Calls for new inquest into Jack the Ripper

DESCENDANTS of Jack the Ripper's victims are demanding a new inquest, arguing that DNA techniques could unveil the identity of the killer.

- Mark Reynolds

Relatives have backed a legal application for a review into the death of Ripper victim Catherine Eddowes, after evidence emerged to suggest that the killer was Aaron Kosminski.

The Polish barber, who emigrated to the UK in the 1880s, was a suspect at the time of the five murders in Whitechapel, east London.

But he was never arrested because police had no proof of his involvement in the killings from 1888 to 1891. A bloodstained shawl said to have been found on Ms Eddowes's body - which was purchased at auction in 2007 by Ripper researcher Russell Edwards - was later found to contain the DNA of both the victim and Kosminski.

Kosminski was eventually put in an asylum, where he died in 1919.