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2 outlets · filed 28 October 2026

DNA connects Ted Bundy to the death of another Utah teenager in 1974

This story is from the archive. It was covered between 28 October 2026 and 28 October 2026, and nothing below has been updated since. See what is happening now.

DNA evidence has linked serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith in Utah, authorities announced Tuesday, 52 years after her body was found. Investigators connected DNA from Smith’s case to that of another Bundy victim, Laura Aime, helping close the long-unsolved ho

Associated Press

What the coverage shows

Both outlets center the same DNA-based cold-case breakthrough and identify Melissa Ann Smith as the Utah teenager tied to Ted Bundy. The Associated Press adds that investigators connected DNA from Smith’s case to Laura Aime’s case, while PBS NewsHour does not mention that link. AP also emphasizes the case as part of a long-unsolved investigation and gives more detail on the timeline than PBS NewsHour.

Written by Crossfiled from the 2 headlines and extracts below, not from the articles themselves. It describes how the outlets framed this, not what happened. Open any headline for a summary of that article.

PBS NewsHourAssociated Press

How it broke

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