The 137-year-old mystery around the identity of the notorious serial killer, Jack the Ripper, responsible for the brutal rape and murders of at least five women, can finally be solved. British historian and self -proclaimed ‘ripperologist’, Russell Edwards has claimed to have made the breakthrough, based on evidence that has been recovered from one of the victims, according to a report in news.com.au.
Edwards bought a scarf from one of the victims, Catherine Eddowes, 46, in 2007 that contained blood and sperm. Eddowes was an orphan with a daughter and two sons who were killed on the same night as the third victim of the Ripper.
Working as a prostitute, she was brutally murdered at 1:45 am. Her throat was cut and she was extracted. Her face was also mutilated. According to reports, the scarf on the crime scene was among the murderer, not to Eddowes.
Mr Edwards brought the scarf through forensic tests, showing that DNA would contain two separate people. He explained that the DNA work lasted more than four years with issues such as infection and “many other obstacles” that delayed the process.
“We tested the sperm that was left on the scarf on the left. When we match that, I was stupidly struck that we had actually discovered who Jack de Ripper really was.”
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One of the samples corresponded to a descendant of the female victim, while the other corresponded to the descendants of a Polish immigrant. When discovering the name of this man, Mr. Edwards was able to unravel the mystery with the name of the serial killer: Aaron Kosminski.
“When we match the DNA from the blood on the scarf with a direct female descendant of the victim, it was the most amazing moment of my life at the time,” said Mr Edwards.
“Given that his DNA is on the scarf that was in the murder scene and he was called, I never considered anyone else as the ripper,” said Mr Edwards.
In particular, Kosminski was born in 1865 in Klodawa in Central Poland. His family fled the imperial Russian anti-Jewish pogroms and emigrated to East London in the early 1880s. He lived close to the murder scenes.
While Mr Edwards is firmly behind his claims, some scientists have disputed his testing process and the final result.