to help identify additional victims.

(UPDATED October 27, 2026 19:10 UTC)

Utah authorities have linked Ted Bundy to the 1974 killing of 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime and are closing the case, bringing closure to her family. Investigators developed a male DNA profile from evidence on Aime’s remains, received a match through a Florida law-enforcement database, and used further analysis to identify Bundy; her body was found near American Fork Canyon after she disappeared from a Halloween party. Bundy, who was executed in 1989, killed at least 30 women and girls, and Utah authorities have shared the DNA profile with other agencies to help identify possible victims.