Jack the Ripper -- Identified At Last (again!)

For 120 years, the Times of London has spent ink on the most infamous serial killer in world history, "Jack the Ripper." A few days ago, it kept up the tradition with yet another article entitled Official: Jack the Ripper Identified.

The occasion for the umpteenth piece on Saucy Jack is a bequest to Scotland Yard's Black Museum. The gift came from the family of the late Chief Inspector Donald Swanson, who left behind notes explaining that the killer was a Polish Jew from Whitechapel named Aaron Kosminski who was too mentally ill to prosecute and died in an asylum.

This is one of my favorite Ripper theories. Consider the last murder, in particular -- the killer spent hours with the unfortunate he murdered, and dismantled her soft tissues to an extent very rarely seen in the century-plus since. It's hard to imagine that anyone could maintain a facade of normalcy (let alone royalty) after "decompensating" to such a point, suggesting Jack the Ripper was incapable of appearing as anything other than profoundly mentally ill at the last.

For more interesting reading along these lines see:

From The Casebook: A biography of Kosminski by Robert House; The Men Who Suspected Kosminski by Dr. Frederick Walker: "The case against Kosminski is stronger than many of us who believe in alternate theories are generally prepared to admit ...."

The Black Museum -- featuring more than a dozen historical true crime stories, including Jack the Ripper, Constance Kent, Dr. Crippen, and other infamous murder cases.

Comments

[Amy Ralles]

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