DNA Confirms Ted Bundy Killed Utah Teen

Investigators in Utah say they now have scientific proof tying one of Ted Bundy's earliest known Utah victims directly to him—more than 50 years after her death. Newly analyzed DNA confirms the serial killer murdered 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime, who vanished on Halloween 1974 and was found a month later in American Fork Canyon, the Utah County Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday. Bundy had long been suspected of killing the teen and even included Aime in his confessions just before his execution in 1989, but he was never charged in her case, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. "This case is now officially closed," Sheriff Mike Smith said.

Officials say recently acquired forensic technology allowed them to separate out a male DNA profile from old evidence, which then matched Bundy through a national database and a Florida crime lab. "The results were magnificent as they confirmed irrefutably that DNA evidence recovered from Laura's body verified the existence of DNA belonging to Bundy," the sheriff's office said, per KIRO7. Hikers found the body of the teen, who was naked, bound, and had been badly beaten. Investigators believe Bundy kept her alive for several days before killing her. The serial killer is believed to have killed more than 30 women and girls, including as many as eight in Utah.

The forensic work produced what investigators called a "full DNA profile of Ted Bundy," which they say could help other agencies resolve additional cases. The victim's sister, Michelle Impala, who was 12 when Laura was killed, said her family had already accepted that Bundy was responsible but welcomed the formal confirmation, saying her sister would be "really happy to know" that the truth is now documented. "It's really quite amazing that people even are still interested in Laura's case," she said.

• "Laura Aime is the quintessential daughter of Utah County," Utah County sheriff's Sgt. Mike Reynolds said Wednesday, per the AP. "We felt the pain the family feels when she was taken. We felt the pain that you felt this whole entire time, and we've had the desire to deliver to you some type of healing, we can't really say closure."