The enduring mystery surrounding the identity of the infamous 19th-century serial killer, Jack the Ripper, may have been unraveled after nearly 140 years. British historian and author, Russell Edwards, claims that DNA evidence found on a shawl at one of the crime scenes points to a 23-year-old Polish immigrant named Aaron Kosminski. Kosminski, who passed away in a mental institution in 1919, is believed to have been the perpetrator of the brutal murders that shook Victorian London’s East End in the late 1800s.
Edwards shared his findings during an interview with “Today” in Australia, expressing his astonishment when the DNA from the blood on the shawl matched that of a direct female descendant of one of the victims. He said This discovery was one of his life’s most remarkable moments.
Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror spanned from 1888 to 1891, during which he brutally assaulted and murdered at least five women, most of whom were sex workers. The murders, which took place in and around London’s impoverished Whitechapel district, were particularly gruesome, with three of the victims having their internal organs removed. The victims were identified as Mary Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly.
Edwards, who has been closely following the case, purchased the shawl found at the scene of Eddowes’ murder in 2007. He described the process of uncovering the killer’s identity as a thrilling adventure filled with unexpected twists and turns.
The descendants of the five known victims have been urging Scotland Yard to revisit the cold case, which has remained unsolved for 137 years. Edwards believes that the DNA evidence provides conclusive proof of the killer’s identity and is calling for an inquest to legally name Kosminski as Jack the Ripper.
Kosminski, who moved to England as a child and worked as a barber in Whitechapel, began showing signs of mental illness in 1885. He was committed to several mental institutions and reported experiencing auditory hallucinations before his death at the age of 53.
Despite Edwards’ findings, some online skeptics have raised doubts, citing allegations that he fabricated the discovery of a child’s skull in 2022, which led to a new police search for the body of Keith Bennett, a victim of the notorious Moors Murders.