DNA match reveals the identity of Jack the Ripper, 137 years later

After 137 years, one of the all-time greatest mysteries has been solved, as multiple outlets are reporting that the true crime case of Jack the Ripper has been blown wide open thanks to a DNA match.

First, a reminder of some of the details of the Jack the Ripper case, thanks to Wikipedia. Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who was active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer was also called the Whitechapel Murderer and Leather Apron. Attacks ascribed to Jack the Ripper typically involved women working as prostitutes who lived in the slums of the East End of London. Their throats were cut prior to abdominal mutilations. The removal of internal organs from at least three of the victims led to speculation that their killer had some anatomical or surgical knowledge. Rumours that the murders were connected intensified in September and October 1888, and numerous letters were received by media outlets and Scotland Yard from people purporting to be the murderer. It’s not quite clear just how many women were murdered by Jack the Ripper, but the “canonical five” victims were Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly.

It was a bloodstained shawl said to have been found on Eddowes’ body that appears to have finally solved the case. The shawl was purchased by author and Ripper researcher Russell Edwards in 2007, who decided to have the fluids on the shawl tested. As it turns out, there were DNA matches for two individuals: Eddowes and a man named Aaron Kosminski. Kosminski was a Polish barber who emigrated to the UK in the 1880s and worked in the Whitechapel area. He actually was a suspect at the time of the murders, but was never arrested because police had no proof of his involvement. Now that his DNA has been found on a shawl left at the scene of one of the crimes, the Daily Mail reports that the descendants of Jack the Ripper’s victims are backing a legal application for a new inquest into the death of Catherine Eddowes. Kosminski’s oldest brother’s great-great-granddaughter provided the DNA sample that resulted in the match.

Karen Miller, the three-times great-granddaughter of Eddowes, also provided a DNA sample. She said, “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. It would mean a lot to me, to my family, to a lot of people to finally have this crime solved.“

As for what happened to Kosminski, he was institutionalized after he threatened his sister with a knife in 1891. He spent the rest of his life in asylums, passing away in 1919 at the age of 53.

What do you think of a DNA match revealing the identity of Jack the Ripper – who was, it seems, Aaron Kosminski? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.