The great-granddaughter of one of the original investigators into Jack the Ripper, the 19th-century serial killer, claims to have found out the killer's true identity.
Jack the Ripper mutilated and murdered at least five women in the British capital in the late nineteenth century, but the identity of the figure behind some of the most shocking crimes in British history has never been ascertained. The mystery creates new theories every so often, and dozens of people – even in royal circles – have already been identified as possible culprits.
However, in a new book, the great-granddaughter of one of the original sleuths who investigated the cases at the time, Sarah Bax Horton, says she has unmasked the serial killer, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
Based on witness accounts, she has stated that Hyam Hyams is the real Jack the Ripper. The man has in the past been considered a suspect in the Whitechapel murders, and there are several reasons why Hyams might be the real killer.
Firstly, Hyams was an alcoholic and regularly spent time in mental institutions. He became progressively more violent as his mental state collapsed, resulting in him attacking more than one person with a knife.
Archive image of newspaper clipping during the time of the murders. Credit: Belga
He was raised and lived near several of the locations where the murdered women were found dead, while another body was found near a cigar manufacturing business run by Hyams’ uncle.
Witnesses at the time spoke of Jack the Ripper as a man, in his thirties, with a stiff arm and a knee that could not be extended. Hyams at a certain point in his life became crippled as a result of an accident.
According to Horton, other eyewitness accounts also match the medical records of Hyams, who suffered from epileptic seizures. When Hyams was picked up by the police at some point, the killings also stopped.
According to the Telegraph, Paul Begg, a connoisseur of the mystery surrounding Jack the Ripper and author of several books on the serial killer, supports the hypothesis. In 2014, another book pointed towards Aaron Kosminski, an indentured Polish barber. He has long been considered a prime suspect.
