An expert on Jack the Ripper has unveiled a sixth victim and has also shared who he believes the Ripper was.
Despite over 100 potential suspects, no one has ever been convicted for the gruesome murders that terrorized the streets of East London in the late 1800s.
The Enduring Mystery of Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper’s killing spree between 1888 and 1892 has been a subject of global fascination, sparking theories, books, films, and a whole field of study called “Ripperology”.
The killer’s five victims were slaughtered in a brutal fashion, with their throats cut and their bodies horribly mutilated.
As each crime became more grisly, police believed a single, deranged murderer was behind it all.
Frenzied speculation about the identity of Jack the Ripper continues to this day, with theories ranging from the killer being Queen Victoria’s grandson to a post-Impressionist painter, or even former British Prime Minister William Gladstone.
But criminologist David Wilson has recently shared a theory that could finally put an end to the speculation.
The Ripper’s Potential Identity: Aaron Kosminski
Wilson, who has dedicated his career to studying serial killers, has used modern criminological techniques to narrow down the suspect list, per The Sun.
By inputting eleven murders into a computer system, Wilson’s research led him to one primary suspect: Aaron Kosminski, a Polish barber who lived near the crime scenes.
“It is absolutely easy to tell you who Jack the Ripper is. It's Aaron Kosminski,” Wilson said.
Kosminski, who was in his mid-20s at the time of the murders, was known to have severe mental health issues, including paranoia and auditory hallucinations.
He lived in the heart of Whitechapel and, according to Wilson’s profiling, was a single man who had a deep disdain for women, especially sex workers. His mental state, combined with his local residence, fits the profile of the killer.
Why Kosminski Is the Prime Suspect
Despite some historians dismissing Kosminski due to his lack of medical training, Wilson argues that there is no evidence to suggest the Ripper had any formal surgical knowledge.
The brutality of the murders, he explains, likely came from an untrained but deeply disturbed individual - someone who could have been “the bloke next door.”
Wilson’s analysis also suggests that the killer may have been a local, unskilled worker with a routine that kept him busy during the week.
The attacks, which occurred in the early hours of Fridays or weekends, support this theory. Kosminski lived just a short distance from the crime scenes, which further reinforces the likelihood that he was the perpetrator.
.jpg_5NRGLL?tr=w-216%2Cq-70%2Cf-webp)
A Shocking Sixth Victim: Martha Tabram
In addition to identifying Kosminski as the killer, Wilson has made another groundbreaking claim: there was a sixth victim of Jack the Ripper, a woman named Martha Tabram.
Tabram was discovered on August 7, 1888, nearly three weeks before the first widely recognized victim, Mary Ann Nichols.
Tabram’s body was found with 39 stab wounds, and while some may not have initially connected her death to the Ripper, Wilson’s research shows that she fits the pattern of the other murders.
By inputting eleven Whitechapel murders from 1888 into the HOLMES system, Wilson found that Tabram’s death matched the Ripper’s profile.
Wilson explained: “For one of the documentaries I did for the BBC with Amelia Fox, I got the entire Whitechapel docket run through HOLMES... and that lead trainer identified six murders, not five murders.”
This revelation, combined with geo-profiling (a method used to predict a criminal’s likely area of residence based on crime locations), helped Wilson confirm that Kosminski was the likely culprit.
Kosminski’s Background and His Suspected Role in the Murders
Born in 1865 near Warsaw, Poland, Aaron Kosminski moved to London in 1882 to escape rising antisemitism.
By the time the murders began, he was living with his brother and sister in Whitechapel. Police at the time believed Kosminski had a “great hatred of women” and strong homicidal tendencies, but they lacked sufficient evidence to arrest him.
However, his history of mental health issues, including paranoid delusions and a breakdown in 1890, made him a prime suspect. He was eventually committed to an asylum, where he remained until his death 28 years later.
Though some experts believe that his mental state rules him out of being the Ripper, as women would have been aware of him and kept their distance.
DNA Evidence and Further Confirmation
Earlier this year, DNA analysis brought new attention to Kosminski’s potential role in the murders.
DNA was extracted from a bloodstained shawl found at the scene of Catherine Eddowes’ murder.
The shawl was tested against a sample of Kosminski’s family DNA, and the results reportedly showed a “100 percent match.”
Some experts have questioned the methodology behind the test, claiming that the DNA could belong to many people.
In Conclusion
Despite there being a strong case for Aaron Kosminski being the Ripper, we will never really know.
Various 'Ripperologists' have differing opinions on who the killer may have been, and the evidence provided could be seen as inconclusive.
It could have easily been a member of the community who was never under any suspicion.