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Jack The Ripper: Case Closed?

Michelle Tiu |
September 8, 2014 | 1:01 p.m. PDT

Entertainment Producer

Has Jack the Ripper's identity finally been revealed? (@RadioTimes / Twitter)
Has Jack the Ripper's identity finally been revealed? (@RadioTimes / Twitter)
More than 125 years after wreaking havoc in the streets of London, one of the world's most notorious serial killers - Jack the Ripper - has finally been identified... or has he?

According to a new book titled Naming Jack the Ripper, author Russell Edwards claims to have found DNA evidence that points to Polish immigrant Aaron Kosminski as the man behind the infamous "Whitechapel murders" in the late 1880s.

Edwards claims that he discovered the killer's identity thanks to a bloodstained shawl - supposedly found at the murder scene of Jack the Ripper's fourth victim, Catherine Eddowes - he bought at an auction a few years ago.

Out of the hundreds of people investigated, several men - along with Kosminski - were identified as "strong suspects," including barrister Montague John Druitt, Polish barber Seweryn Kłosowski (alias George Chapman), Russian con-man Michael Ostrog, Polish bootmaker John Pizer, John Thomas Sadler, and Francis Tumblety.

As much as Edwards would surely like to say that he's solved the century-long mystery of Jack the Ripper's identity, many have shared their doubts about the claims made in the book.

Members of the scientific community in particular would like to see the author's work verified and subject to peer-review before believing such claims, so is the case really closed just yet? 

And as a side note, what kinds of movies or TV shows might be inspired by this new revelation? Should we expect some "Hannibal"-esque shows in the future?

Reach Entertainment Producer Michelle Tiu here and follow her on Twitter.

 



 

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