Utah Department of Public Safety
Laura Ann Aime disappeared in 1974 at age 17
New DNA tests conclusively link Ted Bundy to the unsolved 1974 murder of a teenage girl in Utah. Laura Ann Aime, 17, disappeared on Halloween night and was found a month later on the side of a highway, tied up and beaten.
51 years ago, Laura Ann Aime17, disappeared on Halloween night after leaving a party alone to go to a convenience store. About a month later, his body was found on the side of a highway; he was tied, beaten and undressed.
New DNA tests have now conclusively linked the teenager’s death, until now unsolved, to the infamous serial killer. Ted Bundythe local sheriff’s office reported this Wednesday.
According to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, the DNA extracted from semen collected from the teenager’s body in 1974 was entered into a national criminal database. That DNA, says the , matched that of Bundy, which had been entered into the Florida database.
“We can now affirm without a shadow of a doubtwhich Theodore ‘Ted’ Bundy actually murdered Laura Ann Aime in the fall of 1974, and that law enforcement authorities now have DNA test results consistent with the latest standards,” he said Mike SmithUtah County sheriff.
“This will facilitate any future test comparison of DNA for law enforcement agencies that still have open cases involving Bundy,” Smith added at a press conference.
The researchers had long suspected that Bundy was responsible for the murder of Laura Ann, notes the . The police said the serial killer he had verbally acknowledged his guilt before being executedbut the case remained open until there is certainty.
Bundy was one of the worst serial killers in American history, with at least 30 deaths of women and girls associated with his name in several states in the 1970s.
Theodore ‘Ted’ Bundy
The homicides, most of which were committed in women’s university residences, parks and other locations, launched a wave of fear in the country. Bundy’s arrest raised eyebrows, in part, because many considered him charming and attractivea phenomenon known as .
At the time of Aime’s murder, Bundy lived in Salt Lake City and studied law at the University of Utah.
“Laura Aime is the quintessential daughter of Utah Countyh. We feel the pain the family felt when she was taken away. We feel the pain you have felt all this time and we wanted to bring you some kind of relief; we can’t exactly talk about closure,” said Mike Smith.
Michelle ImpalaLaura Ann’s younger sister, who was 12 years old when the teenager was murdered, said at the press conference that she did not know the case was open, and said she was grateful that investigators re-examined the evidence. “It’s really amazing that people are still interested in the case from Laura,” he said. “But I appreciate”.
