Earlier this year, more than 130 years after Jack the Ripper terrorized London’s Whitechapel district, a team of forensic scientists had declared the case solved, naming 23-year-old Polish barber Aaron Kosminski as the infamous slayer.
The claim relies on DNA extracted from a silk shawl allegedly retrieved next to the body of victim Catherine Eddowes. Netizens, however, are not convinced.
Highlights
- A DNA study has claimed that Jack the Ripper was Aaron Kosminski, a Polish barber and one of the original police suspects from 1888.
- Scientists have stated that genetic material from a shawl found beside victim Catherine Eddowes matches living relatives of Kosminski.
- Experts, however, have argued that the theory’s evidence is far from conclusive.
DNA on a shawl found near one of the Ripper’s victims has been linked to Aaron Kosminski, a Polish barber who lived right where the murders happened
Image credits: R. Taylor/The Illustrated London News/Wikimedia
Jack the Ripper is one of the most notorious serial k*llers in history. Between August and November 1888, the slayer targeted five women: Elizabeth Stride, Mary Jane Kelly, Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman and Catherine Eddowes.
Jack the Ripper did not just take the lives of his victims. He also mutilated their bodies, removing their organs and displaying them for the police and the public. All of his victims are believed to be adult workers.
He was never caught. This resulted in Jack the Ripper becoming one of history’s most noteworthy cold cases.
Image credits: Hulton Archive/Getty Images
According to The Mirror, a series of genetic tests claimed that the notorious serial k*ller was Polish-born Jewish immigrant Aaron Kosminski, who lived in London’s East End in the late 1800s.
Since he worked as a barber in Whitechapel, he would have lived right where Jack the Ripper committed his heinous acts.
To reach their conclusion, the researchers analyzed samples from a shawl reportedly retrieved next to the body of Catherine Eddowes.
According to the paper published in 2019, mitochondrial DNA from the shawl matched some of Kosminski’s descendants.
Aaron Kosminski was declared to be the real identity of Jack the Ripper by historian Russell Edwards
Image credits: Russell Stephen Edwards/Facebook
Some social media users pointed out that the claim based on DNA found on the shawl could be incorrect due "contamination of evidence." A user agreed, saying "DNA evidence is inconclusive."
Kosminski was actually one of the Metropolitan Police’s prime suspects in 1888. An eyewitness, a senior officer, had actually identified Kosminski, but he refused to testify.
By 1891, Kosminski was locked away in Colney Hatch asylum due to severe mental illness. He remained institutionalized until his passing in 1919.
Image credits: MeisterDrucke/Wikimedia
The claims were outlined in historian Russell Edwards’s book, Naming Jack the Ripper: The Definitive Reveal. It was a sequel to his original book, Naming the Ripper.
“He is no longer just a suspect. We can hold him, finally, to account for his terrible deeds. My search is over: Aaron Kosminski is Jack the Ripper,” Edwards stated.
Image credits: Russell Stephen Edwards/Facebook
In a comment to The Sun, Edwards shared his excitement about the DNA match. “It’s very difficult to put into words the elation I felt when I saw the 100 percent DNA match. This brings closure and a form of justice for the descendants,” he said.
Experts are not convinced that the paper’s DNA tests have solved the Jack the Ripper case
Image credits: Christine Matthews/Wikimedia
Not all forensic scientists and Ripper historians are convinced that Aaron Kosminski is the definitive suspect in the Jack the Ripper case.
Hansi Weissensteiner, an expert in mitochondrial DNA at Innsbruck Medical University in Austria, has taken issue with the researchers’ use of mitochondrial DNA analysis.
The expert stated that the analysis really just shows that two people are not related.
“Based on mitochondrial DNA, one can only exclude a suspect,” he said.
Thus, the mitochondrial DNA from the shawl could indeed be from Kosminski, but it could also have come from thousands who lived in London at the time.
The shawl itself remains the biggest problem. Some critics have argued that there is no evidence that the specific shawl was really at the crime scene. It could also have been contaminated over the years.
Image credits: Simon & Schuster
Despite the doubts around the paper’s conclusions, descendants of Jack the Ripper’s victims have called for the case to be reopened, according to Unilad.
Karen Miller, a direct descendant of Eddowes, has urged the court to legally name Kosminski in court.
Image credits: Mid-Century Film Productions
“The name Jack the Ripper has become sensationalized. It has gone down in history as this famous character. People have forgotten about the victims, who did not have justice at the time. Now we need this inquest to legally name the k*ller.”
“Having the real person legally named in a court which can consider all the evidence would be a form of justice for the victims,” she said.
Netizens shared their thoughts about Aaron Kosminski and the Jack the Ripper case on social media
