Ted Bundy terror: Serial killer died 40 years ago, tally of victims continues to grow even in 2026

Serial killer Ted Bundy has been dead for nearly 40 years but the tally of his confirmed victims continues to grow as DNA testing has advanced. In Utah, Summit County Sheriff Kacey Bates said Tuesday that law enforcement has identified 17-year-old Melissa Anne Smith as one of Bundy's victims, months after a nearby county used the killer's DNA to solve another cold case.

Ted Bundy's rampage of violence spanned at least four years and left dozens of victims behind, including at least 30 women and girls who were killed — and several others who escaped or survived despite serious injuries.

Bundy is one of the most prolific serial killers in United States history — though others likely had higher total victim counts, including Gary Ridgway, who admitted to killing 49; Samuel Little, who killed more than 60; and Donald Harvey, who pleaded guilty to killing 37 people. Bundy drew widespread fascination, in part because many considered him to be charming and handsome at his 1979 trial.


Ted Bundy Targeted Young Women, Girls

It's unknown when Bundy first began his attacks, but the deaths linked to him began in Washington state in 1974. He had grown up in Tacoma, Washington, and many of his earliest known violent crimes happened around Seattle.

An 18-year-old University of Washington student was sleeping in her home near the Seattle campus in January 1974 when someone broke in and attacked her, leaving her with a fractured skull. She survived but with permanent injuries. Bundy was believed to be responsible for the crime, which fit a pattern he established in later years, often breaking into young women's homes, bludgeoning and sexually assaulting them, and either leaving them to die or dumping their bodies elsewhere.

The next month, Lynda Ann Healy, another University of Washington student, vanished from her home. A small bit of blood was found on her bedding, and her remains were found the next year on Taylor Mountain, a remote area outside a neighboring city. The remains of some of Bundy's other victims were also found at the same site.

Over the next few months, other women were also abducted from Washington state and Oregon. In some cases, witnesses saw the women talking to a man who was wearing an arm sling.

By October, teen girls in Utah were also vanishing. Melissa Smith's body was found on a hillside in Summit Park, Utah, and her head had been beaten with a crowbar.

Carol DaRonch, an 18-year-old, was snatched by Bundy when he claimed to be a police officer investigating car break-ins. But she survived by jumping out of his car after he tried to handcuff her. DaRonch's testimony would later be instrumental in putting Bundy behind bars.

Bundy continued killing throughout the next year in Utah, Colorado and Idaho.

Ted Bundy Escaped Law Enforcement Custody Twice

Bundy was arrested for the first time in connection with the disappearances in August 1975, when police pulled him over and found incriminating items including rope, handcuffs and a ski mask in his vehicle.

He was found guilty the following year of kidnapping and assaulting DaRonch. Bundy was sentenced to 15 years in prison for that crime, and while imprisoned he was charged in connection with the earlier death of a nursing student.

He was brought to Aspen, Colorado, for a hearing in that case in 1977 and escaped custody by climbing out a second-story courthouse window. He was caught about a week later, but escaped again six months later by breaking through the ceiling of a jail.

That time Bundy fled across the country, eventually making his way to Tallahassee, Florida. On Jan. 15, 1978, he entered the Chi Omega sorority house at Florida State University, bludgeoning two women to death with a large branch and leaving two more badly injured. He then went to another house nearby, badly injuring another sleeping woman.

Less than a month later, he abducted, sexually assaulted and killed a 12-year-old girl in Lake City, Florida. Kimberly Leach was believed to be his final victim: Bundy was arrested when he was pulled over in Pensacola while driving a stolen vehicle.

Handsome Charmer Ted Bundy

Bundy's case, and his self-assured attitude in court, drew widespread attention during his 1979 trial for the Chi Omega murders. Even the judge presiding over the trial said Bundy was a “bright young man” who would have made a good lawyer. But Judge Edward Cowart also recognized Bundy as a horrifically violent killer and sentenced him to die for “extremely wicked, shockingly evil and vile” crimes.

Bundy was executed on Jan. 24, 1989, by electric chair in Florida. He gave a series of confessions in his final days, including to some crimes that were previously unknown to police. Not all of those cases have been confirmed.

DNA testing linked to two more victims

In April, Utah law enforcement announced they'd used new DNA testing to confirm that Bundy had also killed 17-year-old Laura Ann Aime more than 50 years ago.

Aime went missing in Utah on Halloween night in 1974, and her body was found a month later on the side of a highway. Authorities believed she had been kept alive for several days after her abduction.

Bundy had long been a suspect, but there wasn't enough evidence to charge him while he was alive. The case's evidence was carefully preserved, and advancements in DNA forensic technology eventually enabled investigators to extract a DNA profile that matched Bundy and officially close Aime's case.

Authorities said that same DNA profile was then forwarded to the Summit County Sheriff's Office, and detectives were able to confirm the profile matched evidence found on Smith's body.