After more than 130 years, one of history's most enduring criminal mysteries may finally be solved. Forensic scientists claim a major DNA breakthrough has conclusively identified the notorious serial killer known as Jack the Ripper.
The Prime Suspect
The new findings point directly to Aaron Kosminski, a 23-year-old Polish barber who was one of the Metropolitan Police's chief suspects at the time of the murders. Kosminski was a Jewish immigrant who had fled persecution in Poland and settled in London's East End during the late 1800s.
Working as a barber in Whitechapel, he lived at the epicentre of the Ripper's killing spree. Historical records show he displayed early signs of severe mental illness. In 1891, just a few years after the murders ended, he was committed to Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum.
Doctors had diagnosed him with paranoia and hallucinations, noting his refusal to wash or eat food prepared by others. Although staff did not consider him violent, he remained institutionalised until his death in 1919.
The Forensic Evidence
The investigation centres on a silk shawl allegedly discovered next to the body of Catherine Eddowes, the Ripper's fourth victim, who was killed in 1888. A recent study details how forensic teams analysed the garment, finding traces of DNA from both blood and semen.
Researchers compared this genetic material with samples from living descendants of both Eddowes and Kosminski. The results reportedly show a genetic match with some of Kosminski's relatives, providing what could be the most compelling scientific link yet between the suspect and the crimes.
Expert Scrutiny and Doubts
Despite the dramatic headlines, many experts are urging caution. Several have pointed out that the study does not publish the full genetic sequences, presenting them instead as coloured blocks on a chart, which makes independent verification difficult.
The authors cite UK privacy laws as the reason for withholding this detail, but forensic specialists have dismissed this explanation, stating that mitochondrial DNA could have been shared without privacy concerns. Furthermore, some historians question the shawl's provenance, arguing there is no definitive proof it was ever at the crime scene, while others fear it has been contaminated over the past century.
While police officials later named Kosminski as a major suspect—with one senior officer claiming an eyewitness had identified him but refused to testify—this new DNA evidence remains controversial. It has sparked global interest but has not yet definitively closed Britain's most infamous cold case.
