Serial killer Ted Bundy linked to teenage girl’s murder after 52 years

(CBS, KYMA) - The 1974 death of a Utah teenager has been linked to notorious serial killer Ted Bundy.

Utah officials say DNA evidence linked the cold case killing of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith to Bundy, more than 50 years after her body was discovered by a hunter.

Bundy was executed in the state of Florida back in 1989, after he was convicted of murdering three people there, though he's been linked to the killings of at least 30 women and girls in multiple states in the 1970's.

In 2011, a vial of Bundy's blood, drawn in 1978, was recovered in Florida, allowing his DNA profile to be entered into the FBI's national database.

That profile helped Utah authorities link Bundy to the 1974 killing of another 17-year-old, Laura Ann Aime, earlier this year.

Authorities say the DNA in that case, along with evidence related to pattern, motive, means, and opportunity also helped connect Bundy to Smith's murder.

Officials have been in touch with Smith's next of kin, none of whom still live in the area.