‘DNA error’ blots Jack the Ripper discovery?
22 Oct 2014 4:22 AM IST
It was supposed to have been the definitive piece of scientific evidence that finally exposed the true identify of Jack the Ripper after he had brutally murdered at least five women on the streets of Whitechapel in the East End of London, 126 years ago.
A 23-year-old Polish immigrant barber called Aaron Kosminski was ‘definitely, categorically and absolutely’ the man who carried out the atrocities in 1888, according to a detailed analysis of DNA extracted from a silk shawl allegedly found at the scene of one of his murders. However, the scientist who carried out the DNA analysis has apparently made a fundamental error that fatally undermines his case against Kosminsk and once again throws open the debate over who the identity of the Ripper.
The scientist, Jari Louhelainen, is said to have made an ‘error of nomenclature’ when using a DNA database to calculate the chances of a genetic match. If true, it would mean his calculations were wrong and that anyone could’ve left the DNA that he insisted came from the Ripper’s victim.
A 23-year-old Polish immigrant barber called Aaron Kosminski was ‘definitely, categorically and absolutely’ the man who carried out the atrocities in 1888, according to a detailed analysis of DNA extracted from a silk shawl allegedly found at the scene of one of his murders. However, the scientist who carried out the DNA analysis has apparently made a fundamental error that fatally undermines his case against Kosminsk and once again throws open the debate over who the identity of the Ripper.
The scientist, Jari Louhelainen, is said to have made an ‘error of nomenclature’ when using a DNA database to calculate the chances of a genetic match. If true, it would mean his calculations were wrong and that anyone could’ve left the DNA that he insisted came from the Ripper’s victim.
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