Mystery Boston serial rapist identified as New Jersey attorney 15 years later through DNA analysis: FBI

Boston authorities say an alleged serial rapist and kidnapper has been identified after more than a decade through advanced forensic genealogy and DNA analysis. The suspect, who now reportedly works as an attorney in New York City, was arrested in New Jersey on Tuesday. 

Matthew J. Nilo, 35, was arrested at around 4:30 p.m. at his home in Weehawken. He formerly lived in the North End of Boston and has now been accused of sexually assaulting four women in the Terminal Street area on Aug. 18, 2007, Nov. 22, 2007, Aug. 5, 2008, and Dec. 23, 2008. 

Nilo, who police say could have been a college student at the time, around age 19 or 20, is 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. 

"Today’s arrest is a direct result of the FBI’s use of investigative genetic genealogy, a unique method used to generate new leads in unsolved sex assaults, homicides and other violent crimes," Boston FBI Special Agent In Charge Joe Bonavolonta said at a press conference Tuesday. 

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"Immediately following his arrest, we’ve shared this news with the four sexual assault survivors who have been waiting years to learn the identity of their alleged assailant," Bonavolonta said. "While we know today’s arrest of Mr. Nilo cannot erase the harm he allegedly inflicted upon his survivors, we believe we have removed a dangerous threat from our community." 

The Boston Globe cited a LinkedIn profile appearing to indicate that Nilo works as a cyber attorney in New York City and earned his law degree at the University of San Francisco. 

WCVB reported that Nilo graduated from Boston Latin School in 2006. 

"Honestly, very shocking," Nilo’s former co-worker told WCVB. "He was normal, a good-looking kid that did well at anything he put his mind to." 

In addition to Massachusetts and New Jersey, authorities said Nilo has lived in New York, Wisconsin, and California, and appealed to any potential additional victims to contact Boston police or the FBI. Police said some of the known victims were picked up in downtown Boston and taken to Charlestown. 

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"All four cases are DNA connected," Boston police commissioner and chief Michael Cox said. 

Cox credited the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative grant intended to aid in the processing of sexual assault collection kits to reduce backlogs, as helping in the investigation. 

He said members of the Boston Police Department’s Sexual Assault Unit contacted the FBI for assistance in October. 

Bonovolonta said that investigators received positive confirmation of Nilo’s identity last month. 

"Sexual assault cases are very difficult and extraordinarily challenging for our victims. They’re also hard to solve," Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said. "This arrest also highlights the fact that investigators never stop analyzing evidence, collecting information and running down leads in order to bring dangerous offenders to justice." 

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Bonovolonta and Cox both said investigators used the same method to identify Nilo that proved to finally crack the unrelated "Lady of the Dunes" case. Last October, law enforcement announced that a badly mutilated body found in the dunes of Provincetown, Massachusetts, in 1974 had been identified nearly 50 years later as Ruth Marie Terry, a 37-year-old Tennessee woman.