(September 12, 2014 at 10:32 am)Clueless Morgan Wrote:(September 12, 2014 at 7:48 am)ManMachine Wrote: Actually it's still only circumstantial. The semen (Kosminski) and the blood (Eddowes) were on the shawl, there is no proof the shawl was at the murder scene or that Kosminski committed the murder. Eddowes could have been with Kosminski before she was killed by someone else.
What I find incredibly sad about all of this is the fact at least five women lost their lives to this serial killer and yet it is 'Jack the Ripper' that gets all the attention. These seems to me to be something wrong with this picture.
It is almost impossible for there to be proof 'beyond reasonable doubt' so long after the facts.
MM
[My bolding in both quotes]
Exactly.
Had they found Kosminski's DNA at one of the murder scenes (which I'm not sure even still exist, I haven't looked into it), or could definitively link him to (even one of) the four other known victims of the Ripper they might have a stronger case.
But the author and Russell Edwards, the guy who purchased the shawl, are forgetting the simple fact that Catherine Eddowes was a prostitute. Finding seminal fluid on her shawl would be like finding fish in the ocean. Finding Kosminski's DNA on her shawl proves nothing more than that he was a customer of hers at some point.
I see this as improved circumstantial evidence implying Kosminski's guilt more strongly than some of the other suspects, but it is by no means definitive proof that he was the Ripper.
Interesting article, though. Makes me want to watch From Hell when I get home. :p
If only Sherlock Holmes had been on the case.

![[Image: Sherlock_Holmes_vs._Jack_the_Ripper_Cover.jpg]](https://images.weserv.nl/?url=upload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fen%2Fd%2Fd4%2FSherlock_Holmes_vs._Jack_the_Ripper_Cover.jpg)
Luke: You don't believe in the Force, do you?
Han Solo: Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen *anything* to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. 'Cause no mystical energy field controls *my* destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.
Han Solo: Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen *anything* to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. 'Cause no mystical energy field controls *my* destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense.