After 15-year Manhunt, Familial DNA Helps Police Find Accused Serial Rapist Boston Lawyer

Investigators zeroed in on a New Jersey corporate lawyer as the prime suspect in a string of Boston rapes 15 years ago using DNA from his family members, WCVB-TV reports.

On Monday, 35-year-old Matthew Nilo was arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court, where he pleaded not guilty to three counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of assault with the intent to rape and one count of indecent assault and battery.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, the FBI and Boston police arrested Nilo last week at his luxury apartment on the Hudson River in Weehawken, New Jersey, in connection with the assaults, which occurred between 2007 and 2008.

Authorities identified the attorney after comparing DNA material from the crimes to commercial genealogy databases, which identified relatives who had submitted their DNA to learn about their ancestry.

Police later secretly seized a glass he used at a business gathering and extracted his DNA for testing, which allegedly matched the DNA from the sex cases.

“Just last month, we received positive confirmation of Matthew Nilo’s identity,” said Joseph Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston office, according to the Boston Globe.

At the time of the assaults, police in Boston were warning that someone was offering women a ride home and then attacking them.

One woman who was assaulted said a man approached her in the early morning hours and offered a ride to help find her vehicle. He then threatened to kill her if she made noise and raped her near railroad tracks.

Another woman got into Nilo’s car believing it was a taxi. She alleged that the driver, armed with a knife, ordered her out of the vehicle and then raped her.

The third victim said she drove with the perpetrator before they exited the vehicle, at which point the man tackled her, held a gun to her back and repeatedly raped her

A fourth woman alleged that she was running when a man tackled her and sexually assaulted her. The assailant threatened her with a gun, but she was able to poke his eye and escape.

Joseph Cataldo, Nilo’s lawyer, has questioned whether authorities secured search warrants to obtain his client’s DNA.

“I do understand that the procedures used by law enforcement are somewhat suspect. It seems that they obtained DNA evidence without ever obtaining a search warrant. If that turns out to be true, that’s an issue that will be pursued vigorously,” Cataldo said, according to WCVB-TV.

Bail was set at $500,000. If released, Nilo will be required to wear a GPS monitor, surrender his passport and have no contact with the victims or the areas of the assaults.

A bail reviewing hearing is scheduled for June 12.

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[Feature Photo: Matthew Nilo/LinkedIn]