Jack the Ripper's Identity Revealed?

[Prue]

They allegedly found Jack the Ripper's DNA on one of his victim's scarves:

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

[Lyanna Stark]

I saw that today!

Strangely, a documentary (I think BBC made that one?) I watched while in the UK which I believe was made some time in 80s actually reached the same conclusion but based on the non-DNA evidence only.

[Theda Baratheon]

Can not IMAGINE how dreadful that shawl must smell.

[Lightysnake88]

I'm kinda wondering how the DNA was still viable about upwards of a hundred and ten years.

[Prue]

Can not IMAGINE how dreadful that shawl must smell.

Oh indeed. I can understand why the police officer's wife didn't want to wear it.

The last documentary I saw on the topic said that a mentally ill man who worked in a morgue was most likely the killer. Not sure if they meant Kosminski by that, as he seems to have been a barber.

I'm kinda wondering how the DNA was still viable about upwards of a hundred and ten years.

Oh, if they are able to extract DNA from 35,000-year-old Neanderthal bones, a shawl from the 19th century shouldn't be a problem.

[Jon AS]

Strangely, a documentary (I think BBC made that one?) I watched while in the UK which I believe was made some time in 80s actually reached the same conclusion but based on the non-DNA evidence only.

I don't find that so surprising. There are so many Ripper theories, one of them almost had to be correct.

[drawkcabi]

So, he's not a time traveler/immortal/human harbored by aliens?!!

My world is shattered.

[ljkeane]

Weren't all the victims prostitutes? That would seem to suggest a least one possible alternative explanation for a man's DNA being on a shawl even if the results are correct.

[Arkhangel]

Oh, if they are able to extract DNA from 35,000-year-old Neanderthal bones, a shawl from the 19th century shouldn't be a problem.

Uh, no. As it makes clear in the article, cross-contamination would be a huge and inescapable problem in this instance. The whole story sounds very implausible.

[Glaurung]

I believe there was a serial killer in the US at the time considered to be the US's first serial killer. Evidently he was across the pond around the time the ripper was in killing mode. Perhaps it was him.. Anyway, now that there is DNA evidence perhaps they can test some of these suspects.

[Theda Baratheon]

Uh, no. As it makes clear in the article, cross-contamination would be a huge and inescapable problem in this instance. The whole story sounds very implausible.

Yep. Remain unconvinced and find myself preferring for the mystery to never be proved.

[scotcat]

Every now and then, someone claims they've found new evidence as to the Rippers identity. Lets face it, it's the ultimate cold case - the bragging rights for finding the truth are pretty big.

That said, I'm not convinced by this DNA evidence. The cross contamination risk must be huge - these women were prostitutes after all so it's highly unlikely that the Ripper's DNA is the only one on this shawl. yet they've somehow isolated the Ripper's DNA alone? Unless they had DNA evidence of this guy to begin with & this has served to confirm their theory the whole thing just seems a bit on the unlikely side of things to me.

[Kelli Fury]

There is also no reliable way to prove who the shawl belonged to, this is all sketchy as hell

[Fez]

There is also no reliable way to prove who the shawl belonged to, this is all sketchy as hell

That may not be important. If the shawl does actually have his DNA and the victim's DNA, its hard to imagine another circumstance where blood and semen would get on it other than the murder. It would be a hell of a coincidence if it was something else. However, I don't see proof of anything other than this being a gross article of clothing that was examined under extremely non-rigorous settings.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

I believe there was a serial killer in the US at the time considered to be the US's first serial killer. Evidently he was across the pond around the time the ripper was in killing mode. Perhaps it was him.. Anyway, now that there is DNA evidence perhaps they can test some of these suspects.

Yes, H.H. Holmes. I think he is a possibility too. Look up the Murder Castle.

[Andriy Czarchenko]

This was all over the Finnish news yesterday. Not that they bothered with the obvious problems.

[MinDonner]

That may not be important. If the shawl does actually have his DNA and the victim's DNA, its hard to imagine another circumstance where blood and semen would get on it other than the murder. It would be a hell of a coincidence if it was something else. However, I don't see proof of anything other than this being a gross article of clothing that was examined under extremely non-rigorous settings.

Uh, this is a prostitute on the mean streets of Victorian London we're talking about here, I can't imagine that many of them were NOT splattered with blood and semen (as well as miscellaneous other debris) :dunno:

[sologdin]

dunno. monica lewinsky gets her dress soiled by slick while at work, then goes home in same dress, to be murdered by someone else?

[Lightysnake88]

Yes, H.H. Holmes. I think he is a possibility too. Look up the Murder Castle.

I think holmes would be a stretch. It doesn't fit his MO at all.

[davos]

Until the individuals who are making their claims are willing to write a scientific paper detailing the methodology and the data they are drawing their conclusions from and have it published in a peer-reviewed journal, I give this about zero credibility. Even if they did so and their work was solid, I the issue of contamination on the shawl to be difficult to overcome. As it is, its little better than fiction. I will say that they are identifying Kosminski as the killer. While its been years since I've read up on the Ripper case, I seem to remember that he made the short list of the 3 or 4 most plausible suspects.