[K9Grip]

Does it actually mean he's the killer or that he just had contact with her at some point?

[Johnny Alias]

Glad to see this case finally solved.

Mitochondrial DNA matches have been used to convict plenty of murderers. The semen definitely belongs to Kosminski, who was viewed by one of the witnesses assaulting one of the other 5 Ripper victims. The witness, who was the only person believed to have seen the killer known as Jack the Ripper with one of his victims, refused to finger Kosminski at a second lineup as he himself was a Jew and refused to incriminate a fellow Jew. The Whitechapel neighbourhood at that time was home to lots of immigrants, many of them from Eastern Europe and many of them Polish and Russian Jews.

It would be quite a monumental coincidence well beyond the realm of chance that Kosminski had his semen on one of the Ripper victims' clothing, was a strong suspect in the murders, was known by the police for being extremely violent, and was sent to an insane asylum shortly after the murders ended.

The gradually increasing savagery of the Ripper murders, along with totally insane way in which the last victim, Mary Kelly, had her body totally ripped up, points to the murder being someone who was literally at the end of his emotional rope. Plus, Kosminski was a barber - and during the 19th century barbers also doubled as surgeons (i know pretty weird fact) so this would explain why the authorities suspected Jack the Ripper would have had some kind of medical knowledge or training. Kosminski also lived very close to the killings (as little as 200 yards from one of the victims) so this would explain why the killer had such good knowledge of the area, and why he was able to escape detection in the moments immediately after the murders.

Kosminski fits all the scientific and behavioral evidence. I'm more than satisfied that he is the killer. Even before this DNA evidence came out, I had long suspected that he was by far the best suspect.

[Johnny Alias]

Oh and one more thing: after the identification of Kosminski as being Jack the Ripper was made by the witness - an identification of which Kosminiski knew - the murders abruptly stopped.

He was immediately put under police surveillance day and night. I'm not entirely convinced he was insane, in those days they put people in lunatic asylums for a wide variety of reasons. Maybe his homicidal mania became so uncontrollable that even in every day functioning he came across as fit for the asylum. His ability to stop killing after he found out he had been identified as the killer is evidence that he was not totally insane.

[30564U]

The shawl had the victim's DNA all over it which specifically ties the shawl to the victim and therefore to a specific crime scene. The shawl had the suspect's DNA on it from his semen (which is remarkable).

So you have a shawl with the named victim's blood from a specific Ripper crime scene and now a prime suspect's semen also on the shawl. Although it's compelling...there is an outside miniscule chance that there are other ways the suspect's semen could be on the shawl other than the murder...after all, the victim was a known prostitute. But I think the chances are fairly good that the semen would have been deposited at the same time the blood was deposited...so it's around a 98% probability that this guy was the murderer and thus The Ripper himself. Now since there are actual handwriting samples of The Ripper's in evidence...a comparison now that we have a name should shut the book on this case.

[Johnny Alias]

Originally Posted by 30564U ↗

Now since there are actual handwriting samples of The Ripper's in evidence...a comparison now that we have a name should shut the book on this case.

Most experts on Jack the Ripper agree that pretty much all the letters were forgeries, written by journalists to sell newspapers.

The only letter that is suspected of having a chance of being written by the real killer is the "From Hell" letter, which was mailed to its recipient with a portion of human liver.

According to prominent forensic criminal behavorialists, including former chief FBI profiler John Douglas, the real killer didn't care for publicity and would never have written letters to anybody about the murders.

Regardless, the vast majority of inhabitants of Whitechapel were illiterate immigrants so not sure if a writing sample by Aaron Kosminski would even exist.

[Pyramid_Head]

This is awesome, a great mystery finally solved.

[Nite]

Originally Posted by MrCorpse ↗

That would be one of the more boring suspects if it is true... Still need the analysis to be peer reviewed to make it official.

No more boring than the BTK killer or the iceman

[MrCorpse]

Originally Posted by Nite ↗

No more boring than the BTK killer or the iceman

Iceman was pretty interesting IMO, I enjoyed his interviews... As for BTK I guess he's not the most exciting but I never thought about who the BTK Killer was prior to knowing who the killer was.

With Jack the Ripper it has been so long, looked into many of the suspects and it has been a cool mystery. Have a read on this guys Wikipedia page, he's just not that interesting whereas some of the other suspects were!

[Johnny Wadd]

Originally Posted by 30564U ↗

I talk to Steve Hodel occasionally. There's no doubt that his dad George was the Black Dahlia Avenger as well as the killer of several others at the time. The LACo. dA's Office had the complete Dahlia murder files and wire taps...there is no doubt any longer that George Hodel was the BDA. The last time I spoke with Steve, he talked like he had a number of positive leads to link his father to the Zodiac Cases as well. Time will tell on that one.

I remember seeing Steve on TV saying he also believes that his dad was the real "Lipstick Killer",a crime for which William Heirens spent 65 years behind bars,seeing his evidence on the case i do tend to agree with him

[30564U]

Originally Posted by Johnny Wadd ↗

I remember seeing Steve on TV saying he also believes that his dad was the real "Lipstick Killer",a crime for which William Heirens spent 65 years behind bars,seeing his evidence on the case i do tend to agree with him

I've often teased him about hogging all the really good serial murders for himself. He should let others have some fun and write some books...fair is fair. I'll tell you something about Steve...he is an extraordinary detective and is a gifted researcher...if he says his Dad killed JFK and Jimmy Hoffa in a church during high mass I'd believe him.