Utah County investigators have identified the remains of Laura Ann Aime as a victim of ted bundy, closing a 51-year-old cold case. The Utah County Sheriff’s Office announced new DNA testing confirmed the match at a news conference on April 1, 2026 (ET) in Spanish Fork. Aime, 17, vanished after leaving a Halloween 1974 party and was found about a month later by hikers in American Fork Canyon.
How Ted Bundy Was Linked to Laura Ann Aime
The Utah County Sheriff’s Office said laboratory work on preserved evidence produced a definitive DNA match. The sheriff’s office released a statement saying testing “confirmed irrefutably that DNA evidence recovered from Laura’s body verified the existence of DNA belonging to Bundy. ” Investigators had kept the file open for decades because Bundy, while having previously confessed to the killing before his execution, would not elaborate on his role; they wanted proof beyond doubt.
At the time of Aime’s disappearance, she was 17 and described in the sheriff’s statement as an “outgoing free spirit who enjoyed outdoor activities and shared a passion for riding horses, hunting, and caring for her several siblings. ” Her remains were located about a month after she disappeared, in American Fork Canyon.
Investigators underscored that the match settles lingering questions about ted bundy’s involvement in this death and allows the county to formally close the investigation after more than five decades.
Immediate Reactions from Officials and Family
Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith declared, “This case is now officially closed, ” at the news conference. Sheriff Smith added that if Bundy were still alive, prosecutors would pursue the death penalty against him. Family members were present at the announcement; images from the news conference showed relatives and original investigators reacting as the sheriff’s office reviewed the evidence.
Brent Bullock, identified as one of the original investigators on the case, attended the event. The sheriff’s office emphasized that the identification follows strict laboratory protocols and long-term preservation of evidence that made the match possible.
Federal and local investigative records included in the sheriff’s remarks place Bundy’s known murder spree between February 1974 and February 1978, with at least 30 women killed during that span. The sheriff’s statement also noted that Bundy was later executed in Florida in 1989 and had been living in Salt Lake City and studying law at the University of Utah at the time of Aime’s death.
Quick context: Bundy confessed at various times to multiple killings and escaped custody in 1977 before being recaptured and finally arrested in 1978. The Utah identification fills a specific gap in the long list of crimes linked to him.
What’s next: With DNA confirmation in hand, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office has formally closed Laura Ann Aime’s file and family members and investigators will watch for any further announcements from the sheriff’s office. The identification removes uncertainty over this long-unsolved death and cements the county’s determination to resolve cold cases tied to historic evidence of ted bundy.
