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A teenage girl’s decades-old murder mystery in Utah has been solved, revealing her as one of the countless victims of 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. She disappeared on October 31, 1974, after leaving a Halloween gathering to purchase cigarettes, as reported by KTVX.
Just days after her disappearance, hikers stumbled upon her body near an embankment off the road in American Fork Canyon.
“Laura wasn’t living with her family at that time,” Aime’s niece, Tara Stucki, shared with the news outlet last year. “She had a free-spirited nature and was often with friends.”
Laura Ann Aime, aged 17, has now been confirmed as a victim of Ted Bundy, following her disappearance and subsequent death in Utah in 1974.
Investigators determined Aime had been raped, strangled and murdered, KTVX reported.
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.