Jack the Ripper’s Identity Revealed After DNA Breakthrough

Photo byAleksandr PopovonUnsplash

The notorious Jack the Ripper’s identity has been a mystery for 136 years. The Ripper murdered at least five prostitutes in Whitechapel between August and November 1888. Now, author and Jack the Ripper researcher Russell Edwards was able to unravel the Ripper’s identity, with the help of a blood and semen-stained shawl he bought in an auction in 2007 that belonged to one of the Ripper’s victims, Catherine Eddowes. Edwards used the DNA on the shawl to verify that it indeed belonged to Eddowes, and the semen turned out to be a DNA match for a distant relative of Aaron Kosminski, a suspect in the killings at that time.

Jack the Ripper’s Real Identity

Kosminski was born on September 11, 1865, being the youngest of seven children. He grew up in Klodawa, Poland, with his father dying when he was just eight and he eventually worked as a barber. He emigrated to the UK in the 1880s and was a suspect in the killings in East London 128 years ago, making him around 22 or 23 at the time of the murders. Now, Edwards has used cutting-edge technology to create a composite of what Kosminski might have looked like. Detectives at that time believed that Kosminski had a “great hatred of women, especially of the prostitute class, and had strong homicidal tendencies.” However, Kosminski was never arrested and died in an asylum.

The Conspiracy Behind the Ripper’s Identity

Edwards claims to expose a “conspiracy of silence” that kept Jack the Ripper’s identity a mystery in his latest book, Naming Jack The Ripper: The Definitive Reveal. The theory is that the Ripper’s identity is covered up by the masons. What supports this theory is that photographs of Kosminki’s brother dressed as a member of the Israel Lodge of Freemasons were discovered. This also explains why Kosminski was sent to an asylum and not prosecuted.

Jack the Ripper Gaining His Reputation

The Ripper became so well-known due to the heinous nature of his crimes. He had mutilated his victims, having removed their internal organs. In addition, there were 11 prostitute killings in the period between April 1888 and February 1891, they have been dubbed the Whitechapel murders. However, only three to seven of them, known as the Canonical Murders, are certainly linked to Jack the Ripper. All victims had their throats cut, and post-mortem injuries, and three of the victims had their body parts taken. With Eddows, though, her head was nearly severed and her nose was cut open.

Edwards Faces Skepticism

One can think that the case can now be closed but unfortunately, experts are skeptical. The DNA evidence might as well be useless as experts believe that the blood and semen stains on the shawl are over a century old, thus, it was “highly unlikely” that it hadn’t been contaminated in the years that have passed, according to the Ripper expert Andrew Smith. In addition, per the Independent report, the scientist who carried out the DNA analysis made a “fundamental error” when calculating the changes of Kosminski being the murderer by using a DNA database.

Conclusion

It is mystifying that a case has gone cold for over a century. People throughout the decades have been trying to unravel this mystery and maybe they are close to unraveling it with the rise of technology but more conclusive evidence is required. If the evidence presented really was conclusive, they would have allowed the exhumation of Kosminski’s body, but that wasn’t the case. That doesn’t mean that Edwards is in the wrong, though, it just means that further proof is needed to ensure that his discovery is solid.

Article originally written by Amira Zidan.