Ted Bundy told police where to find her body hours before his execution. They never found it. Decades later, a single bone fragment finally confirmed what everyone already believed.
The Disappearance
On the night of November 8, 1974, 17-year-old Debra Kent left a school play at Viewmont High School in Bountiful, Utah, to pick up her brother from a nearby ice rink. She never returned and was never seen again.
Bundy's Confession
Roughly 36 hours before his 1989 execution, Ted Bundy confessed to murdering Debra Kent, among other victims, and told investigators where he had left her remains. Despite the confession, her body was never located at the time, and the case remained formally unresolved.
A Kneecap in a Box
In 1989, a search of the area Bundy described turned up hundreds of bone fragments, only one of which was human — a kneecap, or patella. Police gave it to Debra's mother, Belva Kent, as a gesture of closure, though it was never formally confirmed through DNA testing at the time.
The DNA Confirmation
The case was revisited after 2015, when investigators reviewing unrelated missing person files rediscovered the patella still in the Kent family's possession. With Belva Kent's permission, investigators sent it, along with family DNA samples, to the University of North Texas for testing. The results confirmed the bone belonged to Debra Kent, finally closing the case and allowing the family to receive an official death certificate.
FAQ
How was Debra Kent's case finally confirmed?
DNA testing on a kneecap bone recovered decades earlier matched her family's DNA, confirming her death.
Did Ted Bundy ever admit to killing Debra Kent?
Yes, shortly before his 1989 execution, though her remains were not conclusively identified until years later.
Why did the case take so long to close?
The single recovered bone fragment wasn't DNA tested until decades after its discovery, when investigators revisited the case.