- Aaron Kosminski was found to be a 100% DNA match to Jack the Ripper
- Historian Russell Edwards made the discovery
- A descendant of Kosminski made the revelation possible
Historian Russell Edwards says he has identified Jack the Ripper as Aaron Kosminski through a DNA match of a shawl found at the scene of one of his murders.
Kosminski was a Polish immigrant who came to Whitechapel, England, in 1881 alongside his brother. He became a barber once in the British capitol.
Edwards told the “Today Show Australia” that he came to purchase the shawl in 2007 after it was purported to be at the scene of the murder of Catherine Eddowes.
Kosminski, who was aged 23 at the time of the murders, has long been considered a suspect. He had schizophrenia and was in a mental asylum at the time of his death in 1919.
If they do have an actual 100% DNA match of 2 people who died over 100 years ago, it’s pretty hard to fake even without chain of custody.
The question is, is that match actually new, because the article does say it was found because the descendants provided DNA. And that does sound like nothing is actually new and it’s the very same test from the mitochondrial match a few years ago, which could just mean the descendants touched it.
100% DNA match would be conclusive if it were real, but it does sound like the historian is talking shit.