Jack the Ripper Daily Mail article. Photo: Dr. Jari Louhelainen, of Liverpool John Moores University

The reported family of the notorious Victorian-era London serial killer, Jack the Ripper, on Monday said they were concerned that a report that their predecessor was, apparently, Jewish might spark anti-Semitic hostility towards them, Israel’s Channel 2 reported.

In an interview with the Sunday Daily Mail, British author, Russell Edwards, whose new book, Naming Jack The Ripper, is due out on Tuesday, claims that DNA tests prove that Polish Jewish immigrant Aaron Kominski, then 23, killed at least five women in a series of infamous throat-slashing murders in the late 1880s that have remained unsolved, until now – at least, according to the author.

The family “are very afraid of anti-Semitism, that Aaron was a Jew, so they asked to remain anonymous because they still live as Jews and do not want to link it to them,” Edwards said.

The family, who are practicing Jews, “are afraid that [hostile elements] will come to their home and harm them,” Edwards said.

“In those days, tens of thousands of Jewish immigrants from Poland – who suffered from the government – arrived [in England], and the last thing we want is to tarnish an entire population,” he said.

Speaking with the Daily Mail, Edwards pointed out that “Kosminski has always been one of the three most credible suspects. He is often described as having been a hairdresser in Whitechapel, the occupation written on his admission papers to the workhouse in 1890. What is certain is he was seriously mentally ill, probably a paranoid schizophrenic who suffered auditory hallucinations and described as a misogynist prone to ‘self-abuse’ – a euphemism for masturbation … police did not have enough evidence to convict Kosminski, despite identification by a witness, but kept him under 24-hour surveillance until he was committed to mental asylums for the rest of his life.”

“I became convinced Kosminski was our man, and I was excited at the prospect of proving it. I felt sure that modern science would be able to produce real evidence from the stains on the shawl. After a few false starts, I found a scientist I hoped could help,” Edwards said,

Jack the Ripper Daily Mail article. Photo: Dr. Jari Louhelainen, of Liverpool John Moores University

However,  not everyone is convinced that it was Kominski, and say the shawl used as evidence passed through hundreds of hands since then, and, as such, is useless.

According to London businessman and Ripper-phenalia entrepreneur Richard Cobb, speaking with The Times, “The shawl has been openly handled by loads of people and been touched, breathed on, spat upon…”

“My DNA is probably on there. What’s more, Kominski is likely to have frequented prostitutes in the East End of London. If I examined that shawl, I’d probably find links to 150 other men from the area,” Cobb contended.

Whoever is right, watch a video clip of the author and forensic investigation below:

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