By GB News (World News) | Created at 2024-12-17 08:26:20 | Updated at 2024-12-17 11:02:01
2 hours ago
A letter discovered in an old Australian book could hold vital evidence linking one of Jack the Ripper's prime suspects to the notorious murders.
The 14-line document, which was purchased on eBay for just £240, is now estimated to be worth up to £125,000.
The 1889 letter was found in a book believed to have been auctioned off by the University of Melbourne's theology department.
Written by Reverend William Patrick Dott from east London, the correspondence appears to describe how Aaron Kosminski, a key Ripper suspect, attacked a woman with scissors less than a year after the infamous Whitechapel killings.
'Jack the Ripper' identity seemingly REVEALED in 14-line letter unexpectedly found hidden in old book
GETTY/GLEN MINIKIN
Bradford carpet fitter Tim Atkinson, 58, made the remarkable purchase on the online auction site.
In the letter, Reverend Dott, who served as a priest at All Hallows church in Barking, wrote about an attack on a woman named Mary by 'Kosminski' in London's East End.
'It's a wonder he hasn't hung for what he did to those poor girls', the reverend wrote in his correspondence.
The letter also contained a reference to 'Tilly', which is believed to be Kosminski's sister Matila.
The document appears to draw a connection between Kosminski and the notorious murders that had occurred in the area just months before.
The reverend's account describes Kosminski running at the woman with scissors.
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have authenticated the historic document using advanced technology.
A Video Spectral Comparator examination confirmed the paper has not been altered since it was written.
The analysis verified that both the handwriting style and fountain pen used were consistent with the 1889 period.
Experts also determined the paper was original and showed no signs of artificial aging.
"I saw it on eBay and thought I'd take a punt on it and now I've got it authenticated and it came back as positive," Mr Atkinson told the Mirror.
"It's the most important letter to come to light. It proves Kosminksi was around and could be the murderer," he added.
"It could be worth up to £125,000 but I'm not a money man."
Kosminski was a Polish immigrant who lived in Whitechapel's Greenfield Street with his two brothers and a sister.
He was believed to have worked as a hospital orderly before arriving in Whitechapel approximately seven years before the 1888 murders.
During a three-month period in 1888, the Ripper killed at least five women in the area.
Kosminski was repeatedly sectioned due to suspected schizophrenia, though records indicate he had not shown violent tendencies.
He was one of three men considered suspects by police at the time of the murders.
Detective Inspector Donald Sutherland Swanson, the case's senior officer, regarded Kosminski as the prime suspect.
Kosminski died in a lunatic asylum in 1919.
