An attorney from New Jersey is set to be extradited back to Massachusetts after he allegedly raped four women while a student in Boston, having been identified through a genealogy database.
35-year-old Matthew Nilo, of Weehawken, New Jersey, was arrested outside his luxury apartment on Tuesday, May 30, over the alleged attacks in the Charlestown neighbourhood in Boston in 2007 and 2008.
Authorities assert that all four alleged attacks have been connected through DNA, which was identified through a genealogy database like 23 and Me after family members voluntarily sent in samples.
The newly engaged attorney is facing counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of assault with intent to rape, and one count of indecent assault and battery. He allegedly targeted women who were walking alone, however his lawyer has said he's prepared to fight the charges.
Officials arrested Nilo outside his fancy apartment on Harbor Boulevard where he lives with his fiancée. An affidavit said he was "called down to the front desk of his residence and told that a large package had been delivered to him that did not fit in the facility's lockers where the residents pick up packages."
When he came downstairs, he was greeted with the FBI and police and taken into custody. Authorities did not disclose details about the alleged assaults, but investigators are said to have immediately shared the news of Nilo's arrest with the alleged victims.
One of the biggest helps in the investigation according to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox was the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative - a federal program which helps process sexual assault collection kits and reduce a backlog which has become persistent.
Investigators from the Boston Police Department's Sexual Assault Unit apparently reached out to the FBI for help in October. Using investigative genetic genealogy, which combines DNA analysis with genealogy research and historical records to find new leads, Nilo was identified as a suspect, said James R Bonavolonta, a special agent in charge of the FBI Boston office.
By April, investigators had confirmation of Nilo's identity as a suspect. Agent Bonavolonta said the alleged victims have been "waiting years" to learn the identity of their alleged attacker.
"We certainly realise that identifying this individual does not ease their pain - nothing can, but hopefully, it answers some questions," he said in a press conference on Tuesday.
"Today's arrest is the direct result of the FBI's use of investigative genetic genealogy, a unique method used to generate new leads in unsolved sexual assaults."
Nilo's Manhattan employer, Cowbell Cyber, confirmed he was hired in January 2023 after passing a background check, but has been suspended pending further investigation.
According to Nilo's Linkedin page, he was an associate at Atheria Law in New York for three years before joining Cowbell Cyber. Prior to that, he spent five years working for Clyde & Co in San Francisco.
He earned his law degree at the University of San Francisco in 2015, after receiving his undergraduate degree in 2010 from the University of Wisconsin Madison, where he studied psychology. He has lived in Wisconsin and New York as well as California, and authorities are urging anyone who thinks they may have been victimised by Nilo to contact Boston police or the FBI.
