By Joseph Pisani

New DNA testing has proved that serial killer Ted Bundy was responsible for the murder of a Utah teen more than 50 years ago, authorities said Wednesday.

Laura Ann Aime was 17 years old when she went missing on Halloween night in 1974 after leaving a Utah party. Her naked body was found bound and beaten nearly a month later near a highway. Bundy confessed to Aime's murder, but there wasn't enough evidence to close the case, according to Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith. Authorities said bodily fluid left on Aime was recently tested and was a match to Bundy's DNA.

"We can now say without a doubt that Theodore 'Ted' Bundy did in fact murder Laura Ann Aime," Smith said Wednesday at a press conference that was attended by two of Aime's sisters.

Recent technology allowed Utah's crime lab to identify a single male DNA profile from evidence in the Aime case, authorities said. That DNA was then submitted to a national database that matched with Bundy.

"With that evidence," Smith said, "we bring this case to a closure and, most importantly, we bring closure, hopefully, to the Aime family who have endured over 50 years of the loss of their loved one."

Bundy, one of the country's most prolific serial killers, was executed in 1989 after being linked to the murders of dozens of women and girls in the 1970s.

Police believe Aime was kept alive for several days or more after her abduction, and that her body had been recently placed when it was found by two hikers in November 1974. Investigators also found a nylon stocking that they said was used to strangle the teenager.

One of Aime's sisters, Michelle Impala, said Wednesday that she didn't know authorities were still looking into the case.

"That they had been working on it for a year, is really incredible to me, " said Impala, who was 12 when Aime was killed. "I'm sure that my mom and dad would be really happy to know that it is closed."

Write to Joseph Pisani at joseph.pisani@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 01, 2026 18:02 ET (22:02 GMT)

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