
By Laura Geggel, Associate Editor Live Science
Did the analysis of a silk shawl just provide a major clue in one of London’s coldest cases, the identity of Jack the Ripper?
No. It doesn’t. Not at all. That’s according to two experts, a geneticist and a Ripperologist (a Jack the Ripper historian), who spoke with Live Science about the new study.
In fact, this study has so many holes in it — including the provenance of the shawl, contamination of genetic material on the shawl, and the methods used to analyze this genetic material — that it’s a wonder it was published at all, said Turi King, a reader in genetics and archaeology at the University of Leicester, who was not involved in the study. [10 Biggest Historical Mysteries That Will Probably Never Be Solved]
Jack the Ripper is notorious for killing and mutilating five women in London in just three months during 1888. According to the new study, a silk shawl was found by the body of Catherine Eddowes, a victim killed by Jack the Ripper during the early morning hours of Sept. 30, 1888.

Carol graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio and received her diploma as a registered nurse. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Literature. She attended the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, and received a Master’s of Nursing Science Degree as an Educator.
She has traveled extensively, is a photographer, and writes on medical issues. Carol has three children RJ, Katherine, and Stephen – one daughter-in-law; Katie – two granddaughters; Isabella Marianna and Zoe Olivia – and one grandson, Alexander Paul. She also shares her life with her husband Gordon Duff, many cats, and two rescues.
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Yes, I saw that too, and although circumstantial it was quite compelling. My question always was: if the murdered woman was a prostitute (officially or unofficially, don’t make any difference) then to find a sample of semen there is not surprising, and the pool of suspects could be very large, depending on trade! So even if the shawl’a provenance is 100% genuine, there is no reason to infer that the biological sample (cough) is that of Jack the Ripper. Don’t you think?
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