INQUIRY PLEA TO FINALLY NAIL JACK THE RIPPER

It is just a simple Victorian wishbone brooch but for Sharon Dutton it is a link across the generations to her ancestor and one of the most infamous series of murders in British history.

- BY SUE LEE

The piece of jewellery first belonged to Catherine Eddowes, a victim of Jack the Ripper and Sharon's great-great-great aunt.

It is also a constant reminder for Sharon of the fight for justice for Catherine, more than 130 years on.

"There needs to be closure on this case. For Catherine and for the other victims," says Sharon, who is appealing to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper for help.

A recent legal application to the Attorney General to grant permission for a High Court bid for a further inquest has been refused due to the length of time and the fact no one could be prosecuted.

Sharon and author and Ripper researcher Russell Edwards had hoped for a new inquiry to shed light on the unsolved crimes.

Now, though, they are urging government intervention in a bid to gain formal recognition of the man they believe to be Jack the Ripper and finally see justice done.

"It's been like a thread running through our family. I feel very emotional about it. The case still casts a shadow and the scars have run from generation to generation," says Sharon, from Wolverhampton.

The grandmother of two adds: "Catherine met a terrible end, just like those other women. Yet the man who murdered them has almost become a celebrity.

"The story is always all about him. That has to stop."

For Russell, a new inquiry would be the chance to present what he believes is new evidence of the identity of the suspect - Aaron Kosminski.

In 2007, Russell bought a bloodstained shawl said to have been found on Catherine's body at Mitre Square in the City of London.

DNA testing revealed a match for her and Kosminski.