Over five decades after a Utah teenager’s tragic end, she has been definitively identified as another casualty of the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy.
Officials announced on Wednesday that DNA evidence has conclusively tied Bundy to the murder of 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime. Aime disappeared after stepping out from a Halloween gathering to purchase cigarettes on October 31, 1974, as reported by KTVX.
Merely days following her disappearance, hikers stumbled upon her body along an embankment near the road in American Fork Canyon.
“Laura was not living with her family at that period,” her niece, Tara Stucki, shared with the outlet last year. “She had a free-spirited nature and was spending time with friends.”
DNA analysis has now identified Laura Ann Aime as one of Bundy’s victims after her untimely death in Utah back in 1974. (Source: Utah Department of Public Safety)
According to KTVX, investigators concluded that Aime suffered rape, strangulation, and murder.
For several decades, authorities pointed to Bundy as the prime suspect in Aime’s death, noting he began studying law at the University of Utah just two months before her disappearance.
Bundy had allegedly “approached [Aime] multiple times before” and “kind of stalked her before taking her,” Stucki told KTVX.
Ted Bundy previously confessed to a total of 28 murders, but investigators believe he could be responsible for hundreds of killings. (Bettmann Archive via Getty Images)
However, Bundy reportedly failed to recall if Aime was among his victims while confessing to several homicides throughout Utah.
The mystery surrounding Aime’s death lay dormant for 51 years, until investigators with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office used new DNA technology to link Bundy to Aime’s killing.
Ted Bundy sits in a courtroom in Miami, Florida on July 13, 1979. (Bettmann Archive via Getty Images)
“We bring this case to a closure and more importantly closure to the Aime family,” Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith said at a news conference Wednesday morning, according to FOX 13.
Investigators obtained a male DNA profile using bodily fluids found on Aime’s remains following recent testing, KTVX reported.
The genetic profile was reportedly input into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a national DNA database, which provided a match in Florida.
Following additional analysis, investigators were able to link the DNA profile to Bundy.
Aime is believed to be Bundy’s third victim in Utah.
The Utah County Sheriff’s Office has since shared the DNA profile with other departments in hopes of finding more of Bundy’s victims, with authorities reportedly adding they believe the development will provide a resolution to another cold case – though no additional details were provided.
Bundy has long been linked to the killings of several women in Florida, Utah, Colorado, Oregon and Washington from 1974 to 1978.
He previously confessed to a total of 28 murders, but investigators believe he could be responsible for hundreds of killings.
Bundy was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of two Florida college students in 1979, and received another death sentence in 1980 for the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl.
He was executed by Florida’s electric chair in 1989.
“I know that she would be really happy to know that [her case] has been closed,” Michelle Impala, Aime’s younger sister, said Wednesday, according to KTVX.
“And just to know that Ted Bundy is, like, gnashing his teeth in hell is really – I don’t know. I hate to think of people doing that, but with him and a few other people in the world, that’s what they deserve.”
The Utah County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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