Through the usage of advanced forensic genealogy and DNA analysis, the Boston authorities have managed to crack down on an alleged serial rapist and kidnapper. The suspect apparently now works in New York City as an attorney, he was arrested in New Jersey on Tuesday.
Matthew J. Nilo, the presumed suspect, was arrested at his home in Weehawken around 4:30 p.m. He has been accused of assaulting four women in the Terminal Street area in a period between August 2007 and December 2008.
The police speculated that Nilo would have been 19 or 20 years of age and in College, at the time the assaults were committed. He is being charged with three counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of assault with intent to rape, and one count of indecent assault and battery.
Boston FBI Special Agent In Charge, Joe Bonavolonta stated at a press conference on Tuesday that Nilo’s arrest was courtesy of the FBI’s use of investigative genetic genealogy- a method employed by the Bureau to generate new leads in unsolved cases, particularly sex assaults, homicides, and other violent crimes.
Bonavolonta declared that the victims of Nilo’s assault were made aware of his arrest to offer some sort of closure on the trauma that they might have experienced while also adding that they had spent years waiting to learn of the perpetrator’s identity. He sympathized saying that while he knows all harm inflicted upon the victims cannot be erased, a dangerous threat had been removed from their community nonetheless.
After scouring the internet, particularly LinkedIn, credible sources have confirmed that Nilo works as a cyber attorney in New York City, with a degree earned at the University of San Francisco. One of Nilo’s former co-workers has expressed shock over the incident stating that he was the usual run-of-the-mill individual that was not a slacker at work.
Authorities have discovered that Nilo graduated in 2006 from Boston Latin School and has lived in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Wisconsin, and California. The authorities have requested any possible additional victims in places where he has lived contact Boston Police or the FBI. Some of the known victims have already been picked up in downtown Boston and taken to Charlestown.
Boston Police Commissioner and Chief Michael Cox claimed that all four cases were DNA connected and attributed the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grant for helping in the investigation. He said the FBI was contacted by the Boston Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit in October 2022, it was not until April 2023 that the investigators were convinced of Nilo’s identity.
This same method was also used by the FBI to solve an unrelated case, dating back almost 50 years, of a badly mutilated body found in Provincetown, Massachusetts in 1974. The case was tagged “Lady of the Dunes” and the body was identified in October 2022 as Ruth Marie Terry, a 37-year-old Tennessee woman.
Attributions
Man arrested in connection with rapes in Boston 15 years ago. (2023, May 31). AP NEWS.
Attorney Matthew Nilo arrested in New Jersey for 2007-08 Charlestown rapes. (2023, May 31) - CBS Boston.
Mystery Boston serial rapist identified as New Jersey attorney 15 years later through DNA analysis: FBI. (n.d.). Fox News.
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