Utah Detectives Close 52-Year-Old Homicide With DNA Match to Ted Bundy

The 1974 murder of a Utah police chief's teenage daughter was formally closed this week after a DNA match identified Ted Bundy as the killer.

Authorities confirmed the identification on Tuesday, exactly 52 years after hunters found Melissa Ann Smith's body in a wooded area near the Summit and Salt Lake county border. Smith, who was 17 at the time, was the daughter of Midvale Police Chief Louis Smith. For five decades, investigators suspected Bundy but lacked the physical evidence required to prove his involvement.

The breakthrough occurred in July following a separate match in the 1974 case of Laura Ann Aime. Aime, also 17, disappeared after a Halloween party and was found near American Fork Canyon. Her body showed signs of rape and strangulation. Because her case produced a DNA profile that matched Bundy, Utah County investigators requested access to preserved evidence from the Smith case.

Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office Detective Ben Pender led the review. His unit had maintained items collected during Smith's postmortem examination since 1974. Working with the Utah Bureau of Forensic Services, the team compared the genetic material from both cases. The profiles matched. Combined with Bundy's known pattern, motive, and opportunity, the evidence was sufficient for a formal closure.

Pender, a 35-year veteran, stated that the match suggests other victims may exist. "There may be more victims out there that we're not even aware of, and I think there's always been that speculation," he said. The detective's current caseload includes 34 unsolved homicides and 14 adult missing person cases involving suspected foul play. He noted that Nancy Wilcox, who remains missing, is one case potentially linked to Bundy because the killer confessed to her death, though her body has not been located.

Pender emphasized the importance of preserving evidence indefinitely. "We, in all homicide cases, we maintain that evidence forever," he said. He cautioned that older cases face challenges, including degraded material or mixed genetic samples from multiple sources. The successful identification required cooperation among Summit, Salt Lake, and Utah counties, as well as the state crime lab.

Bundy was executed in Florida in 1989 after serving death sentences for multiple murders. He confessed to dozens of killings before his death, though investigators have confirmed at least 30 victims. Pender said the Smith identification does not end the search for other Bundy-related crimes. "It's about the victim, the family, the community, it's about resolving the case," he said.