Officials in Utah have formally closed a 51-year-old cold case after employing new DNA technology to identify a murdered teenager as a victim of serial killer Ted Bundy. Laura Ann Aime, 17, disappeared after leaving a Halloween party in 1974, with her body discovered about one month later by hikers in American Fork Canyon.
On Wednesday, the Utah County Sheriff's Office announced that new testing "confirmed irrefutably that DNA evidence recovered from Laura's body verified the existence of DNA belonging to Bundy". Bundy murdered at least 30 women between February 1974 and February 1978 and has been linked to numerous other killings across the country.
Before his execution in Florida in 1989, Bundy confessed to Laura's killing, but since he refused to elaborate on his actual involvement, "the Sheriff's Department elected to keep this case open until investigators could prove, without a shadow of doubt", that he was her killer, the sheriff stated. "This case is now officially closed," Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith declared during a news conference, as reported by The Salt Lake Tribune.
The sheriff added that if Bundy were still alive, prosecutors would pursue the death penalty against him. Bundy ranks among America's most infamous serial killers, beginning his spree by attacking victims in the Pacific Northwest and later killing in Colorado, Utah, and Florida. At the time of Laura's death, he was residing in Salt Lake City and studying law at the University of Utah.
The sheriff's statement described Laura as an "outgoing free spirit who enjoyed outdoor activities and shared a passion for riding horses, hunting, and caring for her several siblings". Bundy was known for often approaching women in public places, gaining their trust through charm or a feigned injury, and then luring them to secluded areas to kill them. He was first arrested in 1975 for kidnapping a woman and sentenced to 15 years in prison, but escaped in 1977 by jumping from a prison library window, was recaptured briefly, escaped again, and continued killing until his final capture in 1978.
Source: www.bbc.com