DNA Evidence Reveals Jack the Ripper’s True Identity 140 Years Later

Nearly 140 years after Jack the Ripper terrorized Victorian London, DNA evidence has revealed the serial killer’s identity. The breakthrough came from testing evidence recovered from one of the murder scenes. English historian Russell Edwards said the discovery was “the singular most amazing moment of my life.” The findings identify a suspect who was already under investigation during the original murders in 1888.

The Shawl Was Taken From Catherine Eddowes’ Murder Scene

The silk shawl was recovered from the murder scene of Catherine Eddowes, who was killed on September 30, 1888, in Mitre Square. PC Watkins discovered her heavily mutilated body on the pavement. Acting Police Sergeant Amos Simpson took the blood-covered shawl as a macabre gift for his wife Jane, who never wore it. The garment remained in the Simpson family for generations.

Edwards Purchased the Shawl at Auction in 2007

Edwards, a businessman from north London, found the shawl at an auction in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, in 2007. Simpson’s great-great-nephew, David Melville-Hayes, had put it up for sale. Edwards was intrigued but skeptical when he purchased it. He found the shawl remarkably well-preserved, with what appeared to be blood and semen stains still visible on the garment.

DNA From Blood Matched a Direct Descendant of the Victim

Edwards conducted extensive DNA tests on the blood and semen stains, aided by distant relatives of both the victim and suspect. The blood stains matched an unnamed direct descendant of Eddowes. “When we matched the DNA from the blood on the shawl with a direct female descendant of the victim, it was the singular most amazing moment of my life at the time,” Edwards told Today in Australia.

Semen Stains Matched Kosminski’s Descendant

Although a request to exhume Kosminski’s body was declined, the DNA found in the semen stains matched one of Kosminski’s sisters’ descendants. Edwards said testing the semen left on the shawl was crucial. “When we matched that, I was dumbfounded that we actually had discovered who Jack the Ripper truly was,” he told Today in Australia.

Five Women Were Brutally Murdered in Four Months

Jack the Ripper killed at least five women in the Whitechapel area of East London from August to November 1888. The victims were Mary Ann Nichols, 43, Annie Chapman, 47, Elizabeth Stride, 44, Catherine Eddowes, 46, and Mary Jane Kelly, 25. Most were sex workers in the impoverished Whitechapel district. Three victims had internal organs removed.

Kosminski Was Born in Poland and Fled to London in 1882

Kosminski was born on September 11, 1865, in Klodawa near Warsaw, the youngest of seven children. He lost his father when he was just eight years old. In 1882, six years before the murders, his family fled to London’s East End to escape anti-Semitism spreading across eastern Europe following the death of Tsar Alexander II a year earlier.

Police Had Identified Him as a Key Suspect During the Investigation

Dr. Robert Anderson, head of the London Criminal Investigation Department, had identified Kosminski as a key suspect during the original investigation. The 1894 Macnaghten Memorandum recorded that detectives believed he harbored a “great hatred of women, especially of the prostitute class, and had strong homicidal tendencies.” Edwards noted that political correctness made investigators hesitant to accuse a Jewish immigrant publicly.

Edwards Has Been Studying the Case for Nearly 30 Years

Edwards, who describes himself as a Ripper investigator, has been delving into the case for nearly three decades. He wrote a second book claiming to have definitively identified the Ripper and explaining how he evaded justice. Edwards told Today in Australia that the investigation was “a voyage of discovery, with many twists and turns” and “the adventure was thrilling from beginning to end.”

Relatives of Victims Are Pushing for Official Recognition

Relatives of the five known victims have pushed Scotland Yard to take a fresh look at the 137-year-old cold case. Edwards told Today in Australia, “We have got the proof, now we need this inquest to legally name the killer.” He added that it would mean a lot to him, his family, and many others to finally have this crime officially solved after nearly 140 years.