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Boston police have apprehended Matthew J. Nilo, a former attorney, in connection with a series of rapes in Boston. Although the crimes took place several decades ago, identification of the suspect was made possible with new forensic genetic genealogy techniques. 

The now 35-year-old Nilo would have been 20 years old when the crimes were committed.

He is facing charges of 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, as reported by the Boston police.

The Boston Police Department, with assistance from the New Jersey Police Department, and the Boston FBI office, apprehended Nilo in New Jersey. 

According to police, the sexual assaults occurred on August 18 and November 22, 2007, and on August 5 and December 23, 2008, within the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston.

At a press conference, Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox highlighted the investigation. "This arrest culminates the investigation that employed the use of genetic genealogy from recovered evidence. All four cases are DNA connected."

Forensic Genetic Genealogy 

Commissioner Cox emphasized the instrumental role played by sexual assault evidence collection kits. And the persistence of detectives who did not give up on identifying the suspect throughout the investigations.

The Sexual Assault Kit Initiative Grant provided additional resources for the investigation, supporting the city's efforts to delve into unsolved sexual assault crimes, Cox added.

In addition to addressing specific cases, the DNA evidence collected was added to the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS).

Commissioner Cox revealed that the review of unsolved sexual assault cases began in May 2022, focusing on criminal cases that posed the highest threat to public safety.

Forensic genetic genealogy has emerged as a crucial tool in such investigations. 

CeCe Moore, the chief genetic genealogist with Parabon NanoLabs, a DNA tech lab that collaborates with law enforcement, describes the technique. It allows detectives to cast a wide net by analyzing DNA voluntarily submitted to a genetic genealogy database. 

In public databases, cops legally search for distant relatives of an unknown suspect. This approach allows the creation of an extensive family tree. And allows authorities to bypass the limitations of law enforcement databases like CODIS, which require an exact match in most states.

Moore explained that "Genetic genealogy is a major game-changer for these cold cases because in a genetic genealogy database, we can reverse engineer the [suspect's family] tree from their distant cousins who have tested. So, it doesn't matter that they haven't had their DNA tested through another arrest or crime scene; we don't need their DNA. We need somebody from their family to have tested in order to resolve these cases."

Although authorities have had the DNA since 2008, they were not able to identify a suspect.

With the assistance of genetic genealogy, investigators painstakingly looked for relatives of the unknown suspect. And they reviewed the voluntarily submitted DNA in public databases, ultimately narrowing down the family members to the most likely suspect.

FBI Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Joseph Bonavolonta expressed the importance of Nilo's arrest. And acknowledged that it cannot undo the harm allegedly inflicted on the victims. He added, "We believe we have removed a dangerous threat from our community."

This groundbreaking use of forensic genetic genealogy demonstrates its potential as a powerful investigative tool, providing hope for justice in some cold cases and ensuring that the perpetrators are stopped from committing more crimes in the future.