Is there a chance someone knows for sure the identity of the ripper?

[Harry D]

There's plenty on here who claim to know the Ripper's identity.

[c.d.]

"Our only slim hope lies with the outstandingly deductive mind of Micheal Richards."

Then our situation is truly hopeless.

c.d.

[c.d.]

Keep in mind that the reward which was quite lucrative given the economic situation of most inhabitants of Whitechapel produced nothing but false leads.

c.d.

[Observer]

Not a chance. This case will never be solved. Our only slim hope lies with the outstandingly deductive mind of Micheal Richards. Over to you Mike.

Regards

Observer

[Elamarna]

Hi

I think it is possible that some documents still exist somewhere, but they may never be found.
If a family is out there with knowledge I think it is unlikely they will come forward, the publicity would be too much for most.

If we get something it will be either by pure luck, or some very obscure research.

Steve

[el_pombo]

I've been thinking about this for some time, I believe there is a chance, as slim as it may be, that someone still alive knows the identity of the ripper but never came forward.

There are several possibilities, the police could have known the identity of the murderer and that information can still exist in the form of classified archives, or, for example, a relative of the murderer could know the truth. It's not impossible (although very unlikely) that a son or daughter of the murderer could still be alive (let's say he was 20 in 1888 and had a child when he was 60 - 1928 - that person would be around 88 years old by now), and a grandson or granddaughter are a good possibility. It could be a well kept family secret and could very well be the only way of finding the truth after so many years.

Of course, one would still have to prove the allegations of anyone who came forward.

I wonder if this has ever been taken seriously as a path of investigation in modern days.

Does anyone see this as a true possibility of solving the murders?