Serial killer Ted Bundy linked through DNA to 1974 murder of Utah girl

Read the original at The Guardian ↗
Cite

Ede-Osifo, U. (2026, October 27). Serial killer Ted Bundy linked through DNA to 1974 murder of Utah girl. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/27/ted-bundy-utah-murder

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-10-27 · by Uwa Ede-Osifo

Quick Summary

State authorities announced at a news conference that serial killer Ted Bundy was linked through DNA evidence to the 1974 murder of Melissa Ann Smith, a 17-year-old girl from Utah who had gone missing and whose body was found nude shortly after. This revelation follows another case in April where Bundy was confirmed to have killed Laura Ann Aime, also 17, based on his confession before execution and subsequent DNA testing that matched bodily fluids at the scene with known samples of Bundy's DNA. The breakthrough highlights the importance of preserving evidence over long periods for future analysis.
Written by AI on 2026-10-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On October 27, 2026, Utah law enforcement officials linked serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of Melissa Ann Smith, a 17-year-old girl whose body was discovered nude on October 27, 1974. The breakthrough came after DNA evidence from another Bundy victim, Laura Aime, was matched with Bundy's profile, allowing investigators to connect DNA found at both crime scenes. This development closes the cold case of Melissa Smith, who had been reported missing on October 18, 1974, in Midvale, Utah.

Summit County and Salt Lake County officials initially led the investigation, but they recently collaborated with neighboring Utah County, which had solved another Bundy-related murder earlier that year. The new DNA profiling technology enabled investigators to build full profiles from degraded samples, confirming Bundy's involvement despite decades-old evidence.

Cold-case detective Ben Pender of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office suggested that there might be additional unidentified victims of Bundy based on this successful use of preserved evidence.

Written for “Ted Bundy Linked to More Murders Through DNA” on 2026-10-29, grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Ted Bundy Linked to More Murders Through DNA
Crime & Law · 6 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 8% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Utah officials tie Ted Bundy to 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Smith Same event
Washington Examiner
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 70/100
Ted Bundy could have more undiscovered victims after DNA links him to murder of chief's daughter: detective Different event
Fox News
Hedges 8 of 50 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles describe different aspects of a larger case - one specifically about the DNA confirmation linking Ted Bundy to Melissa Ann Smith's murder and its announcement, while the other discusses the broader implications and earlier breakthrough involving Laura Ann Aime.”
What to know about serial killer Ted Bundy and his rampage of violence Different event
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 50 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A reports on the specific announcement linking Ted Bundy to Melissa Ann Smith's murder through DNA evidence, while Article B provides a broader overview of Bundy's crimes and mentions the identification but does not focus on the same specific news event or conference.”
Serial killer Ted Bundy linked to 1974 murder of Utah teenager Different event
NBC News
Outlet record 60/100
“Article A specifically discusses the DNA link to Melissa Ann Smith's murder, while Article B does not mention this case and likely refers to Laura Ann Aime.”
Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy linked to death of another teenager in 1974 due to DNA evidence Different event
Daily Mail
Hedges 4 of 26 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles discuss Ted Bundy being linked through DNA evidence to Melissa Ann Smith's murder in 1974, Article A emphasizes a press conference announcement and connects it with an earlier case of Laura Aime. Article B focuses more on the breakthrough and how the new DNA technology was used.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
12
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
8%
1 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
6
Crime & Law
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 1790 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Uwa Ede-Osifo
33 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “With every case closure may we stomp the memory of Ted Bundy out.”
2026-10-27 · assertive framing · Serial killer Ted Bundy linked through DNA to 1974 murder of Utah girl
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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 33 articles by Uwa Ede-Osifo →

Topics

American Florida Salt Lake Utah

Subjects

Bundy PERSON · 5× Laura PERSON · 4× Utah GPE · 4× Laura Ann Aime PERSON · 2× Melissa Ann Smith PERSON · 2× Ted Bundy PERSON · 2× Melissa PERSON · 1× Rosie Rivera PERSON · 1× Salt Lake GPE · 1× Smith PERSON · 1×

Narrative

The notorious serial killer Ted Bundy has been found responsible, through DNA evidence, for the murder of Melissa Ann Smith, a 17-year-old Utah girl who went missing in 1974 before her nude body was found days later, state authorities announced at a Tuesday news conference.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-29
🔮 “With every case closure may we stomp the memory of Ted Bundy out.”
2026-10-29 · The Guardian
Serial killer Ted Bundy linked through DNA to 1974 murder of Utah girl · assertive framing

Claims (12 extracted, 1 hedged)

The notorious serial killer Ted Bundy has been found responsible, through DNA evidence, for the murder of Melissa Ann Smith, a 17-year-old Utah girl who went missing in 1974 before her nude body was found days later, state authorities announced at a Tuesday news conference. asserted
authorities → find → conference
The breakthrough comes months after Utah county detectives confirmed in April that Bundy killed another Utah girl, 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime, in 1974. asserted
Bundy → come → 1974
Bundy had confessed to killing Laura during a string of admissions he made before being executed in 1989 for two of his murders. asserted
he → confess → murders
Laura was last seen during a Halloween party, before being found dead and severely beaten in late November 1974. asserted
Laura → see → November
It was not until this year, though, that new DNA testing backed Bundy’s account. asserted
testing → back → account
Bodily fluid extracted from Laura’s body was a match to Bundy’s known DNA profile, law enforcement officials said then. asserted
officials → extract → profile
That discovery put into motion the closure of Smith’s homicide investigation. asserted
discovery → put → investigation
The Y-STR DNA profile recovered from Laura’s body was a genetic match to one found from Melissa’s body. “This case demonstrates the importance of preserving evidence, even when decades have passed,” said the Salt Lake county sheriff, Rosie Rivera, on Tuesday. asserted
sheriff → recover → Tuesday
“We have the ability to take a look at these cases again and again.” asserted
We → have → cases
Between 1974 and 1978, Bundy went on a violent rampage, sexually assaulting and killing at least 30 women across the American west and Florida. asserted
Bundy → go → west
“The voices and cherished memories of Melissa Ann Smith and Laura Ann Aime and others involved in these cases ring louder than the hate and sedition of the one that took their lives,” said Mike Reynolds, a sergeant with the Utah county sheriff’s office, on Tuesday. asserted
Reynolds → cherish → Tuesday
“With every case closure may we stomp the memory of Ted Bundy out.” uncertain
we → stomp → Bundy
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