The murder of a US teen in 1974 has finally been solved, with her death being definitively attributed to one of the country's most notorious serial killers.
Laura Ann Aime, 17, was last seen leaving a Halloween party on the evening of October 31 that year in Lehi, Utah County.
She left the party alone to buy some items from a convenience store, witnesses said. She never returned.
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Her body was found on November 27, thrown several feet from a highway in the American Fork Canyon.
She had been bound, sexually assaulted, severely beaten and strangled with a nylon stocking before her death.
An initial medical examination posited that Laura had died about a week before her discovery, on November 20.
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Laura's death had been linked to serial killer Ted Bundy, as part of his murder spree in 1974-1975 across multiple states.
Bundy, who was executed aged 42 in 1989, confessed to 30 murders, including Laura's, and has been confirmed to have killed at least 20 people, though he also hinted there could be many more.
Although Laura is usually counted among his confirmed victims, the Utah County Sheriff's Office said the official case remained unsolved as they were reluctant to rely on Bundy's word.
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However, in 2025, 51 years after Laura was murdered, her case was reopened.
"With this specific case, it was determined that current forensic technology, police methods, and initially collected evidence possessed the appearance of solvability, as forensic science has greatly evolved in the past several years," Utah County Sheriff Michael Smith's office said in a statement.
"The Laura Aime case held many similarities to prior Bundy cases, however, investigations and evidence held additional discrepancies and possessed issues for the detectives to work through."
However, today, the office said the case had been solved.
"The results were magnificent as they confirmed irrefutably that DNA evidence recovered from Laura's body verified the existence of DNA belonging to Bundy," the office said.
Laura's family and friends remembered the teen as a "tall, beautiful, outgoing free spirit who enjoyed outdoor activities and shared a passion for riding horses, hunting, and caring for her several siblings", the sheriff's office said.
She was remembered as generous and joyful, often using her pocket money to buy candy for her siblings because she enjoyed making them happy.
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