Is Kosminski still the best suspect we have?

[Mrs Darrell]

I put no.

Of course I'm not sure,none of us are, but I think there are better suspects that him- Kelly, Hyams, Levy to name but 3.

Aaron seems a bit to young to be the ripper- as does Kaminsky/Cohen. The youngest age given by a witness was 28. These men were five years younger than that. Unless none of those witnesses saw the ripper...........

Plus his behaviour in the asylum doesn't seem right for someone who could inflict that kind of violence on another human being. he seems to placid.

[Jeff Leahy]

Aaron seems a bit to young to be the ripper- as does Kaminsky/Cohen. The youngest age given by a witness was 28. These men were five years younger than that. Unless none of those witnesses saw the ripper...........

Hi Mrs Darrell

None of the witness got a good look at there suspects and were largely in the dark except perhaps Mrs Long.

The various description, given the various attires and hats give a large scope to estimate someones age.... Without knowing what Kozminski looked like, and I would suggest that Inspector Cox gave the best description, Kozmninski can not be dismissed in this way.

Plus his behaviour in the asylum doesn't seem right for someone who could inflict that kind of violence on another human being. he seems to placid.

This is not exactly true.

With what we have surviving of the asylum records, which largely relate to Kozminski's health not mental condition we know he was aggressive at Colney Hatch..

He was considered incurable and thus transferred to Leavesden where all the records mysteriously disappeared only the later journal surviving which documents his slow death following schizophrenic burn out

Yours Jeff

[Paddy]

I wonder if they doped him up with anything, or gave him any treatment? They dont mention it, but they could have been recorded on doctors notes...

Pat.....

[Errata]

I wonder if they doped him up with anything, or gave him any treatment? They dont mention it, but they could have been recorded on doctors notes...

Pat.....

Probably not on any kind of regular basis. The options were limited to narcotics and sedatives, both expensive. Unless he was violent or uncontrollable, they were not likely to waste the money on a non paying client. They might give him a shot of morphine or barbiturates if he started to rage, make it easier on the orderlies, but not much else. There wasn't much else.

[Sleuth1888]

I voted maybe as I'm not too sure at the moment, I have to admit I find it hard to entertain the idea that a guy who ate from the gutters and t***ed off too much was able to butcher a number of women and baffle the police, press and public in the way that the Ripper was able to do.

But who knows maybe the fact that he lived in Whitechapel, in the vicinity of the murders, and had a possible hatred of prostitutes could swing the balance in his favour.

[Pcdunn]

I voted "maybe" also. It's possible he was just railroaded into being the Ripper by authorities looking for a likely fall guy ("foreign" of course); or it's possible he did have the violent tendencies to slice them all to death.

[Abby Normal]

I voted no. but hes number 6 in my top tier of most viable candidates.

[Elamarna]

The problem with the question is it asks is he the best.
he is certainly a very good suspect, and i personally have voted yes, but I qualify that by saying, that is, it may not have been Aaron, maybe some like him.
unfortunately the shawl nonsense may have coloured some peoples view to discount him altogether, I think that is a mistake.


Since 1988 he has gone around in my top 3, most of the time in my top 2.

steve

[John G]

Would be in my top 5, probably around number 3.

[Fleetwood Mac]

I put no.

Of course I'm not sure,none of us are, but I think there are better suspects that him- Kelly, Hyams, Levy to name but 3.

Aaron seems a bit to young to be the ripper- as does Kaminsky/Cohen. The youngest age given by a witness was 28. These men were five years younger than that. Unless none of those witnesses saw the ripper...........

Plus his behaviour in the asylum doesn't seem right for someone who could inflict that kind of violence on another human being. he seems to placid.

I wouldn't expect him to be violent outside of his sphere of action, and certainly not in an asylum; but then I wouldn't expect a serial killer to threaten a member of his family with a knife.

I would say that he is one of the best given Swanson's views but I wouldn't fancy him as Jack, and the top man on the ground didn't fancy him either. I can fully see why he would think Chapman was a better bet, despite the change in MO, than a man who resorted to eating out of gutters. Serial killers tend to be fully functioning on the outside.

[Fleetwood Mac]

What actual evidence is there against Kosminski? Because I can't find any.

There's no hard evidence against anyone, but a suspect supposedly picked out in an ID is pretty good.

[John Wheat]

We don't know that the ID even took place for sure and even I it did take place was it even Kosminski who was picked out?

[Elamarna]

We don't know that the ID even took place for sure and even I it did take place was it even Kosminski who was picked out?

Dear John

We have Swanson & Anderson saying yes.
Yes there are question to be answered about where? who? and how convincing?
Questions have equally been raised against mainly Anderson and Swanson to a lesser degree. yet these questions appear to be unanswerable.

However that is TWO contemporary police officers, involved in the case giving a positive indication. Do we have a contemporary source saying it did not take place?

regards

Steve

[John Wheat]

Dear John

We have Swanson & Anderson saying yes.
Yes there are question to be answered about where? who? and how convincing?
Questions have equally been raised against mainly Anderson and Swanson to a lesser degree. yet these questions appear to be unanswerable.

However that is TWO contemporary police officers, involved in the case giving a positive indication. Do we have a contemporary source saying it did not take place?

regards

Steve

To Steve

No we don't have a contemporary source saying it didn't take place however if Kosminski was picked out why was it left like that? Why wasn't there some kind of inquest into Kosminski possibly being the Ripper? I know certain papers have been lost but something of this magnitude would be on record as having taken place but there is nothing on record to say Kosminski was investigated fully.

Cheers John

[Rosella]

We don't know anything about the conditions in which the ID was conducted though, do we, (and we have to suppose it did happen, as Anderson and Swanson said so.)

Were either of these police officials present at the ID or was a report made to Anderson from a police officer? Was there some sort of an identification parade at the Seaside Home, or was he, as Anderson wrote instantly 'confronted' by this witness. Would that sort of identification stand up in court if Kosminki was charged with murder?

I suppose the witness was Lawende. However, he may have used his religion as an excuse in case Kosminski was ever brought to trial. Some people in the days of capital punishment were just very queasy about appearing in court and sending another human being to the gallows on their testimony. This was probably magnified in a case of a man seen for only a few seconds from some distance away in very poor light.