Murder Victim Linked To Infamous Serial Killer 50 Years Later

DNA evidence has linked serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of a Utah police chief’s teenage daughter, allowing investigators to close the case 52 years after her body was discovered.

Melissa Ann Smith was 17 years old when she disappeared on October 18, 1974, after meeting with a friend at a local pizza restaurant. Smith, the daughter of then-Midvale Police Chief Louis Smith, was found dead by a hunter nine days later in the Summit Park area near Park City. An autopsy revealed she had been sexually assaulted, beaten, and strangled.

Summit County officials made the announcement at a Tuesday news conference in Park City — on the 52nd anniversary of when Smith’s body was discovered — marking the second Utah cold case investigators have closed this year after linking it to Bundy.

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The breakthrough followed the identification of Bundy as the killer of another Utah teen, 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime, earlier this year. It relied on DNA technology the Utah State Crime Lab acquired in 2023, allowing investigators to “reconstruct a complete genetic profile,” according to the Cowboy State Daily.

Utah’s crime lab began using new DNA technology in 2023 that allows investigators to build full genetic profiles from degraded or mixed samples.

“This DNA evidence, when considered alongside evidence related to pattern, motive, means, and opportunity, establishes that Ted Bundy was responsible for Melissa Ann Smith’s murder,” Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson said.

Summit County Sheriff Kacey Bates said there was speculation that Bundy — who confessed to killing Smith before he was executed — was responsible for her death, but the case had never been officially closed.

“Although Ted Bundy is no longer alive to face prosecution, advances in forensic science and the continued dedication of law enforcement professionals have helped provide answers in a case that has remained unsolved for over 50 years,” she said. “Most importantly, we remember Melissa Ann Smith and the somber significance of finally bringing this investigation to a close.”

Smith’s family was notified and expressed their relief, but did not attend the news conference.

Bundy was convicted of three murders in Florida and executed in January 1989.