DNA forensics used to track down Jack the Ripper

After more than 120 years, one of the United Kingdom's most notorious and mysterious criminals may finally have been caught at last.

 

Ironically, it took an amateur sleuth to unmask the Ripper, using DNA evidence from a shawl taken from the scene of one of his murders, UK's Daily Mail reported.

 

The report said Polish-born Aaron Kosminski, who was one of several suspects when the Ripper's murders occurred in 1888, was a hairdresser who lived in Whitechapel and who was committed to an asylum.

 

Jack the Ripper, a serial killer linked to at least five gruesome murders in Whitechapel in East London, has been the stuff of pop culture legend, with numerous books and documentaries speculating on his identity.

 

Kosminski's posthumous unmasking started when trader Russell Edwards, 48, bought a shawl found by the body of Ripper victim Catherine Eddowes. The shawl had DNA from Eddowes and the killer.

 

Edwards then sought the help of Jari Louhelainen, an international expert in analyzing genetic evidence from historical crime scenes.

 

Louhelainen managed to extract 126-year-old DNA from the shawl and compare it to DNA from descendants of Eddowes and the suspect - and found a match.

 

Edwards said the tests began in 2011, when Louhelainen used special photographic analysis to identify the stains.

 

But he said what could have been the most exciting revelation was that revealed by ultraviolet photography - fluorescent stains that could suggest semen.

 

"I’d never expected to find evidence of the Ripper himself, so this was thrilling, although Jari cautioned me that more testing was required before any conclusions could be drawn," he said.

 

Meanwhile, Eddowes' descendant - Karen Miller, the three-times great-granddaughter of Eddowes, agreed to provide a sample of her DNA.

 

"Jari managed to get six complete DNA profiles from the shawl, and when he tested them against Karen’s they were a perfect match," he said. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News