14 DAY TRIAL // Doctor Stephen Herbert Appleford, of Whitechapel, was identified as renowned serial killer Jack the Ripper.
Uruguayan mathematician Eduardo Cuitiño issued the theory, following two years of research in which he never set foot in London, the Mirror reports.
At least five call girls were murdered in the East End area, in London, in 1888 – Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly.
Three of the victims were found with their wombs removed. Scotland Yard performed an extensive investigation for the psychopath behind these dreadful crimes, but to no avail.
The killing spree went on for ten weeks, leaving many believing the Ripper had died or had been captured by the police. Cuitiño, a professor of statistics at the University ORT of Montevideo, used a mathematical approach to the matter, and reviewed records from that time.
He found that Appleford, born in Essex, was working as a surgeon in 1888, at the London Hospital of Whitechapel, which is the area where the victims were killed. He was left-handed, like Jack, and had strong arms, having been a swimmer and a rower while at university.
Appleford was 36 years old at the time the murders took place, which has been described as an age where a serial killer is most active. His IQ was above average, and he was a recluse.
In 1881, his mother, who he was very close to, died. One year after, in 1882, a woman was found stabbed on an alleyway in East London, and the surgeon was conveniently nearby.
Police believed him when he said he was trying to help her, as he was a doctor. He later said the woman had cut herself, to take her own life.
Doctor Stephen Herbert Appleford died in 1940, having had no children. He was alone at 88. Professor Cuitino suggests the man most likely killed himself.