WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Jack the Ripper unmasked: How amateur sleuth used DNA breakthrough to identify

[Uncle Joe]

Britain's most notorious criminal 126 years after string of terrible murders

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2746321/Jack-Ripper-unmasked-How-amateur-sleuth-used-DNA-breakthrough-identify-Britains-notorious-criminal-126-years-string-terrible-murders.html#ixzz3CaQPIrlx

DNA evidence on a shawl found at Ripper murder scene nails killer
By testing descendants of victim and suspect, identifications were made
Jack the Ripper has been identified as Polish-born Aaron Kosminski
Kosminski was a suspect when the Ripper murders took place in 1888
Hairdresser Kosminski lived in Whitechapel and was later put in an asylum






Kosminski has always been one of the three most credible suspects. He is often described as having been a hairdresser in Whitechapel, the occupation written on his admission papers to the workhouse in 1890. What is certain is he was seriously mentally ill, probably a paranoid schizophrenic who suffered auditory hallucinations and described as a misogynist prone to ‘self-abuse’ – a euphemism for masturbation.

(snip)

It was an amazing breakthrough. We now knew that the shawl was authentic, and was at the scene of the crime in September 1888, and had the victim’s blood on it. On its own, this made it the single most important artefact in Ripper history: nothing else has ever been linked scientifically to the scene of any of the crimes.

Months of research on the shawl, including analysing the dyes used, had proved that it was made in Eastern Europe in the early 19th Century. Now it was time to attempt to prove that it contained the killer’s DNA.

(snip)

But the next revelation was the most heart-stopping. Under UV photography, a set of fluorescent stains showed up which Jari said had the characteristics of semen. I’d never expected to find evidence of the Ripper himself, so this was thrilling, although Jari cautioned me that more testing was required before any conclusions could be drawn.

There is more on the link.

[Cooley Hurd]

1. I've always thought that it sucked that The Duke of Clarence was ever...

...suspected of this. There was NO evidence even remotely positioning him towards the crimes.

[smirkymonkey]

2. This is fascinating.

I have, like many people, been intrigued with this case due to the fact that it has never been solved and had, up until now, seemed like it never would be.

Of course, there have been many times when it has been declared that "the REAL Ripper" had been discovered, but I think scientific evidence is certainly most convincing.

For the record, all of the suspects are extremely creepy looking. If they weren't guilty of this crime, it wouldn't shock me if they were guilty of another.

[smokey nj]

3. The shoemaker guy is the creepiest. He looks like

Rasputin.

[laundry_queen]

9. You're right. He does.

[smirkymonkey]

14. Yes! That is exactly who he looks like.

However, I am sure he's not as bulletproof.

[hifiguy]

31. They had to shoot Rasputin.

He swallowed a whole drugstore's worth of poison and didn't even belch.

This is fascinating. I read several Ripper books and this guy was always listed as a prime suspect.

[smirkymonkey]

48. Yes, but the first few bullets didn't kill him.

It was quite a process to actually get rid of him once and for all.

Back to the main topic, I am still skeptical as to how a hairdresser could remove the victim's organs with surgeon-like precision.

[Uncle Joe]

86. "Only your hairdresser knows for sure."

[smirkymonkey]

92. Gaaahh! I think from now on I will cut and color my own hair.

That is one creepy commercial.

[Scootaloo]

32. You know Rasputin was the Tsar's battle mech, right?

he didn't die until they tossed him in a river and caused him to short out.

RA5-PU-71N is a serial code, NOT a name.

[merrily]

60. Looking innocent to us with that forehead ridge would be difficult.

That nose looks as though it might have been broken more than once, too. Maybe he was pugilistic or maybe a lot of others thought he looked like a bad guy.

[dflprincess]

89. That he looks like Rasputin was my first thought when I saw the picture. nt

[merrily]

56. A lot of that look is attributable to the fashions of the day.

Imagine them clean shaven and with different hair styles. Then, imagine them smiling (and with good teeth).

For some reason, no one was supposed to smile when being portrayed. I've seen old photographs of families in which everyone, down to the kiddoes, looked like they might jump out of the photo and stab me in the eye.

[truebluegreen]

64. Smiling was generally ill-advised

Because of the exposure time required by the photographic technology of the day. A smile couldn't be held long enough without blurring the photograph.

[merrily]

68. People tend to look intensely stern, though, not merely not smiling.

Maybe angry.

And, as the parenthetical in my prior post indicated, they did not always have a full set of white teeth.

Thanks for that photography insight, though. I didn't realize that.

[Chellee]

91. How about these people?

They get a little blurry towards the end, but incredibly sweet.

[Ron Obvious]

74. Creepy Looking

For the record, all of the suspects are extremely creepy looking. If they weren't guilty of this crime, it wouldn't shock me if they were guilty of another.

Haha! You should see my Victorian grandparents. They all look like they had sticks up their fundaments. It's just an artifact of photography in those days where you had to keep still for minutes at a time.

[rock]

77. None of the presentations

that I saw "unmasking" the Ripper were at all convincing, they were just so much speculation. Color me convinced this time.

[UTUSN]

4. Why was Lewis CARROLL one of the candidates? Was he weird, too?!1 (Will Google) n/t

[ret5hd]

6. Uhhh...creepier than you might want to know.

[UTUSN]

7. Well, it might be said that ALL Victorians were weird!1 Well, I Googled and

it seems it was just some publicity seeker writer who offered NO proof, who presented anagrams from CARROLL's writing, with letters added or deleted from the "anagrams" to make things fit.

[ReRe]

37. Think about our own "Shirley Temple"...

... when she was a little girl. I don't think movies starring an endearing little girl in short dresses would be taken so well at this point in time.

[MADem]

26. Judge for yourself....

Warning--huge creep factor:

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/29/gender.uk
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1630146.stm

[UTUSN]

67. Yuck!1 So, unlike Michael JACKSON, he didn't ACT on his creepiness.

It creeps me out that we have a split screen on JACKSON, that we know quite enough about his creepiness yet have Lifetime awards named after him and reference him in standards of excellence.

[MADem]

72. I wasn't there, so who knows, really? I wouldn't ask him to babysit, is all I'm sayin... nt

[Scootaloo]

34. Because serial killings were almost a pop culture entertainment thing at the time

And so famous people got swept up in the circus around them, the same way celebrities get sucked up into ridiculous shit today.

Check out Judith Flanders' "The Invention of Murder." You think "Hannibal" is a hit today? Imagine what it would have been like as a weekly stereoscope!

[dixiegrrrrl]

5. How cool to be around when one of the most famous mysteries has been solved.

Now, about Judge Crater............

[Uncle Joe]

10. I imagine Tammany Hall and organized crime in general.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Force_Crater

Crater's dinner companions gave differing accounts of Crater's departure from the restaurant. William Klein initially testified that "the judge got into a taxicab outside the restaurant about 9:30 PM and drove west on Forty-fifth Street,"[9] and this account was initially confirmed by Sally Lou Ritz: "At the sidewalk Judge Crater took a taxicab."[10] Klein and Ritz later changed their story and said that they had entered a taxi outside the restaurant while Crater had walked down the street.[11]

(snip)

Crater enjoyed the city's nightlife, and had been involved with several women. In the aftermath of the case, two of his female friends left town abruptly and a third was murdered. Ritzi, the showgirl who had dined with him the evening he vanished, went missing from New York in August or September 1930.[19] She was found in late September 1930, living in Youngstown, Ohio with her parents. She said she had left New York suddenly because she had received word that her father was ill. Ritzi was still being subjected to interviews by police investigating the Crater case in 1937, by which time she was living in Beverly Hills, California.[20][21]

(snip)

Vivian Gordon was involved in high-end prostitution, and linked to madam Polly Adler. Gordon had liaisons with a large number of influential businesspeople, and Gordon was, on paper at least, the owner of a number of properties believed to be fronts for illegal activity. She was also seen around town with gangster Jack "Legs" Diamond, with whom Crater was rumored to socialize. Crater had known Diamond's former boss, organized crime figure Arnold Rothstein, and been extremely upset at his murder.[11][23]

On February 20, 1931, Gordon, angry about a conviction that had resulted in the loss of custody of her 16-year-old daughter, met the head of an official inquiry into city government corruption (launched in the wake of Crater's disappearance), and offered to testify about graft. Five days later she was murdered. Detectives searching Gordon's apartment found a coat that had belonged to Crater. The publicity surrounding Gordon's killing led to the resignation of a policeman she had accused of framing her, and the suicide of her daughter. The Tammany Hall political machine's hold on the city, already weakened by Rothstein and the conflict over his former empire, was largely eliminated in the ensuing scandal, which also led to the resignation of New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker.[11][23]

On August 19, 2005, authorities revealed that they had received notes written by a woman from Queens, Stella Ferrucci-Good, after her death at 91. In the letter, Good claimed that her husband, Robert Good a NYPD detective, had learned that Crater was killed by NYPD officer Charles Burns (also bodyguard of Abe Reles of Murder, Inc.) and Burns's brother Frank. According to the letter, Crater was buried near West Eighth Street in Coney Island, Brooklyn, at the current site of the New York Aquarium.[36][37] Police reported that no records had been found to indicate that skeletal remains had been discovered at that site when it was excavated in the 1950s.[36] Richard J. Tofel, the author of Vanishing Point: The Disappearance of Judge Crater and the New York He Left Behind, expressed skepticism of Ferrucci-Good's account.[36]

I don't know if we will ever know for sure who did it, but I believe Judge Crater's corruption ultimately led to his own death.

[dixiegrrrrl]

69. Frank Burns!!!!!!

I shoulda known..he always was such a shifty eyed guy on M*A*S*H*......

[Uncle Joe]

85. I always did think he was a sniveling little shit, it wouldn't surprise me.

[Rowdyboy]

11. As a child I was fascinated by princess Anastasia Romanoff...Fell in love with Ingrid Bergman

watching the movie, read everything possible on the subject for decades and really thought there was a good chance she was the real deal. Then they found the remains and DNA analysis settled the question forever. Anna Anderson was about as much a Romanoff as I am.

Later DNA analysis on the heart of Louis XVII proved that he really did die in captivity during the revolution in 1795 ending speculation that he escaped. Some people seriously thought he was John James Audubon.

That leaves us with Judge Crater, Jimmy Hoffa and who really wrote Shakespeare's work! Oh, and who is REALLY buried in Grant's tomb?

[beveeheart]

20. I was fascinated by the Princess Anastasia also,

especially when I lived in Charlottesville, VA at the same time Anna Anderson was living there. I frequently saw her shopping at the grocery store where I shopped. She was a little old lady almost always holding a handkerchief up to her mouth. I felt sorry for her.

[Rowdyboy]

28. They've identified her as a Polish mental patient I believe....

But the mental picture I have of her comes from the 1950's when she lived in a small cottage in the Black Forest. That was before she married the history professor in Virginia. Quite an interesting character in her own right.

[beveeheart]

80. I never heard what happened to her

other than she died and wasn't the real princess.

[merrily]

58. We even know who got Jimmy Hoffa.

I have to google Crater some day. I've come across the name before but I don't know the story.

[dixiegrrrrl]

70. See Uncle Joe's #10 post, above. n/t

[Orangepeel]

8. Is this credible? It sounds fantastic

Jack the Ripper left the shawl at the murder scene as a clue to his next one? The police suspected him but didn't have enough evidence to convict an immigrant hairdresser in 1890?

[Union Scribe]

12. It wouldn't be too surprising either way

Kosminski is often pointed to by authors, but speaking of authors I believe this revelation is in connection with a book release as well. The same thing happened with Patricia Cornwell, she said DNA revealed Jack the Ripper...as a totally different guy. It'll be interesting watching this sort out.

[JustAnotherGen]

30. I read / have

That book - didn't she run into a roadblock with getting DNA on stamps?

And then - what to make of Sickerts art work?

[Union Scribe]

46. His "Camden Town Murder" is eerie

Thinking about him as a suspect, it takes on a whole new level doesn't it? He apparently also helped start the royal conspiracy theory in his social circle, that then grew to include the Masons and rituals etc. Was it a Victorian style of trolling, or maybe deflection?

[whathehell]

55. Not familiar with his art work, but Sickert certainly has an evil look in that photo. n/t

[JustAnotherGen]

63. Google the one Union Scribe posted above

It is super creepy! Before Cromwell's book - I wasn't a fan of Sickert. In general - I don't like paintings that leave me cold.

[Prophet 451]

49. Cornwell made one key mi9stake

She assumed all of teh letters teh police got were genuine when they were really just the usual cranks.

[johnp3907]

15. Grain of salt here:

http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2014/09/jack_the_ripper_finally_identi.html

[Orangepeel]

18. Yeah, I'm with the author of the piece you link to

I'd like to read about some peer review of that DNA testing before I believe it

[exboyfil]

24. Agreed but I would be shocked if

Jari Louhelainen was sloppy or corrupt. Here is a brief description of him - http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/PBS/116512.htm

He is an Associate Professor at the University of Helsinki.

A victim of a fraud perhaps, but it would have to come from Russell Edwards

[Thor_MN]

17. It's the Daily Fail, but 1890's couldn't dream of DNA evidence

It would be best to see another source, but this is fascinating to me as I have relatives with a very close derivation of the name Kosminski.

[Orangepeel]

19. Oh, I wasn't surprised that the police didn't actually *have* concrete evidence

Last edited Sun Sep 7, 2014, 09:35 AM - Edit history (1)

I'm skeptical that if they suspected a young, lower class, Polish Jewish immigrant in 1890 that they would have been unable to get a conviction.

[Prophet 451]

50. Normally, you'd be right

but this case was of such a magnitude that the PtB were leaning heavily on the police to make sure everything was water-tight.

[treestar]

22. The police didn't have DNA then

though I'd want to see if the shaw has a chain of custody to be sure.

[Orangepeel]

25. There's no chain of custody, according to the article

Found in an attic by someone who supposedly had a relative at the crime scene.

I just thought it was unlikely that if the police suspected this guy they would have followed him around until he was admitted to an asylum. He sounds like the perfect person to pin the crime on, evidence or no.

[exboyfil]

29. On the other hand

the last thing the police would have wanted was their very own Jewish pogrom in London if the killer turned out to be a Jew. This would also match with the potential erasing of the writing at another crime scene.

Since the suspect was being committed anyway, they may have left it alone.



"The Juwes [sic] are the men that will not be blamed for nothing."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goulston_Street_graffito

[MaggieD]

39. But interesting ...

That he was named as a suspect back then, lived and worked in the area, and no further ripper murders were committed after he was committed to an asylum. Don't you think?

[Prophet 451]

51. Normally, yes

But they had to be sure everything was certain due to teh pressure from the government and the liklihood of a full-blown pogrom if teh killer was Jewish. The East End was home to hundreds of thousands of Jewish immigrants who weren't popular and it was often like policing a powderkeg on good days.

[merrily]

59. Excellent point. FREE KOSMINSKI!

[exboyfil]

13. Patrica Cornwell

thought she identified the Ripper as Sickert through DNA testing of an envelope. Since you have no chain of custody in this case, I don't see how can ever really conclude that this is real, but it seems to be more solid than Cornwell. DNA of both the suspected murdered and the victim had to be real or planted. Still I wonder how accurate descendant matching is. Where are Eddowes and Kosminski buried? Could a "forger" get access to their DNA.

[intaglio]

54. The resident Ripper expert on Fortean Times forums (now a qualified criminologist)

ripped the Patricia Cornwell theory to pieces in some detail. I cannot recall the whole of her argument but the thrust of it follows.

She only found mitochondrial DNA on a letter, not any primary evidence, and Sickert was known to have handled the evidence at a later time. To an extent Cornwell's whole thesis was based on a painting that Sickert made that Cornwell found creepy.

[Historic NY]

16. Well I guess the tour is now worthless.

White Chaple was always creapy at night. With all the cutting its a wonder he had time to pop off.

[PADemD]

21. Then there is the theory about H. H. Holmes

H.H. Holmes Was Jack The Ripper? Great-Great-Great-Grandson Of Chicago Serial Killer Floats Theory

Mudgett says that writing samples from his notorious ancestor examined by experts suggest that Holmes and Jack the Ripper are, in fact, the same person, the Daily Mail reports.

One handwriting analyst fed the two samples into a computer program that determined there was a 97.95 percent chance the samples are a match, WGN reported.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/03/hh-holmes-was-jack-the-ripper_n_2231896.html

[tblue37]

44. Holmes had a different M.O., and he was pretty busy in the US,

with perhaps as many as 200 victims, and a lot of traveling around in the US during his murderouus career. They only pinned 23 murders for sure on him, but estimates go as high as 200 or more.

[PADemD]

66. Saw a documentary on this.

They believed that Holmes was in England during the Ripper murders, and Holmes' hand writing matches the Ripper letter. Also, he traveled the US before he settled in Chicago; and there were several Ripper-type murders across the US. He allegedly killed to supply medical schools or students with body parts. Kosminski could have been an accomplice or could have just wiped himself off after a previous encounter with one of the victims. Was Kosminski's DNA at all of the crime scenes?

[TlalocW]

23. I knew it was Kosminski all along

Wait... Pulls mask off Kosminski... Old Man Johnson???

Rooby rooby rooooo!

TlalocW

[MaggieD]

40. Lol scooby do!

[lovemydog]

47. Ruh roh!

[MerryBlooms]

57. Jinkies!

[roguevalley]

27. i remember that shawl. dna must have improved since the first attempt

[Hoppy]

33. I hope Kosi gets the chair.

[Uncle Joe]

35. Not to the death, to the pain.

Although we're probably a little too late on that score as well.

[MaggieD]

36. Fascinating - even if it is the Daily Mail

Thanks for the post.

[Uncle Joe]

42. Thanks for the thanks, MaggieD

[Louisiana1976]

38. Very interesting post. K&R

[mackerel]

41. Another reason Scotland Yard believed it was Kosminski was because the

murders stopped after he was committed.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

43. I had a professor completely obsessed with this (and serial killers in general)

Such that the administration thought she might be dangerous.

She was all-in on Francis Tumblety.

[Unknown Beatle]

45. If they have indeed

identified who Jack the Ripper is, maybe it's time they start looking into who the Zodiac Killer is/was. I doubt the authorities will ever find out who the Zodiac Killer is/was though.

[sakabatou]

52. I only know some things about the crimes

Was any evidence left behind by Zodiac?

[Unknown Beatle]

61. They found

finger and palm prints in the letters he (the authorities confirmed it was a man that committed the murders) wrote to the newspapers.

[sakabatou]

78. They could run the prints

But they may not get results. If only they had dna evidence.

[edbermac]

53. Breaking on FOX News.

Suspect was born in Kenya and was recently spotted in the area in an obvious attempt to hide evidence of his guilt.

[treestar]

71. lol

suspect is known to have a time machine

[randome]

79. And a teleporter. That was key to his always staying one step ahead of the authorities.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]A 90% chance of rain means the same as a 10% chance:
It might rain and it might not.[/center][/font][hr]

[malaise]

62. Fascinating

Thanks Uncle Joe

[Uncle Joe]

83. Thanks for the thanks, malaise.

[Orrex]

65. I'm 100% against capital punishment

But maybe we should make an exception in this case.

[Tom Ripley]

81. I really did laugh out loud

Nicely done!

[drm604]

73. Interesting, but it needs further research.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/has-jack-the-rippers-identity-really-been-revealed-using-dna-evidence-9717036.html

[marym625]

75. COOL!

[Liberal_in_LA]

76. cols case solved!

[Enthusiast]

82. Kicked and recommended!

Thank you, Uncle Joe.

That is some fascinating shit.

[Uncle Joe]

84. I thought it was.

Thanks for the thanks, Enthusiast.

[Sherman A1]

87. interesting

thanks for posting.

[Uncle Joe]

88. Thanks for the thanks, Sherman.

[zappaman]

90. Big kick and rec!

Fascinating stuff!