Infamous serial killer 'Jack the Ripper' identified through DNA testing, study claims

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Tuesday, March 19, 2019
'Jack the Ripper' identified through DNA, study claims
The internet is abuzz with reports of the discovery of infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper's identity through genetic testing, but is the science reliable?

A recently published scientific study suggests that the infamous serial killer known as "Jack the Ripper" might have finally been identified through DNA testing.

In London in 1888, five women were murdered within three months and ever since legend has it that these crimes were committed by one Jack the Ripper.

According to an article recently published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, semen found on a silk shawl obtained from the scene of one of the crimes was tested for DNA and the results point to a Polish barber named Aaron Kosminski.

Kosminski was a suspect at the time of the crimes, but there was not enough evidence to support an arrest

The Tech Times reports that the conclusion was reached by comparing the mitochondrial DNA gathered from the scarf to that of Kosminski's living descendants.

However, as with most scientific studies, this finding doesn't come without its critics.

In an interview with Forbes magazine, a group of archaeological geneticists call the report "unpublishable nonsense."

They call into question the chain of custody of the shawl prior to its testing, a lack of data and what they refer to as the questionable reliability of mitochondrial DNA.