The Case of Laura Ann Aime

Laura Ann Aime, 17, disappeared after leaving a Halloween party in Utah County on 31 October 1974. Her body was found in American Fork Canyon weeks later. In 2026, new DNA testing definitively linked Ted Bundy to her murder, officially closing the 51-year-old cold case.

Laura was 17 years old and living in Utah County when she disappeared on Halloween night in 1974. She had attended a party and was reportedly planning to stop at a convenience store after leaving. She was last seen alive on 31 October 1974. Her family reported her missing after she failed to return home. At the time, investigators suspected that Bundy was responsible because he was living in Utah and was already connected to a series of disappearances involving young women. Bundy later verbally acknowledged killing Laura, but authorities lacked sufficient physical evidence to conclusively attribute the murder to him.

On 27 November 1974, two college students hiking in American Fork Canyon discovered Laura's body near State Road 92, approximately four weeks after her disappearance. She had been bound, severely beaten and strangled with a nylon stocking. Investigators also determined that she had been sexually assaulted. Evidence indicated that Laura may have remained alive for several days after her abduction before being killed.

Laura's murder remained an open Utah County homicide for more than five decades. Bundy had previously admitted responsibility for Laura's death before his execution in 1989, but his confession alone was not considered sufficient to definitively close the case. In 2026, Utah County investigators revisited evidence from the original investigation using modern forensic techniques. DNA recovered from Laura's body was conclusively matched to Ted Bundy. The Utah County Sheriff's Office subsequently announced that there was definitive proof that Bundy had murdered Laura and formally closed the case.

Ted Bundy was never tried or convicted during his lifetime for Laura Aime's murder. On 1 April 2026, the Utah County Sheriff's Office officially confirmed through DNA evidence that Bundy was responsible for her death, more than 51 years after the murder.

The case became one of the oldest Utah cold cases to be conclusively resolved through modern DNA technology. The confirmation provided long-awaited answers for Laura's family and formally established her as a confirmed Bundy victim.