14 DAY TRIAL // There's a new book on Jack the Ripper in town, and this one claims that, according to DNA evidence collected from a shawl belonging to one of his victims, the world-famous serial killer was a Polish immigrant named Aaron Kosminski.
Granted, the scientific community is yet to confirm the murderer's identity, but “Naming Jack the Ripper” author Russell Edwards, best described as an armchair detective, is convinced that his book solves this decades-long mystery.
A few words on Jack the Ripper's career
This serial killer was active in London, UK, back in 1888. He butchered at least five women who were working as prostitutes over the course of only a few weeks, and even removed some of his victims' organs. Hence, many believe that he had some training as a surgeon.
The five canonical victims of Jack the Ripper are as follows: Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, and Catherine Eddowes. They worked and lived in the slums of London, and were killed between 31 August and 9 November 1888.
The shawl that cracked the case
History enthusiast Russell Edwards claims to have pinned down Jack the Ripper's identity with the help of a shawl he bought at an auction organized in 2007. This shawl is said to have belonged to one of the serial killer’s victims, 46-year-old Catherine Eddowes.
The man selling the shawl was David Mellvile-Hayes, who told would-be detective Russel Edwards that his family came to own it after one of his ancestors, a sergeant named Amos Simpson, brought it back home with him from the crime scene.
“Its owner, David Melville-Hayes, believed it had been in his family’s possession since the murder of Catherine Eddowes, when his ancestor, Acting Sergeant Amos Simpson, asked his superiors if he could take it home to give to his wife,” author Russell Edwards said in a statement, as cited by Mashable.
The DNA evidence
After acquiring the shawl, the “Naming Jack the Ripper” author asked a molecular biology professor to pull DNA samples of it. Based on data obtained while analyzing these samples, Russell Edwards concluded that Jack the Ripper was a 23-year-old Polish immigrant named Aaron Kosminski.
Thus, the DNA was found to be strikingly similar to genetic material taken from one of the descendants of Aaron Kosminski's sister. As explained by the book's author, “The first strand of DNA showed a 99.2 per cent match. On testing the second strand, we achieved a perfect 100 per cent match.”
This immigrant is said to have arrived in England in 1881, together with his family. Apparently, Aaron Kosminski and his loved ones fled Poland looking to escape Russian oppression. After making it to the UK, the 23-year-old and his family settled down in Mile End Old Town, a district in East London.
Case closed?
Not to rain on Russell Edward's parade or anything, but the fact remains that, even if nobody bothered to wash it since 1888 until 2007, the shawl was likely touched by many from the time it was collected from victim Catherine Eddowes until the armchair detective got its hands on it.
This means that, all things considered, whatever DNA evidence can be obtained by processing, it is not all that reliable. Simply put, there is no way the shawl can be used to establish Jack the Ripper's identity without a shadow of a doubt.