Two British researchers say they have potentially identified notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper using forensic DNA evidence.
In the Whitechapel district of London from August to November 1888, Jack the Ripper killed at least five women. A total of eleven brutal killings occurred in Whitechapel, continuing until 1891, although authorities were unable to conclusively connect all of the murders.
Over the past 130 years, there have been numerous theories about who Jack the Ripper might be, but he has never been identified. However, thanks to forensic DNA, we may finally know who this brutal serial killer was.
When a notorious serial killer terrorized London in the late 1800s, the media called him several names, including the Whitechapel Murderer and Leather Apron.
But it was the name Jack the Ripper that stuck, due to the brutal nature of the murders, particularly the vicious way he slashed the throats of the victims, as well as, removed organs and performed other abdominal mutilations.
This led to speculation that the killer might be someone with surgical or medical knowledge.
In a new study published in the Journal of Forensic Science, two British researchers say that using forensic DNA evidence, they believe they have identified Jack the Ripper at last.
During the study, Jari Louhelainen of Liverpool John Moores University and David Miller of the University of Leeds, examined and tested blood and semen taken from a shawl that was found near the body of the fourth victim, Catherine Eddowes.
According to the researchers, the “semen stains match the sequences of one of the main police suspects, Aaron Kosminski.”
Kosminski was a 23-year-old Polish barber and had been the prime suspect at the time. Due to the DNA match, the researchers believe Kosminski is the likely killer.
