Karen
asked:
Supposedly they used DNA to match someone as the ripper here: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/world/dna-tests-prove-that-jack-the-ripper-was-a-polish-immigrant-named-aaron-kosminski/story-fni6um3i-1227050842205?nk=087a9b1bdb543d2aa5548862bf61e89a What do you all think. Was he mentioned in the book: It has been so long since I read it?
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Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed,
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Terry Lee
Kominski is a favorite scapegoat and patsy...
Lynn
Cornwell addresses this in her "Coda" to the book:
"I have grave about a recent claim that DNA proves Jack the Ripper was a Polish immigrant named Aaron Kosminski. The origin of this genetic evidence is a large piece of blue silk material described as a 'shawl' that purportedly was found with the mutilated body of Ripper victim Catherine Eddowes. The first insurmountable problem is that no such article of clothing or anything similar to this 'shawl' is referenced in the original documentation about any of the Ripper's murders. There's no no such detail listed in police reports, and a crime scene sketch made while the body was still at the scene doesn't show a shawl--certainly not one seven or eight feet long and made out of blue silk. (I've heard that it looks more like a decorative table runner than a shawl.)
"I don't blame anyone for testing an item that maybe--just maybe--was associated with the Ripper case. But there doesn't seem to be a proven provenance of this segment of cloth, which has been handled by countless people over the years. I personally know of at least two individuals who tell me they examined it without wearing gloves. Who else did? Unless the DNA analysis withstands the peer review of forensic scientists, we really can't consider the results credible."
Karen: The second edition of the book (2017) followed 15 years of additional research by Cornwell and contains a great deal of new material. See my review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
"I have grave about a recent claim that DNA proves Jack the Ripper was a Polish immigrant named Aaron Kosminski. The origin of this genetic evidence is a large piece of blue silk material described as a 'shawl' that purportedly was found with the mutilated body of Ripper victim Catherine Eddowes. The first insurmountable problem is that no such article of clothing or anything similar to this 'shawl' is referenced in the original documentation about any of the Ripper's murders. There's no no such detail listed in police reports, and a crime scene sketch made while the body was still at the scene doesn't show a shawl--certainly not one seven or eight feet long and made out of blue silk. (I've heard that it looks more like a decorative table runner than a shawl.)
"I don't blame anyone for testing an item that maybe--just maybe--was associated with the Ripper case. But there doesn't seem to be a proven provenance of this segment of cloth, which has been handled by countless people over the years. I personally know of at least two individuals who tell me they examined it without wearing gloves. Who else did? Unless the DNA analysis withstands the peer review of forensic scientists, we really can't consider the results credible."
Karen: The second edition of the book (2017) followed 15 years of additional research by Cornwell and contains a great deal of new material. See my review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
Shane Phillips
Have not read but I did hear about that article. The response from historians and forensic experts is that his DNA was found on that shawl near a victim. While that does make him in contact with 1 victim, it does not mean he killed her. They could have been in a relationship or since the victim was a prostitute, that is how his DNA came in contact with her shawl. It is cool they could match to a descendant. I can't wait to read this book to see Ms. Cornwell's take.
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