Jack the Ripper, the serial killer who committed numerous murders in London, England more than 130 years ago, is now identified as a Polish immigrant named Aaron Kosminski. Researchers revealed the identity of Kosminski, who died in 1919, after finding DNA evidence on a shawl retrieved at the crime scene where a woman named Catherine Eddowes was killed.
The evidence, according to E! News, matches the DNA sample provided by Kosminski’s living relative.
“It’s very difficult to put into words the elation I felt when I saw the 100 percent DNA match,” researcher Russell Edwards told The Sun. “This brings closure and a form of justice for the descendants.”
Although he was a prime suspect in five murders that took place in 1888, Kosminski was never charged. Eddowes’ descendants are now relieved to see the latest evidence in the case.
“We have the proof,” One of Eddowes’ descendants, Karen Miller, told the Daily Mail in January. “Now we need this inquest to legally name the killer.”
However, some experts still question the evidence. Hansi Weissensteiner, a researcher at Austria’s Innsbruck Medical University, said the DNA sample can rule out the culprits, but it doesn’t clearly identify the killer.
“Based on mitochondrial DNA, one can only exclude a suspect,” Weissensteiner told Science.org.
