For nearly 150 years, countless theories, from the most far-fetched to more plausible ones, have circulated about the identity of Jack the Ripper, the nickname given to the killer who terrorised London (England) at the end of the nineteenth century.
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An investigation published in Journal of Forensic Sciences has revealed the name of the infamous serial killer.
The analysis of traces found on the shawl of a victim
To reach this result, a forensic investigation was again conducted by Jari Louhelainen from the John Moores University of Liverpool and David Miller of the University of Leeds (England). They used a shawl that had belonged to Catherine Eddowes, the supposed fourth victim (out of five) of Jack the Ripper, that she wore at the time of her death. Her atrociously mutilated body was found on the night of September 30, 1888, in the London Borough of Aldgate.
The researchers analysed the traces of blood and sperm left on the garment. They then compared them with fragments of mitochondrial DNA (which is transmitted by the mother) taken from several descendants of Aaron Kosminski, long suspected to be the serial killer. They discovered that the samples matched. The scientists noted in their report:
To our knowledge, this is the most advanced study ever done on this case.
Aaron Kosminski, a long-time suspect
This was not the first time the name of this man appeared during the course of this investigation. At the time of the events, this 23-year-old Polish barber was among Scotland Yard's suspects.
A witness told police that he saw Aaron Kosminski with one of the victims just before she was murdered. But he retracted this sometime later. Due to lack of sufficient evidence, he could not be sentenced. Suffering from hallucinations and paranoia, Aaron Kosminski spent a lot of time in psychiatric hospitals and died at the age of 53.
His name came back on the scene in 2014 when Russell Edwards, a British businessman and passionate about the Jack the Ripper, published a book in which he claimed that Whitechapel's barber was the Victorian era, serial killer.
He bought the famous shawl at auction and had a DNA analysis performed at his expense, by Jari Louhelainen, an expert in genetics and author of the article published recently! The tests revealed Aaron Kosminski was Jack the Ripper.
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