Jack the Ripper, identity may have been revealed after a historian, found DNA linking a 23-year-old to the murder of Catherine Eddowes in 1888.

Jack the Ripper is one of the biggest serial killers that is also a mystery, as the identity of the killer has never been revealed until now, a century later. The killer, “murdered and mutilated London women in 1888” (People), and was also linked to 11 murders in east London, between that time up to 1892.

“The moniker came from a letter written by someone claiming to be the killer that was sent to the local press at the time” (People).

Russell Edwards, a researcher and historian, was the one who discovered the identity of the killer, after he, “bought a shawl that was believed to have been found on Eddowes’ body at the murder scene in 1888, and Kosminski’s DNA was later found on it” (People). Aaron Kosminski was a Polish barber, 23 years old at the time of the murders, and was an original suspect during the investigation of Eddowes murder, but was never arrested.

According to Edwards, “He [Kosminski] started showing symptoms of mental illness in 1885, and had been committed to a number of insane asylums..Before his death at the age of 53, Kosminski reported having auditory hallucinations” (New York Post).

“We tested the semen left on the shawl. When we matched that, I was dumbfounded that we actually had discovered who Jack the Ripper truly was” (New York Post). Edwards acquired the shawl in 2007.

Edwards is currently working on legally naming Kosminski as the killer stating, “We have got the proof, now we need this inquest to legally name the killer,” (News18).

The families of the victims are seeking justice as, “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” (DailyMail).

Descendants of the other victims are also backing the inquest as they are also seeking justice.