The DNA That May Have Unmasked Jack the Ripper

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For 137 years, the identity of Jack the Ripper remained history's greatest mystery. But a single silk shawl, found at a crime scene in 1888, holds a genetic secret that could finally close the case. We examine the groundbreaking DNA evidence that points to one man, and the controversy that keeps the world's most infamous killer in the shadows.

Full transcript of The DNA That May Have Unmasked Jack the Ripper

For one hundred and thirty-seven years, nobody knew his name. Jack the Ripper. The most infamous serial killer in history. Between August and November 1888, he murdered at least five women in the Whitechapel district of London. He was never caught. Never charged. Never identified. Until, perhaps, now. In 1888, London was a city gripped by terror. The district of Whitechapel, a labyrinth of dark alleys and gaslit streets, had become a hunting ground. The killer struck at night. Always at night. And in the sprawling, overcrowded slums, nobody ever saw his face. Hundreds of suspects were investigated by a desperate police force. Doctors, butchers, immigrants, even royalty. None could be identified. Then, taunting letters began to arrive at police stations and newspapers. One was signed with a new, terrifying name: Jack the Ripper. It was a name that would define the case for over a century. The trail went cold for 119 years. Then, in 2007, a historian named Russell Edwards bought a silk shawl at an auction. It was a large, beautiful piece, decorated with a pattern of Michaelmas daisies. But this was no ordinary antique. It was claimed the shawl was found at the scene of Catherine Eddowes' murder in Mitre Square. The story was that a police officer, Acting Sergeant Amos Simpson, took it from the scene. He gave it to his wife, who was a dressmaker. It was never washed. It passed down through their family for over a century, a dark, hidden heirloom. Edwards believed this shawl was the most important piece of physical evidence ever connected to the Ripper case. He saw dark stains woven into the silk. Not just one type, but two. Edwards took the shawl to Dr. Jari Louhelainen, a forensic scientist at Liverpool John Moores University. Louhelainen specialized in extracting genetic material from historical artifacts. Using cutting-edge techniques, he managed to extract fragmented DNA from the stains. One set of DNA came from the reddish-brown stains, believed to be blood. Another came from the yellowish stain, biological material believed to be from the killer. The next step was to find a match. Louhelainen needed comparative DNA. They tracked down a living descendant of the victim, Catherine Eddowes. And they found an unnamed female relative of a primary police suspect from 1888: a Polish immigrant named Aaron Kosminski. The results came back. The blood DNA was a perfect match for the relative of Catherine Eddowes. And the DNA from the second stain... was a perfect match for the relative of Aaron Kosminski. It was the smoking gun. Both victim and suspect DNA, together on the same piece of fabric from the night of the murder. The news broke around the world. The case was solved. But not everyone was convinced. Almost immediately, other scientists and historians raised serious questions. First, the shawl's provenance was disputed. The chain of custody was broken. Could a police officer really have taken a key piece of evidence from a murder scene, unchecked? Then there was the DNA itself. It was mitochondrial DNA. Unlike nuclear DNA, which is unique to an individual, mitochondrial DNA is passed down the maternal line and shared by many relatives. It could exclude a suspect, but it couldn't definitively identify one person. Experts noted that the specific genetic sequence found could still match thousands of people in London from that era. Others questioned whether DNA over 130 years old, handled by countless people, could possibly survive without contamination. To make matters worse, the scientific paper detailing the findings withheld key genetic sequences, citing data protection for the living relatives. One expert stated plainly: the evidence was simply not strong enough to close the case. Armed with his findings, Russell Edwards hired a legal team. He approached England's Attorney General, requesting a High Court inquest to officially name Kosminski as the killer. Multiple requests were filed. Multiple requests were denied. In 2023, the Attorney General's office stated there was not sufficient new evidence to justify reopening the inquest. Today, the shawl, potentially the most significant clue in criminal history, sits in a bank vault. British police have never officially examined it. Karen Miller, the descendant of Catherine Eddowes whose DNA helped make the match, continues to push for official recognition. 'We have the proof,' she says. 'Now we need justice.' So where does this leave us? A nine-foot silk shawl, locked away in a bank vault. DNA that matches a known suspect, but cannot, in the eyes of the law, definitively identify him. A historian who says, one hundred percent, it is him. Scientists who say the evidence falls short of the required standard. A legal system that has repeatedly refused to reopen the case. And five victims, whose families have waited one hundred and thirty-seven years for a name. Aaron Kosminski may be Jack the Ripper. But the case will not be officially closed until a court says so. And that day has not yet come.