Families of Jack the Ripper’s victims want fresh answers after DNA breakthrough

The families of the victims of one of London’s most notorious criminals hope they are a step closer to finally finding out the truth.

The descendants of Jack the Ripper’s victims, who rampaged through the capital and murdered five women in 1888, are backing a legal application for a new inquest into the death of one of his victims.

A bloodstained shawl said to have been found on the body of Catherine Eddowes was found to have DNA of both the victim and Aaron Kosminski, a Polish barber who moved to the UK in the 1880s.

Police suspected him at the time but never arrested him because they had no proof of his involvement, long before DNA testing was invented and became common practice.

Now Russell Edwards, who bought the shawl back in 2007, 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 crucially 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, MailOnline reports. 

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 said: ‘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.’

Sue Parlour, whose husband Andy is distantly related to Mary Ann Nichols, added: ‘There was no justice for these victims at the time. It was all such a long time ago. 

‘But it would mean a lot to finally be able to name the killer, to get some closure on this.

‘These women have been dismissed as just prostitutes like they did not matter, but they did.’

Kosminski’s descendants have also supported the move, with his three-times great-niece Amanda Poulos saying: ‘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.

At the time, police were still investigating the death – but Mr Edwards and descendants of some of the Ripper’s victims are convinced Aaron Kosminski was the culprit.

Legally, the Attorney General has to grant permission for an application to the High Court for a further inquest.

Two years ago, then-Attorney General Sir Michael Ellis refused permission, saying there wasn’t enough 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’.

He has written to Attorney General Richard Hermer arguing there is new evidence to consider.

Dr Sampson says if that evidence had been found at the time, it ‘would have been justifiable for the coroner to charge and then seek to have Aaron Kosminski prosecuted for both the murder of Ms Eddowes and the other four victims.’

East London coroner Nadia Persaud has suggested she would be willing to hold an inquest into Jack the Ripper’s victims.

She has previously written to Mr Edwards’ solicitor, saying: ‘I would not oppose your application… it appears to me that a fresh inquest would be unlikely to reach any different outcome, the only new factor being the suggestion that the perpetrator might now be identified.’

Mr Edwards said: ‘A second inquest is the only way of confirming what happened.

‘As we now have identified the true murderer with a wealth of evidence putting the man we named as the Ripper in the frame, we want justice to be served.’

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