The descendants of Jack the Ripper’s victims have asked for a new inquest after new DNA information has been released on the killer’s identity.
With hopes of establishing the truth about the notorious killer, this could be a breakthrough in one of the most famous unsolved cases.
The descendants are backing a legal application for a new inquest into the death of Catherine Eddowes after evidence emerged to suggest that the killer was Aaron Kosminski, reports Daily Mail.
Aaron Kosminski was a Polish barber who emigrated to the UK in the 1880s. He was a suspect at the time of the five murders in Whitechapel, east London, in 1888.
Kosminski was born on September 11, 1865, making him 22 and 23 at the time of the murders.
He grew up in Klodawa, near Warsaw, the youngest of seven children, with his father dying when he was just eight.
The man was never arrested because police had no proof of his involvement, but now new evidence has emerged.
A bloodstained shawl said to have been found on Ms Eddowes’ body, which was purchased at auction in 2007 by author and Ripper researcher Russell Edwards, was later found to have the DNA of both the victim and Kosminski.
Mr Edwards had uncovered new evidence of Kosminski’s links to the highly secretive Freemasons, which may have motivated his killings and shielded him from law enforcement, ensuring he was locked away in an asylum, where he died.
Now Mr Edwards has hired a legal team to fight for an inquest on the grounds that there is further evidence for a coroner to consider about the circumstances of the death and who was responsible.
The campaign has been backed by the descendants of both Ms Eddowes and Kosminski, who say it is time to unmask the true killer and get justice for the women involved.
The other four victims were Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride and Mary Jane Kelly.
Karen Miller, 53, who is the three-times great-granddaughter of Ms Eddowes, provided her DNA, which matched her ancestor’s blood on the shawl.
She told Mail Online: “The name Jack the Ripper has become sensationalised, it has gone down in history as this famous character.
“It has all been about him, this iconic name, but people have forgotten about the victims who did not have justice at the time.
“What about the real name of the person who did this? Having the real person legally named in a court which can consider all the evidence would be a form of justice for the victims.
“We have got the proof, now we need this inquest to legally name the killer.
“It would mean a lot to me, to my family, to a lot of people to finally have this crime solved.”
Kosminski’s descendants have also supported the move. His three-times great-niece Amanda Poulos said: “I’m more than happy to finally establish what really happened.”
When the original inquest was held on October 4, 1888, a verdict of ‘wilful murder’ was returned. But police were still hunting for the serial killer at the time.
Under the law, the Attorney General has to grant permission for any application to the High Court for a further inquest.
Two years ago, Sir Michael Ellis, then the Attorney General, refused permission, saying there was not sufficient new evidence.
But barrister Dr Tim Sampson said that this set “a terrible precedent in relation to requests to reopen inquests involving the violent deaths of women and gives the impression that such matters are better brushed under the carpet or simply left to sensationalist reporting, rather than being exposed to dispassionate judicial scrutiny”.
Kosminski was never arrested and in 1890, after suffering a suspected schizophrenic breakdown, in which he threatened his sister with a knife, he committed to Colney Hatch asylum.
He died 28 years later in the Leavesden Asylum, Hertfordshire.
