The Boston Strangler case can now officially be put to rest, says defense attorney F. Lee Bailey, because DNA evidence has finally linked Albert DeSalvo to the last murder.

19-year old Mary Sullivan was found strangled to death in her apartment in January of 1964, the last victim in a string of murders that rocked the Boston area between 1962 and 1964. Eleven women fell victim to the killer, and DeSalvo later admitted to being responsible for the crimes as well as two others. According to Bailey, his client knew things about the murders that only the killer would know, yet he was never charged for the deaths. He did, however, get a life sentence in prison for a series of armed robberies and rape. Unfortunately, he was stabbed to death in prison in 1973–after recanting his confession–and the case grew cold.

But a preserved semen sample found on Sullivan’s body was saved until advances in technology could tell investigators more about her killer, and, when compared with DNA evidence from one of DeSalva’s family members, a match came up.

Over the years, there have been many naysayers as to the belief that DeSalvo was the real killer, despite his confession. Now, as investigators await the final results from the lab work, it appears they have a definitive answer to a 50-year old case.