For over a century, the identity of Jack the Ripper, the notorious killer who terrorised London's Whitechapel district in 1888, has remained one of history's most enduring unsolved mysteries. Now, a forensic breakthrough claims to have finally answered the question.
The murders that shocked Victorian London
Jack the Ripper is believed responsible for the deaths of at least five women, known as the "Canonical Five": Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly. Between August and November 1888, the women were murdered in Whitechapel, a poverty-stricken part of London, with the killer's method, including mutilation and the removal of internal organs, fuelling speculation for decades that he may have had surgical knowledge.
A shawl, a decade of testing, and a claimed DNA match
Author and self-described "Ripperologist" Russell Edwards began his investigation after purchasing a shawl in 2007, reportedly linked to victim Catherine Eddowes. The fabric contained blood and semen stains, and after years of forensic work, researchers say they identified DNA matching both a descendant of Eddowes and a Polish immigrant living in London at the time of the murders.
Edwards has said the process of matching the DNA was the most significant moment of his life, describing his shock at what the results appeared to reveal.
Descendants call for an inquest
Karen Miller, a descendant of victim Catherine Eddowes, has spoken about how the case has historically focused far more on the killer's notoriety than on the women who died. She's called for an official inquest to formally confirm the findings, saying it would bring long-overdue closure to the victims' families.
Not everyone is convinced
The research hasn't been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, meaning independent experts haven't been able to fully scrutinise the DNA results. Some scientists have raised concerns about the lack of transparency around the genetic data used, and questioned whether there's solid proof the shawl was ever present at a crime scene in the first place. UK authorities have previously declined to open a new inquest into the case, citing insufficient new evidence.
The name behind the theory
Despite the ongoing debate, Edwards maintains he has never seriously considered any other suspect since the DNA results came back. The man he and his research point to as Jack the Ripper is Aaron Kosminski, a Polish-born barber who lived and worked in Whitechapel at the time of the murders, and who was already considered a suspect during the original 1888 investigation, though never formally charged. Kosminski suffered from severe mental illness and was institutionalised for years before his death in 1919, and while some researchers stand firmly behind the theory, the case remains officially unresolved.
