It’s the murder mystery that’s gripped the world for over 130 years — a phantom killer who sliced through the fog of Victorian London, leaving mutilated bodies and a trail of blood-soaked terror. But now, in a twist worthy of a true crime novel, the man behind the myth of Jack the Ripper may finally have a name. And it’s not some shadowy aristocrat or flamboyant doctor — it’s Aaron Kosminski, a troubled Polish barber with a dark past and a hair-raising DNA trail.
From Myths to Molecules
For more than a century, theories about Jack the Ripper’s identity have spiralled into a frenzy of speculation. Was he a surgeon? A member of the royal family? A deranged butcher? The truth, it seems, might have been hiding in plain sight — wrapped in an old, blood-speckled shawl.
Historian and author Russell Edwards bought the shawl in 2007, said to have been found beside the mutilated body of Catherine Eddowes, one of the Ripper’s five canonical victims. For years it languished in obscurity. Then came the DNA test. Thanks to a sample from a descendant of Kosminski’s brother and one from Eddowes’ own lineage, modern forensic analysis reportedly revealed a 100% DNA match. Let that sink in — over a century later, it’s genetics that might close the case Scotland Yard never could.
Meet Aaron Kosminski: The Man Behind the Myth?
Aaron Kosminski arrived in England in 1881 from Poland, seeking a better life. What he found instead was poverty, suspicion, and eventually, infamy. He lived in Whitechapel — the exact area where Jack the Ripper struck — and was known to suffer from schizophrenia. Described as paranoid, unstable, and even violent, Kosminski was eventually committed to an asylum, where he died in 1919. But during the 1888 killing spree, he was a free man, living among the shadows.
He wasn’t an unknown quantity to investigators either. Police files from the era listed Kosminski as a suspect, though they never had enough evidence to arrest him. The man who may have terrorised a city by night spent his final days in the relative obscurity of institutional care.
The Shawl That Spoke
The shawl in question, belonging to Catherine Eddowes, had been handed down through generations of a police officer’s family — a grisly heirloom of sorts. Edwards’ investigation into the DNA found both mitochondrial matches to Eddowes and Kosminski’s descendants, a forensic first in the case. Of course, the science is still under scrutiny, with critics pointing out the contamination risks of handling a 130-year-old relic. But the match has nonetheless reignited calls for justice.
Karen Miller, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Eddowes, told the Daily Mail, “We’ve got the proof. Now, we need this inquest to legally name the killer.” Edwards has even approached Britain’s High Court, hoping to officially tie Kosminski to the crime.
Not Just a Name, But Closure
Forensic evidence alone might not be enough for a criminal conviction — especially one over a century after the fact. But what it can do is rewrite the record. The moniker “Jack the Ripper” has loomed large in pop culture, warped into a cloak of mystery. Naming Aaron Kosminski as the man behind the murders could bring a dose of humanity — and finally, justice — to the victims’ families.
So, next time you hear a whisper about Jack the Ripper, don’t picture a faceless phantom. Picture a real man with scissors in one hand and, potentially, a knife in the other. And think of the science — and tenacity — that dragged his name out of the fog.
