We might finally know the identity of the notorious killer, Jack the Ripper, and we might even have a DNA result for reference.
Over 130 years after his gruesome murders in East London, England, the descendants of his victims are looking to unmask the identity of the serial killer popularly known as Jack the Ripper.
The infamous serial killer who terrorized Victorian Era London women back in the day has primarily been referred to as simply “Jack the Ripper” up until now. Historian Russell Edwards claims that he has identified Jack the Ripper as Aaron Kosminski, one of the prime suspects for Jack the Ripper, through a DNA test done on a shawl possibly belonging to one of his victims from over a century ago.
Edwards explained that he purchased the shawl back in 2007 after it was marketed to be at the scene of the murder of Catherine Eddowes, on “TODAY Show Australia.” Surprisingly, the DNA found on a shawl found at the crime scene of one of Jack the Ripper’s victims, Catherine Eddowes, matches a DNA sample provided by one of Kosminski’s living relatives, according to findings published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences in 2019.
“It’s tough to put into words the elation I felt when I saw the 100 percent DNA match,” Edwards told The Sun in an interview published on January 31. And adds, “This brings closure and a form of justice for the descendants.” Edwards and some of the victims’ descendants are now asking Britain’s High Court to officially name Kosminski as the killer.
Great-great-great-granddaughter of one of Jack the Ripper’s victims states, “Having the real person legally named would be a form of justice”
One of Eddowes’ biological descendants Karen Miller, is waiting for further investigation to make the findings official. Speaking to Daily Mail, she outlines, “The name Jack the Ripper has become sensationalized. It has gone down in history as this famous character. It has all been about him, this iconic name, but people have forgotten about the victims who did not have justice at the time.”
“What about the real name of the person who did this? Having the real person legally named in a court, which can consider all the evidence, would be a form of justice for the victims. We have got the proof. Now, we need this inquest to legally name the killer,” Miller, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Eddowes, explains. Now the eyes are on the High Court’s decision to make Kosminski the official.
As tangible as it sounds, some experts still have questions about the validity of the results. Walther Parsons, a forensic scientist from the Innsbruck Medical University in Austria, criticized the study for not including actual genetic sequences of the involved parties, which were instead represented by a graphic in the report, causing doubts about the reliability of the results. Parsons told Science.org in 2019 after the journal was published, “Otherwise, the reader cannot judge the result.”
Following Edwards’ initial DNA tests in 2019, molecular biologist Walther Parson and DNA researcher Hansi Weissensteiner, of the Innsbruck Medical University, expressed doubt over the shawl’s authenticity and the methods of its genetic testing.
They argued that genetic sequences from Eddowes and Kosminski’s living relatives were not included in the testing, in addition to questioning whether the shawl may have been contaminated due to the way it was stored. Kosminski’s brother’s great-great-granddaughter has since provided a genetic sample for testing.
Who was Aaron Kosminski? He was a Jewish Polish immigrant who came to Whitechapel, England, back in 1881 with his brother. He became a barber once he made it to London. He was 23 at the time of the murders and was a prime suspect in the five murders that took place in 1888 but was never actually charged in the case. He then spent his life in an asylum where he was kept for his diagnosed schizophrenia until his death.
Jack the Ripper’s most notable victims include Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly in 1888, who were brutally murdered in the Whitechapel area. These women are called “canonical five” by Jack the Ripper researchers, the reason being they are most likely murdered by a single killer.
According to the Express, the killer needed to have anatomical knowledge in order to commit the murders. Coincidentally, an intake form from the asylum where Kosminski died in 1919 described him as a “barber-surgeon,” hinting at the anatomical knowledge needed for the gruesome nature of the Ripper’s murders, which involved slitting his victims’s throats and masterfully removing their internal organs. Despite his notorious story, the police were never able to capture him, and his identity remained locked away in the pages of history.
Sources: various sources
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