It is the greatest murder mystery of all time, a puzzle that has perplexed criminologists for more than a century and spawned books, films and myriad theories ranging from the plausible to the utterly bizarre.
But now, thanks to modern forensic science, The Mail on Sunday can exclusively reveal the true identity of Jack the Ripper, the serial killer responsible for at least five grisly murders in Whitechapel in East London during the autumn of 1888.
DNA evidence has now shown beyond reasonable doubt which one of six key suspects commonly cited in connection with the Ripper’s reign of terror was the actual killer – and we reveal his identity.
A shawl found by the body of Catherine Eddowes, one of the Ripper’s victims, has been analysed and found to contain DNA from her blood as well as DNA from the killer.
The landmark discovery was made after businessman Russell Edwards, 48, bought the shawl at auction and enlisted the help of Dr Jari Louhelainen, a world-renowned expert in analysing genetic evidence from historical crime scenes.
Using cutting-edge techniques, Dr Louhelainen was able to extract 126-year-old DNA from the material and compare it to DNA from descendants of Eddowes and the suspect, with both proving a perfect match.
The revelation puts an end to the fevered speculation over the Ripper’s identity which has lasted since his murderous rampage in the most impoverished and dangerous streets of London.
Okay no joke sports fans but when I was prepubescent blogger to be I love me some unsolved mysteries.
And the gran daddy of unsolved mysteries was the identity of the White chapel murderer, aka Jack the Ripper, aka could be just about anybody.
Personally I always hoped it would be Prince Albert Victor, mostly because I liked the idea of Scotland Yard possibly keeping the identity secret in order to protect the Royal Family.
Though part of me kind of wishes that the identity would always remain a secret, the part of me that places its faith in science is thrilled to be confronted with yet another incredible breakthrough that can be attributed to DNA testing, which I think we all recognize is the direct result of the research by one Charles Darwin.
See how I did that?
We need Trig, Sarah and Todd Palin DNA!!!
ReplyDeleteNow all we need to do is get DNA from Trig.
ReplyDeleteAnd good luck with that.
DeleteI would rather see the DNA of one Trig Palin.
ReplyDeleteWe all recognize?... not.
ReplyDeleteDNA research and discover is not a direct result of Darwin at all. It is a different path of science altogether, and had it's beginnings before Darwin even died. Very very smart people and increasingly better scientific tools technology brought you DNA.
Pls. explain.
DeleteBS
DeleteThere were scientists back in ancient Egypt that understood the theory of DNA. They didn't have the means to tests but any ancient culture that understood blood lines got it.
from wiki
DeleteGregor Johann Mendel (1822-1884) gained posthumous fame as the founder of the modern science of genetics. Though farmers had known for centuries that crossbreeding of animals and plants could favor certain desirable traits, Mendel's pea plant experiments conducted between 1856 and 1863 established many of the rules of heredity, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance.
2:52..... you are not one of those very smart people.
DeleteG said " the part of me that places its faith in science is thrilled to be confronted with yet another incredible breakthrough that can be attributed to DNA testing, which I think we all recognize is the direct result of the research by one Charles Darwin."
DeleteHe didn't say Darwin discovered it. Science!
Actually I thought it was Watson & Crick 1953 who discovered DNA?
It was absolutely NOT the direct (or even indirect) result of the research by Darwin. Differing paths of science. The science and research behind DNA would have occurred just the same even if Darwin had never existed.
DeleteLet's go back even further. According to ancient Sumerian text, if it weren't for Enki & his sister/wife Ninhursag mucking around with Annunaki/humanoid DNA, the Adama would never been created. Instead of the Homo Sapien Sapien that we are now, we'd still be a primitive slave species & incapable of independent thought, reason, judgement, etc., sort of like the Teabaggers.
DeleteDNA was first isolated by the Swiss physician Friedrich Miescher (13 August 1844 – 26 August 1895) who, in 1869, discovered a microscopic substance in the pus of discarded surgical bandages.
DeleteThe egyptians and DNA? where do you folks come up with this laughable stuff? Internet scientists.
I'm not taking anything away from Darwin, he helped forge a path and was a revolutionary thinker about many things but mostly known for his thinking and writing on evolutionary theory. But that has nothing to do with the discoveries and research of DNA.
I thought it was interesting how they even got semen dna material! And from the kidney the killer ripped out!! Wow!!! And how the guy pieced together the story ie: the woman who was killed had to sell her shoes that day so how could she afford a expensive shawl like that? It was a Clue left behind (and used by the killer to toss off, leaving more evidence!)
ReplyDeleteReally interesting and just shows that some crimes never go away they GET SOLVED!
By RANDOM bits of DNA!! Unless you run around with a microscope, lol you don't even know its there! Hey sarah better dress TriG in a bubble suit 'eh?
And this is how the vile harpy can be destroyed.
ReplyDeletea one car car wreck works for me too
Deleteplane crash...
Deletenow that'd be some sweet karma, that or a mysterious house fire ..
DeleteThe hairdresser did it! Woot!
ReplyDeleteGryphen - OT but here is a really excellent comment on Atheism I thought you might enjoy reading:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/07/militant-atheism-religious-apologists-intellectuals?CMP=fb_gu
-Oz
Sarah, think about how much you could gloat and reap if you proved the 'Trig Truthers' wrong. You have the resources to have your DNA and Trig's compared in an independently controlled transparent environment. Shame those who say you are an evil, diseased pathological liar. What are you waiting for?
ReplyDeleteSurely you don't think we would believe any evidence produced by an evil, diseased pathological liar.
DeleteNot at this point; that is definite.
Balzafair, of course not. That is why the testing would have to be by an independent group with oversight. Nothing coming from the Palins directly can be trusted.
DeleteSee that, Sarah?
ReplyDeleteAfter 126 years, Science has answered all of the questions re: Jack The Ripper.
How long do you suppose it will take Science to unravel all of the Palin mysteries? Presuming, of course, that anyone even cares any longer.
Oh, we care, and we won't quit.
DeleteScience . . .
ReplyDeleteToday's NYTimes includes the obit of Lillian Klose, a Jehovah's Witness who refused to say "under God" at the start of school each day.
ReplyDeleteShe and her brother were kicked out of school and subjected to taunts, practical jokes, and some pretty serious bullying and aggression from the " christians" who wanted to force them to pledge allegiance to the community's view of God.
The case went to the Supreme Court twice. The 1940 decision upheld the school, but, three years later, the Court reversed itself and laid the way for all citizens to enjoy the liberties guaranteed by the First Amendment.
Gryphen, you might want to add her to your wall of fame.
Wait? a JW? who doesn't believe in gawd? That's weird? isn't it?
DeleteJehovah's Witnesses believe in God. They just don't believe in taking oaths or "swearing" as they believe it takes God's name in vein. The do not "swear" on a bible or otherwise in court either.
DeleteLillian Klose's husband was sent to a Nazi concentration camp for refusing to salute nationalist symbols.
ReplyDeleteHe and Lillian were missionaries inEurope when he was taken prisoner
Scientists do not usually first publish their results in a tabloid.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't matter where results are copied and published, scientific data is the same no matter where posted.
DeleteThat's an interesting concept, but legitimate scientific data is presented in scientific forums. One of the controls in scientific research is peer review.
DeleteMay I add:
DeleteScientists are waiting for Louhelainen to publish his results in order to analyse his methodology and verify his claims including Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys, the man who invented the DNA fingerprint technique 30 years ago this week.
“An interesting but remarkable claim that needs to be subjected to peer review, with detailed analysis of the provenance of the shawl and the nature of the claimed DNA match with the perpetrator's descendants and its power of discrimination; no actual evidence has yet been provided,” Sir Alec told The Independent.
In any case, as Sir Alec pointed out: “If I remember correctly when I visited the Black Museum at New Scotland Yard, Kosminski was long regarded as by far the most likely perpetrator.”
http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/book-news/has-jack-the-rippers-identity-really-been-revealed-using-dna-evidence-30568628.html
If (or when) it is published in a peer review journal, probably regarding the techniques use to extract the DNA, would the media even bother to report it?
DeleteTabloids however get wide press.
I'd hardly call the killer of 5 women a "serial killer".
ReplyDeleteWhy not?
Delete"According to the FBI, a serial killer is someone who murders at least three people with significant pauses between incidents. "
Anonymous2:52 PM
DeleteI'd hardly call the killer of 5 women a "serial killer".
****
Huh? Exactly HOW many have to die? That is the most asinine statement to come out of any mouth that isn't a palin. Or is that you Todd? Quite a few women go missing in the Ma-Su Vallley?
Well of course not. It's not like he killed 5 men.
DeleteI wonder what they DO consider a serial killer? Five human beings killed by the same person must count for something!
DeleteReally?
DeleteHow many women would need to die to meet your cut off criteria?
One of our favorite crime dramas is BBC's Ripper Street, or as Hubby likes to refer to it, "CSI:Whitechapel." It starts about 6 months after the last Ripper murder and concerns the beginnings of both detective work as well as forensic evidence.
ReplyDeleteSadly, it was cancelled by the BBC but has been picked up by Amazon. It's also available on Netflix & various places around the net.
The second season was amazing, with the first few episodes concerning John/Joseph Merrick, aka the Elephant Man. Should have had a Bafta just for that episode alone.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26351457
Forensic science has come a long way. What's amazing is that they preserved the DNA samples so well that it's able to be tested over a hundred years later. Isn't science amazing?
ReplyDeleteI think the DNA samples being preserved was a fluke more than anything.
DeleteWhat is amazing is that now they can test them. The scientist himself said 5 years ago it wouldn't have been possible.
This is the most interesting news in a long time. The DNA results have not been peer reviewed, but if they have the DNA segments there can't be any doubt. I hope before the end of my life to find out who the Zodiac was, but look how long this case took.
ReplyDeleteThe DNA evidence doesn't prove anything. It connects a suspect to a victim, but for all we know, it was the result of him being a customer of hers, not her killer.
ReplyDeleteWhen we went to London, we took the "Jack the Ripper Tour" There are a whole series of walks, under "London Walks". We took several. The Ripper tour was fascinating, since some of the sites where bodies were discovered are still there, practicalliy unchanged. The tour guide was excellent. The tour ended, everyone left, and there we stood, in an alley in the dusk of London! We could not get back to the main street fast enough!
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of hilarity in the UK (but maybe not the UK for long) about the fact that the Daily Mail - often referred to as Fox News in print form - with its right wing, racist, anti-immigrant bent printed an article, written by a man whose book on the subject is coming out tomorrow, fingering a Polish Jew.
ReplyDeleteI'll take the DNA evidence over a search inspired by a movie.
ReplyDeleteI posted this on my FB page and one of my so called FB friends kept arguing that it was all a hoax so someone could make money on a book. What a ridiculous person. DNA doesn't lie lady. We need a little DNA from Trig and Sarah.
ReplyDelete