KOSMINSKY

 Rock and Roll was sounding at night, by the way no one was ever cooler wailing on a guitar than Brian Setzer, while I was reading an article about Jack the Ripper. Apparently Russel Edward claims Aaron Kosminsky, a 23 year-old Polish Jew who ended up dying in an asylum, was “definitely, categorically and absolutely the man behind the gruesome killings in 1888 in London´s East End- an area I know quite well. Edward said a blood-stained shawl he bought in 2007 held vital DNA evidence which link the Polish Inmigrant to the killer. A shawl, according to Mr Russel, belonged to one of the Ripper´s victims; Catherine Eddowes.

To be honest, I am not quite surprised about the revelation because maybe we have known the answer all along. The police knew the real identity of Jack the Ripper simply because Kosminsky was identified by a witness- another Jew. We are talking about the only person who ever saw the murderer. The man who identified him the moment he was confronted with him, but the witness did not want the man to be hanged.  In another words; he did not want his death on his conscious. The whole case rested on the witness who identified Kosminsky in court and he knew he had been identified. An identification that took place after Mary Kelly`s murder.  Later on, Kosminsky was watched by Police- City CID- by day and night. In a very short period of time the suspect was his hands tied behind his back, he was sent to Stepney Workhouse and then to Colmey Hatch and died shortly afterwards. According to his medical file; Kosminsky suffered from mania for 6 years. His bodily state was fair, his main symptom was incoherence and he was discharged to Leavesden Asylum in 1894. Leavesden was the Asylum for Imbeciles. Today we know that Konmisky was schizophrenic.

If we assumed that he was, in fact, Jack the Ripper, the question remained; why wasn’t he charged? Why was he allowed to roam the streets? Well I try to avoid speculating but I start to see a picture fitting together; the authorities did not have more evidences to imprison him. Let me remind you that the Police destroyed one of the most important evidence of the case; graffiti blaming the Jews, and the witness did not want to testify in court.

Whatever the truth, we can´t underline the fact that Konsmisky was a resident in Whitechapel,   he had a great hatred of women, especially of the prostitute class and had also strong homicidal tendencies. In my humble opinion, the only thing that prevents me from saying that Jack the Ripper case is closed resides in M. J Druitt, a doctor who disappeared at the time of the Miller`s court murder, and whose body was found in the Thames on 31<sup>st</sup> December about 7 weeks after that murder- other investigators claims that he was already dead by the time of that murder- He was sexually insane and for some investigators there is little doubt that his own family believed him to have been the murderer. Druitt is currently the firm favourite with most Ripperologists as the man most likely to have been Jack the Ripper. Unfortunately, as in many other instances, there`s no proof. 

Anyway it`s a major and very dangerous temptation to find what is expected and look no further. Some people, including myself, find Kosmisky the best candidate to be Jack the Ripper. But we can´t be certain. Let´s hope that someday, someone cast the definite light on the case. Till then; Let`s enjoy the case a little bit longer. 

Sergio Calle Llorens