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.”
