India, Oct. 28 -- Utah authorities have formally linked the serial killer Ted Bundy to the 1974 murder of 17-year-old Melissa Ann Smith, closing a cold case that had stood unsolved for more than four decades. Summit County officials announced the findings at a news conference on Tuesday, citing DNA evidence and other material that, they said, establishes Bundy as the killer. The announcement came roughly six months after the same forensic approach tied him to the 1974 death of another Utah teenager, Laura Ann Aime.

The Summit County Sheriff's Office and County Attorney's Office said in a joint statement that the case had been formally closed and that the evidence conclusively proved Bundy murdered Smith. The sheriff's office said officia...