DNA links Ted Bundy to the murder of Melissa Ann Smith more than 50 years after the crime

New DNA evidence has linked serial killer Ted Bundy to the murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, who was killed in 1974. For more than half a century, the case had remained unsolved.

U.S. authorities announced on Tuesday that the latest analysis links Bundy to the teenager’s death. Her body was found by a hunter in Utah more than 50 years ago.

The Summit County attorney in Utah said investigators are convinced that Bundy was responsible for the murder. For many years, the case was treated as an unsolved case, known as a “cold case.”

DNA analysis provides evidence decades later

Although Bundy was executed in 1989, advances in DNA analysis technology are helping confirm his links to more victims.

During the 1970s, Bundy killed at least 30 women and girls in several U.S. states. Many other women survived his attacks or managed to escape despite their injuries.

The case of Melissa Ann Smith adds to those that authorities are now able to attribute to Bundy’s criminal activity, even decades after his death.

In 1989, Bundy was executed in the electric chair in Florida. He had been convicted of murdering two women in 1978 at the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University.

Bundy is considered one of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history. The latest discovery shows that modern DNA techniques can help solve old crimes and identify those responsible for murders that have gone uncredited for decades.