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Utah authorities connect WA serial killer Ted Bundy to 1970s homicide

By
FOX 13 Seattle
Crime and Public Safety
Published October 27, 2026 1:56 PM EDT
Published October 27, 2026 1:56 PM EDT

The Brief

    • Summit County authorities in Utah are formally linking another unsolved 1970s homicide to executed serial killer Ted Bundy.
    • The victim's name will be announced at a Tuesday news conference alongside the specific investigative findings that led to closing the case.
    • Modern DNA advances continue to resolve decades-old cold cases attributed to Bundy, who confessed to dozens of murders across multiple states before his 1989 execution.

Authorities in Utah announced Tuesday that another decades-old cold case homicide has been officially linked to infamous serial killer Ted Bundy.

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office and the Summit County Attorney are holding a news conference to detail the investigative steps, physical evidence, and forensic findings that led detectives to identify Bundy as the perpetrator and close the investigation.

Good Day Live plans to stream a press conference from Utah authorities at 11 a.m. PT. Watch live here and the player above. 

Bundy, executed in Florida nearly 40 years ago, is officially known to have slain at least 30 women and girls across several states during the 1970s. However, investigators have continued to cross-reference unsolved disappearances against his prison confessions and modern scientific breakthroughs.

What we know:

Authorities in Summit County scheduled Tuesday’s announcement to outline how modern forensic methods helped detectives officially solve the case.

While investigators have not publicly named the victim ahead of the briefing, the area has long carried unresolved cases from Bundy's mid-1970s hunting period. Among them is the 1974 death of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, an open homicide that has remained unsolved for five decades.

In April, Utah investigators linked Bundy to another historical murder: 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime, who went missing on Halloween in 1974.

What we don't know:

Officials have not revealed in the specific forensic evidence, such as newly extracted genetic profiles or fingerprint matches, used to confirm Bundy’s responsibility.

What they're saying:

"The Summit County sheriff and county attorney will provide information regarding the investigation, the findings that led to this conclusion, and the decision to close the case," the sheriff’s office said in an official statement.

Who was Ted Bundy?

The backstory:

Ted Bundy (1946–1989) was one of the most notorious American serial killers, kidnappers, and rapists. Before his execution in Florida's electric chair in January 1989, he confessed to 30 homicides committed across seven states between 1974 and 1978, though investigators suspect his true victim count was significantly higher.

Ted Bundy

FILE - Accused murderer Ted Bundy attends the second day of jury selection in his murder trial, June 27, 1979, in Miami, Fla. (AP Photo,File)

Bundy was born Theodore Robert Cowell in Vermont, but his formative years and early adulthood were centered entirely in the Pacific Northwest. What made Bundy uniquely terrifying to the public and elusive to law enforcement was his outward presentation:

  • The "Chameleon" Persona: Unlike the stereotypical image of a violent criminal at the time, Bundy was conventionally handsome, articulate, charismatic, and politically connected.
  • Modus Operandi: He frequently feigned physical disability (wearing a fake plaster cast or walking with crutches) or posed as an authority figure (like a police officer) to ask young women for assistance loading items into his bronze Volkswagen Beetle. Once his victims were close, he would overpower, abduct, and assault them.

Significance to Washington state

Washington state was the crucible of Bundy’s life, his education, his public integration, and the launchpad of his killing spree.

The Source: Information in this story came from the Associated Press, King County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Multi-Agency Task Force, King County and Thurston County Superior Court archives, Seattle Post-Intelligencer (1974–1989), The News Tribune, and previous coverage and reporting from FOX 13 Seattle.

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