Fido's Reconsideration of Aaron Kosminski

[Lewis C]

Kosminski can be placed in Whitechapel at the time of the killings and had violent tendencies. These two facts alone make him better than most suspects. The fact that he was also (apparently) seriously considered by police at the time means he has earned his place on the Mount Rushmore of Ripper suspects. Do I think he killed anyone? No. But in the tallest midget contest that is Ripper suspects he stands tall.

Seriously there have been books - PLURAL - written about suspects who cannot even be placed in Whitechapel during the Autumn of Terror. Low standards here.

Hi Damaso,

I believe that we only know of 2 incidents of Aaron Kosminski being violent. One was before his confinement he threatened someone's sister (I think it's unclear whether it was his own) with a knife. In his period of confinement, he once threatened someone with a chair. According to a form in his file in the asylum, he wasn't dangerous to others.

There are other suspects who can be placed in Whitechapel at the time and had at least as much of a tendency toward violence as AK, in most cases more: William Bury, Jacob Levy, George Chapman, David Cohen, Charles le Grand, Thomas Cutbush, Hyam Hyams, Albert Bachert, Oswald Puckridge, and Edward Buckley. As far as whether he's in the Mt. Rushmore of Ripper suspects, if that's understood to mean top 4, I would say maybe. If we're talking top 10, I would agree with that. And yes, there are a lot of weaker suspects that have books written about them.

That list of names above really drives home the kind of place Whitechapel was. No more than one of them could have been the Ripper, but imagine walking through an area where you might encounter all of those people.

[Filby]

Hi Damaso,

I believe that we only know of 2 incidents of Aaron Kosminski being violent. One was before his confinement he threatened someone's sister (I think it's unclear whether it was his own) with a knife. In his period of confinement, he once threatened someone with a chair. According to a form in his file in the asylum, he wasn't dangerous to others.

There are other suspects who can be placed in Whitechapel at the time and had at least as much of a tendency toward violence as AK, in most cases more: William Bury, Jacob Levy, George Chapman, David Cohen, Charles le Grand, Thomas Cutbush, Hyam Hyams, Albert Bachert, Oswald Puckridge, and Edward Buckley. As far as whether he's in the Mt. Rushmore of Ripper suspects, if that's understood to mean top 4, I would say maybe. If we're talking top 10, I would agree with that. And yes, there are a lot of weaker suspects that have books written about them.

That list of names above really drives home the kind of place Whitechapel was. No more than one of them could have been the Ripper, but imagine walking through an area where you might encounter all of those people.

He wasn't a danger to others in a controlled or semi-monitored environment however. Do we know if there was any form of treatment given to AK that would affect homicidal tendencies?

[Lewis C]

He wasn't a danger to others in a controlled or semi-monitored environment however. Do we know if there was any form of treatment given to AK that would affect homicidal tendencies?

I don't know if he received any such treatment, or if there even was any such treatment at the time that he lived.

I think that if the asylum had thought that Aaron was JtR, they wouldn't have said that he's not dangerous to others, regardless of the setting.

[GBinOz]

Hi Damaso,

I believe that we only know of 2 incidents of Aaron Kosminski being violent. One was before his confinement he threatened someone's sister (I think it's unclear whether it was his own) with a knife. In his period of confinement, he once threatened someone with a chair. According to a form in his file in the asylum, he wasn't dangerous to others.

There are other suspects who can be placed in Whitechapel at the time and had at least as much of a tendency toward violence as AK, in most cases more: William Bury, Jacob Levy, George Chapman, David Cohen, Charles le Grand, Thomas Cutbush, Hyam Hyams, Albert Bachert, Oswald Puckridge, and Edward Buckley. As far as whether he's in the Mt. Rushmore of Ripper suspects, if that's understood to mean top 4, I would say maybe. If we're talking top 10, I would agree with that. And yes, there are a lot of weaker suspects that have books written about them.

That list of names above really drives home the kind of place Whitechapel was. No more than one of them could have been the Ripper, but imagine walking through an area where you might encounter all of those people.

Hi Lewis C,

Little is known of the circumstances of the alleged threat against the sister, but the chair incident in the asylum was the result of the asylum staff insisting that Aaron take a bath, and Aaron insisting that he did not wish to do so, and defending his opposition to bathing with a chair.... defence rather than attack.

Aaron's sister, Matilda, and his brother, Isaac lived in Greenfield St, and another brother, Wolf, lived in Providence St, with Berner St a direct path between these dwellings. It could not be considered unusual that Aaron might have been in Berner St that night, and been observed by Schwartz to be engaging in an argument with Stride. I do not believe that that argument extended to an "attack". Had that been the case, the volume of Stride's protest would have been considerably higher.

If Schwartz did see Aaron that night, it could mean that Aaron was Anderson's suspect, but it doesn't result in a conclusion that Aaron killed Stride, or that he was JtR. JMO.

Cheers, George

[Lewis C]

Hi Lewis C,

Little is known of the circumstances of the alleged threat against the sister, but the chair incident in the asylum was the result of the asylum staff insisting that Aaron take a bath, and Aaron insisting that he did not wish to do so, and defending his opposition to bathing with a chair.... defence rather than attack.

Aaron's sister, Matilda, and his brother, Isaac lived in Greenfield St, and another brother, Wolf, lived in Providence St, with Berner St a direct path between these dwellings. It could not be considered unusual that Aaron might have been in Berner St that night, and been observed by Schwartz to be engaging in an argument with Stride. I do not believe that that argument extended to an "attack". Had that been the case, the volume of Stride's protest would have been considerably higher.

If Schwartz did see Aaron that night, it could mean that Aaron was Anderson's suspect, but it doesn't result in a conclusion that Aaron killed Stride, or that he was JtR. JMO.

Cheers, George

Hi George,

All good points. I didn't know the details of the chair incident, and given what you said, the evidence that we have for Aaron being violent is even weaker than I thought. Of course Anderson and Swanson might have known about other evidence that we don't know about.

[Filby]

I recently watched a YouTube video on the Jack the Ripper tour channel when Steven Blomer and Richard Jones were discussing issues related to Aaron Kosminski, Nathan Kaminski, and David Cohen. It is available here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uIdC-ENk54&t=7s

Near the end, they discussed Martin Fido's reconsideration of Aaron Kosminski in the December, 2012 (No. 129) Ripperologist. This article is freely available through the back issues posted on the Ripperologist website. In this article, Fido concedes that Aaron Kosminski is a viable suspect in the murder of Elizabeth Stride; perhaps Aaron was identified by Schwartz and thus was Anderson's suspect. But Fido argues that even if this was the case, that doesn't mean Aaron Kosminski was responsible for the other canonical 5 murders. Indeed, Fido appears to find this unlikely.

Fido is, of course, technically correct on logical and legal grounds. However, if it was proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Aaron Kosminski killed Elizabeth Stride, I would have little doubt that Aaron Kosminski was Jack the Ripper. He wouldn't just jump to the front of the suspect list. I would consider the canonical 5 murders and probably the Tabram murder solved, just like Swanson and Anderson did.

Here is my question: Assuming the police obtained evidence that convinced them and you that Anderson's suspect was guilty of the Stride murder, is it reasonable to consider the identity of the Whitechapel murderer known, as Anderson states, despite the lack of evidence of guilt in the other murders? To me, this seems a reasonable inference. Would you be convinced?

In considering this, it is important to note that, in this scenario, Elizabeth Stride was not murdered by her partner, Michael Kidney. So those scenarios are not relevant. In this scenario, Stride was definitely killed by Aaron Kosminski. Is he Jack the Ripper, or are you skeptical like Fido?

Koz had the ability, at least at some point, to persuade and talk himself out of a dog-walking charge and to recognize how to avoid having to pay (on a Jewish holiday). He had the ability to negotiate and think - if this is the same Aaron Koz. It's more likely, if Koz was the ripper, he suffered from delusions (not psychosis) - a firm fixed and false belief. Perhaps these delusions served to heighten his unreason, hatred against local females and especially prostitutes. I feel given the documentation, one should not assume Koz wasn't able to persuade and follow through with these murders.

[The Baron]

Koz had the ability, at least at some point, to persuade and talk himself out of a dog-walking charge and to recognize how to avoid having to pay (on a Jewish holiday). He had the ability to negotiate and think - if this is the same Aaron Koz. It's more likely, if Koz was the ripper, he suffered from delusions (not psychosis) - a firm fixed and false belief. Perhaps these delusions served to heighten his unreason, hatred against local females and especially prostitutes. I feel given the documentation, one should not assume Koz wasn't able to persuade and follow through with these murders.

Great Post!



The Baron