Ted Bundy: Serial Killer Implicated in Utah Teenager Laura Ann Aime's Murder Through DNA Testing

Liputan6.com, Jakarta - The Utah County Sheriff's Office confirmed Wednesday (April 1, 2026) that new DNA testing definitively links notorious serial killer Ted Bundy to the murder of Laura Ann Aime.

The 17-year-old Utah teenager, who disappeared in 1974, has now been officially confirmed as Bundy's victim through strong genetic evidence.

This discovery brings closure to one of the decades-long unsolved murder cases.

DNA evidence found on Laura Ann Aime's body has now been matched to Ted Bundy's DNA profile from a national database.

Laura Ann Aime disappeared on Halloween night 1974 after leaving a party alone to go to a convenience store.

About a month later, her body was found by hikers on the side of a highway in American Fork Canyon, bound, beaten, and naked.

New DNA testing has definitively linked the unsolved death of a Utah teenager in 1974 to the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy, the local sheriff’s office said. https://t.co/4lnwJMGiC9

— CNN (@CNN) April 1, 2026

Authorities have long suspected Ted Bundy of being responsible for the death of Laura Ann Aime. Bundy himself verbally confessed to his guilt before his execution in Florida in 1989.

However, the case remained open because police needed strong physical evidence to confirm his involvement.

Evidence found on Aime's body indicated that she was likely held alive for several days after her abduction.

The condition in which her body was found, bound and beaten, indicated the cruelty characteristic of Ted Bundy's modus operandi.

"This case is now officially closed," Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith declared during a news conference, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

The breakthrough in the Laura Ann Aime case was made possible by the adoption of advanced DNA extraction technology in 2023.

Ted Bundy's complete DNA profile was entered into the FBI's national database after a vial of his blood was found in Florida in 2011.

The blood was taken in 1978 when Bundy was arrested in connection with the death of a 12-year-old girl.

At the time of Laura Ann Aime's murder, Ted Bundy was studying law at the University of Utah.

His presence in the area during the period of his serial killings made him a prime suspect in many of the missing and murdered young women in the area.

Nancy Wilcox, a 16-year-old cheerleader in Salt Lake County, is believed to be one of Bundy's first victims in Utah.

Her disappearance on October 2, 1974, marked the beginning of a series of crimes that shocked the region.

Melissa Smith, a high school student, also disappeared near the end of the same month in 1974.

Her beaten body was later found by deer hunters, adding to the long list of victims linked to Ted Bundy in Utah.

Before Aime's case, DNA testing had also helped police confirm Ted Bundy's involvement in another teenage murder.

In 2019, DNA confirmed that Bundy killed Debra Kent, a 17-year-old from Bountiful.

This case is also one of the mysteries finally solved thanks to forensic science.

Debra Kent disappeared in November 1974 after leaving a performance at Viewmont High School to pick up her sister at the ice skating rink.

Bundy confessed to killing Kent and another young woman 36 hours before his execution in 1989.

He even told police the location of Kent's body.

Investigators took a kneecap (patella) from Kent's family for DNA testing three and a half years before the 2019 announcement.

DNA testing on the bone confirmed it belonged to Kent, strengthening the evidence against Bundy.