In a press conference at Boston Police headquarters in Roxbury this morning, investigators revealed that DNA evidence has linked Albert DeSalvo, the confessed serial killer who died in prison in the 1970’s, to the last of eleven victims allegedly killed by the Boston Strangler. 19-year-old Mary Anne Sullivan was raped and murdered just four days after she moved to Boston in 1964. Her death, along with ten others attributed to the Boston Strangler, has remained unsolved for almost 50 years.

According to the Associated Press, “eleven Boston-area women between the ages of 19 and 85 were sexually assaulted and killed between 1962 and 1964, crimes that terrorized the region and made national headlines.” Albert DeSalvo, the man largely believed to be the Boston Strangler, confessed to the murders while in prison, yet was never convicted or tried in court because his testimony was ruled not admissible. DeSalvo served a life sentence on non-fatal sexual assault and armed robbery charges, and was stabbed to death in prison in 1973.

Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, and Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis spoke about the new findings at the joint press conference today.

 “For almost five decades, the only link between DeSalvo was his confession. That confession has been the subject of skepticism and controversy from almost the moment it was given…there was no forensic evidence to link DeSalvo to the murder. Until today,” said Conley. ”Given the facts and circumstances of this case there can be no doubt that the DNA [found on the body of the victim] can be linked to the man who murdered Mary Sullivan.”

The DNA evidence produced was a “familial match” – aka, it was not DeSalvo’s himself. In fact, it was his nephew’s DNA that convicted the late suspect. According to Conley, a squad sergeant was assigned to tail DeSalvo’s nephew, eventually retrieving a discarded water bottle from which a DNA sample was obtained. That DNA sample rules out the other 99.99% of suspects, virtually convicting Albert DeSalvo of Sullivan’s murder.

However, it isn’t quite enough.

Yesterday, a Suffolk county judge approved for DeSalvo’s body to be exonerated from its grave in a Peabody cemetery to gather a DNA sample from DeSalvo himself. “Then, we’ll know for sure,” said Conley.

While Sullivan’s DNA links DeSalvo to her murder, all investigators were sure to explain that this does not convict DeSalvo of the other ten murders attributed to the Boston Strangler. Coakley stated at the conference that, as far as police are aware, no DNA evidence from the other ten victims remains. However, officials hope this new evidence may provide indirect answers to DeSalvo’s identity as the Boston Strangler, even if no concrete conviction is ever possible.

Casey Sherman, the nephew of Mary Sullivan, closed out the press conference by thanking the BPD for their diligence in Sullivan’s case. At the podium, Davis reiterated that the “ability to provide closure to a family after 50 years [is a] remarkable thing.”