Russell Edward's claim of having solved Jack The Ripper Identity has gone viral in just over a day. Many people thought that the claims of the amateur sleuth are 100% true, uncovering the mystery that has spanned for more than a century. In his book Naming Jack the Ripper, Edwards said that the infamous serial murderer is Aaron Kosminski who has been one of the prime persons of interests back then. Edward's said that they have unmasked the serial killer through the help of science. He worked with scientist Jari Louhelainen of Liverpool John Moores University.
'Once I had the profile, I could compare it to that of the female descendant of Kosminski's sister, who had given us a sample of her DNA swabbed from inside her mouth.
"The first strand of DNA showed a 99.2 per cent match, as the analysis instrument could not determine the sequence of the missing 0.8 per cent fragment of DNA. On testing the second strand, we achieved a perfect 100 per cent match."
However, for several Ripperologists, the term used to describe a group of people interested on the case, Jack The Ripper identity remains a whodunit. It is still far from being solved and Edward's claims only became viral because of the internet.
"Literally, we see articles like this a couple of times a year, but this one has gone viral," said Stephen P. Ryder, executive editor of "Casebook: Jack the Ripper," an online data base built by Ripperologists.
"There's kind of a 'CSI Effect' going on," Ryder said. "People hear 'DNA,' and they think it's 100 percent solved."
Ryder and many of the members of the forum doubt that Kosminski was indeed the true Jack the Ripper identity because of the difference in physique as described by witnesses.
"If it actually was Kosminski, this guy was a borderline raving lunatic," Ryder said. "This was not a criminal mastermind by any means."
Witnesses described Jack as a heavy-built man while Kosminski, who was 23 when detained, paraded a slight body built.
"Until I see anything more than what I've seen so far, it's like the Patricia Cornwell case," Ryder said.
