Is Kosminski the man really viable?

[Errata]

Was thinking, Kosminski is kind of like Eddie Gein.

I really think this is what Jtr was like. Secretive, quiet, unclean habits, no natural abhorrence of the way he played with a corpse.

Makes me wonder about motive, if there was some similarity between the two. I would not be surprised to find there was a dominating mother.

Ed Gein could only ever operate in a very small town. With a decent sized graveyard. He wasn't a serial killer. He only could be proved to have killed one woman, although how else the other woman would have died is murky at best. He wasn't about killing. He did it, but that wasn't his focus. He was for the most part content to get what he needed from grave robbing. And Ed Gein was not especially secretive. He was clearly uncomfortable in company, but he did not take extraordinary precautions to make sure he wasn't caught. He wasn't caught because it was a small farming town and he lived in the middle of nowhere. But putting on a woman suit and going out to dance under the moon is not a secretive behavior.

I agree with you on the likelihood of a domineering mother, but I see the opposite relationship forming. Ed Gein was devoted to his mother. And she made him what he was. And his whole manner was adhering to his mother's code. All living women were whores, except for her. He preyed on the dead because his mother warned him away from living women. He preserved her corpse because she was the only woman of worth. He was trying to become a woman to be like her, and to preserve her. I think Jack the Ripper was angry at his domineering mother. Not worshipful.

[Lechmere]

I agree with your conclusion.

[Pontius2000]

Ed Gein was most definitely a serial killer. Serial killings are very often about more than the act of killing itself. Most often, they're about sex and power. I think most agree almost unanimously that Gein killed 2 women. Most also agree with a "preponderance of circumstances" that he also likely killed his brother. I would also venture to guess that most experts would agree almost unanimously that had he not been caught, he would have killed again. A "serial killer", or the makeup of a serial killer, isn't about the sheer number of victims. Many "would be" serial killers are caught on their first kill because the first kill is usually the sloppiest in terms of evidence left behind.

I also have seen no evidence whatsoever that JtR went out of his way to be overly "secretive". The victims were prostitutes...it was their profession to do business in discreet locations. Many wrongly attribute that to JtR being "stealthy". In all likelihood, JtR left DNA and fiber evidences all over all of his crime scenes. Wouldn't have been helpful at all in those days. In the present day, it would have likely got him caught. Just because he didn't kill people in broad daylight with "I'm Jack the Ripper" stamped on his forehead, that doesn't mean he went out of his way to be "stealthy".

To answer the question in the original post....I think if a group of psychiatrists, psychologists, and police did an indepth study of the JTR crimes, I believe the overwhelming consensus would be that Aaron Kosminski is the MOST LIKELY of all known suspects.

[Errata]

Ed Gein was most definitely a serial killer. Serial killings are very often about more than the act of killing itself. Most often, they're about sex and power. I think most agree almost unanimously that Gein killed 2 women. Most also agree with a "preponderance of circumstances" that he also likely killed his brother. I would also venture to guess that most experts would agree almost unanimously that had he not been caught, he would have killed again. A "serial killer", or the makeup of a serial killer, isn't about the sheer number of victims. Many "would be" serial killers are caught on their first kill because the first kill is usually the sloppiest in terms of evidence left behind.

As it happens, I agree with you. And I can't imagine he didn't kill the second woman. I'm undecided on the brother, an argument can be made either way. And I think I can make a good case that he killed his mother as well. But in the criminological sense of the term, serial killer means 3 or more. It could be proved he killed one, it is reasonable to state that he killed two, three, four, even five and up are pure conjecture. So not a serial killer. Give him a few more days and I think he would have been, but in criminology (and therefore profiling) no dice.

In layman's terms however, boy howdy was he a serial killer.

I also have seen no evidence whatsoever that JtR went out of his way to be overly "secretive". The victims were prostitutes...it was their profession to do business in discreet locations. Many wrongly attribute that to JtR being "stealthy". In all likelihood, JtR left DNA and fiber evidences all over all of his crime scenes. Wouldn't have been helpful at all in those days. In the present day, it would have likely got him caught. Just because he didn't kill people in broad daylight with "I'm Jack the Ripper" stamped on his forehead, that doesn't mean he went out of his way to be "stealthy".

Except that we are talking about a psychotic. Ordinarily, Jack the Ripper would be considered to have taken ordinary precautions. But psychotics walk up to people and shoot them from five feet away and just stand there. These are the people who try those insane Presidential assassination attempts. Sarah Jane Moore, Charles Guiteau, Leon Czolgosz... all psychotic. All completely oblivious to "ordinary precautions". If Kozminski was going to murder someone, that's what one would expect. Not the killing a president part, but that level of inability to think beyond the goal. So killing people in broad daylight and wandering off covered in blood would not be unusual.

To answer the question in the original post....I think if a group of psychiatrists, psychologists, and police did an indepth study of the JTR crimes, I believe the overwhelming consensus would be that Aaron Kosminski is the MOST LIKELY of all known suspects.

I think you're wrong on this, if for no other reason than no reputable psychiatrist or psychologist takes part in diagnosing historical figures as anything other than a party game. The shrinks who DO publish those things... I would not recommend seeing them as a patient. Ever. Also getting two shrinks to agree on anything is like herding cats. But even without those factors, I don't think they would say that because while posthumously trying to diagnose Kosminski might be comparatively easy, a: the best you can hope for is a determination of either likely violent or likely not, and b: you still have to diagnose the Ripper to see if the two profiles match up, and without knowing the Ripper's history or state of mind at the time of the murders that can't be done. No diagnosis can occur with a single symptom. And since it is not the norm that serial killers have delusions, you would have to find compelling evidence that the Ripper had delusions, and that you will not find.