00:00Fifty-two years ago today, October 27, 1974, the body of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith was discovered by
00:09hunters in a wooded area near the northwestern border of Summit County and Salt Lake County.
00:14Today, I am announcing the closure of the 1974 homicide investigation into the death of Melissa Ann Smith.
00:23Earlier this year, the Utah State Crime Lab, in cooperation with the Utah County Sheriff's Office, isolated STR and YSTR
00:32DNA profiles from a biological sample recovered from the body of 17-year-old Laura Amy, who was found murdered
00:39in Utah County in November 1974.
00:43The STR DNA profile was a direct match to Ted Bundy's known STR DNA profile on file in Florida.
00:52Based on this evidence, the Utah County's Laura Amy homicide investigation was closed.
00:59On July 14, 2026, the Utah State Crime Lab concluded that the YSTR DNA profile recovered from Laura Amy's body
01:10matched the YSTR DNA profile recovered from Melissa Ann Smith's body.
01:15This DNA evidence, when considered alongside evidence related to pattern, motive, means, and opportunity, establishes that Ted Bundy was responsible
01:26for Melissa Ann Smith's murder.
