Is Kosminski still the best suspect we have?

[Elamarna]

At what point was Kosminski ever a good suspect let alone the best Ripper suspect?

John

According to 3 senior officers at the time he was.

Therefore he was considered a very good suspect at that time.

You may not agree such is life.

To dismiss him so out of hand is to me short sighted.

Steve

[John Wheat]

John

According to 3 senior officers at the time he was.

Therefore he was considered a very good suspect at that time.

You may not agree such is life.

To dismiss him so out of hand is to me short sighted.

Steve

Hi Steve

I dismiss Kosminksi because other than the supposed suspision's of the aforementioned police officers there seems to be nothing else to indicate Kosminski could possiblity be Jack the Ripper. Where's his record of violence? When did he commit a murder? etc.

Cheers John

[John Wheat]

That was before we discovered Lechmere.


Rainbow°

But Kosminski is a better suspect than Lechmere. Although not a good suspect in my opinion.

[Harry D]

Hi Steve

I dismiss Kosminksi because other than the supposed suspision's of the aforementioned police officers there seems to be nothing else to indicate Kosminski could possiblity be Jack the Ripper. Where's his record of violence? When did he commit a murder? etc.

Cheers John

He threatened his sister with a knife, John, and Macnaghten had reason to believe he possessed a "great hatred of women".

Critics of Kosminski often point to the fact that he exhibited no signs of violence while locked up, but if he had been removed from the necessary stimuli to provoke that side of him, would we expect to see it anyway?

[Abby Normal]

He threatened his sister with a knife, John, and Macnaghten had reason to believe he possessed a "great hatred of women".

Critics of Kosminski often point to the fact that he exhibited no signs of violence while locked up, but if he had been removed from the necessary stimuli to provoke that side of him, would we expect to see it anyway?

Good post.
Koz has to be considered a valid suspect imho. He's mentioned by 3 police officials, lived in the area and the killings stopped when he was incarcerated.
And I do believe the threatening his sister with a knife no less is overlooked. I would also add that most serial killers don't have overt violence ( other than there murders of course) on there record.

[Dr. John Watson]

Aaron the Ripper?

Kosminski rose to the status of Ripper suspect mainly because of Swanson's mention of his name, followed by some excellent research opening many tiny windows into this man's pathetic life, but his status really grew after three criminal profilers studied the Ripper murders for a TV documentary and after just one hour unanimously chose Kosminski as the best suspect. The reality is, there's not a single shred of evidence tying him to any of the murders. Aby, you mention one incident of violence in his history, but trying to scare your sister with a knife does not a Ripper make. He was at best a delusional schizophrenic, not the clever psychopath Jack was. Kosminski may well have grappled with Stride on his way home, but would a master escape artist like Jack rough up his victim in front of witnesses and then go on to kill her only a few feet away? Aaron the Ripper? No way!

Dr. John

[Wickerman]

Aby, you mention one incident of violence in his history, but trying to scare your sister with a knife does not a Ripper make.

I don't recall if this was detailed out in an article somewhere but, a person in his shaky state of mind could easily pick up a kitchen knife for self defense. He may have felt threatened, by illusions?.
The end result is still the same, he held a knife in front of his sister.
It all depends on how you look at it.

[Elamarna]

Good post.
Koz has to be considered a valid suspect imho. He's mentioned by 3 police officials, lived in the area and the killings stopped when he was incarcerated.
And I do believe the threatening his sister with a knife no less is overlooked. I would also add that most serial killers don't have overt violence ( other than there murders of course) on there record.

Abby and Harry and indeed John

One real issue we have with Koz is that we make statements about if he was violent or not based on a real shortage of information.

Those arguing against considering him, do not appear to take into account how few records we have for him while he was locked up.

That is also a problem for those who favour him.


And if we are going to say we will only consider those we know committed other murders, we are really limiting ourselves are we not.

Steve

[Elamarna]

Kosminski rose to the status of Ripper suspect mainly because of Swanson's mention of his name, followed by some excellent research opening many tiny windows into this man's pathetic life, but his status really grew after three criminal profilers studied the Ripper murders for a TV documentary and after just one hour unanimously chose Kosminski as the best suspect. The reality is, there's not a single shred of evidence tying him to any of the murders. Aby, you mention one incident of violence in his history, but trying to scare your sister with a knife does not a Ripper make. He was at best a delusional schizophrenic, not the clever psychopath Jack was. Kosminski may well have grappled with Stride on his way home, but would a master escape artist like Jack rough up his victim in front of witnesses and then go on to kill her only a few feet away? Aaron the Ripper? No way!

Dr. John

Dr John

I would argue that "Jack" was not a clever psychopath at all.


The statement about not a shred of evidence is not entirely accurate is it?

I mean , and I accept it is very, very circumstantial, but is he not one of only two suspects who lived next to or at one of the sites at some stage in their life?

Barnett with Miuller's court and Koz next door to Dutfield's yard.

While I understand what you mean, we should not give the impression that there is nothing to tie him to any of the sites.

Indeed a recent trend has been to accept him as a possible killer of Stride , but not the killer of the others.awe do need to be accurate.


all the best

Steve

[Wickerman]

Dr John

I would argue that "Jack" was not a clever psychopath at all.

Steve

Quite so Steve.
Much of the mystique about this killer stems from our lack of knowledge of what happened, and the fact no-one appears to have seen him come & go.
I strongly doubt that is warranted. I would sooner believe he was seen, coming or going, or in the company of a victim, but those who could have shed light on these crimes were reluctant to come forward.

In a close-knit society like the East End you learn at a very young age to keep your nose out of other peoples business. The police were still not trusted by many, and pointing the finger at someone could have very real repercussions for people who already live on the edge of existence.

Anyhow, I don't see Kosminski as a good suspect at all.

[Elamarna]

Quite so Steve.
Much of the mystique about this killer stems from our lack of knowledge of what happened, and the fact no-one appears to have seen him come & go.
I strongly doubt that is warranted. I would sooner believe he was seen, coming or going, or in the company of a victim, but those who could have shed light on these crimes were reluctant to come forward.

In a close-knit society like the East End you learn at a very young age to keep your nose out of other peoples business. The police were still not trusted by many, and pointing the finger at someone could have very real repercussions for people who already live on the edge of existence.

Anyhow, I don't see Kosminski as a good suspect at all.

Hi Jon

much agree with the first two paragraphs.

And of course i disagree with the last, however thats the way it is, with so little real evidence in favour of Anyone, it is always going to be perosnal views, no problems with that at all.


Steve

[jason_c]

Dr John

I would argue that "Jack" was not a clever psychopath at all.


The statement about not a shred of evidence is not entirely accurate is it?

I mean , and I accept it is very, very circumstantial, but is he not one of only two suspects who lived next to or at one of the sites at some stage in their life?

Barnett with Miuller's court and Koz next door to Dutfield's yard.

While I understand what you mean, we should not give the impression that there is nothing to tie him to any of the sites.

Indeed a recent trend has been to accept him as a possible killer of Stride , but not the killer of the others.awe do need to be accurate.


all the best

Steve

And Kosminski is virtually the only suspect there is contemporary evidence against. We have his "identification". Now, im willing to admit his identification is far from perfect, and we have it's details only at second hand. However, the limited evidence there is against Kosminski is probably weightier than every other piece of evidence against all modern suspects combined. We have a witness, no matter how sketchy, who places him at a murder site. Unlike Lechmere Kosminski did not come forward to explain why he was at a murder site that night.

Again, im not for a moment suggesting we have solid evidence to prove Kosminski was the murderer, but he is certainly a highly plausible suspect. And in the case of the mess that is suspects in the JtR case a plausible suspect is good solid suspect.

[Abby Normal]

Quite so Steve.
Much of the mystique about this killer stems from our lack of knowledge of what happened, and the fact no-one appears to have seen him come & go.
I strongly doubt that is warranted. I would sooner believe he was seen, coming or going, or in the company of a victim, but those who could have shed light on these crimes were reluctant to come forward.

In a close-knit society like the East End you learn at a very young age to keep your nose out of other peoples business. The police were still not trusted by many, and pointing the finger at someone could have very real repercussions for people who already live on the edge of existence.

Anyhow, I don't see Kosminski as a good suspect at all.

Well none of the suspects are good IMHO. Even my favored blotchy and hutch. They are all weak suspects, some are just less weak than others.

[Elamarna]

Well none of the suspects are good IMHO. Even my favored blotchy and hutch. They are all weak suspects, some are just less weak than others.

Abby,

Agree 100% .

Always say there are no probables , just lots of possibles, some of who are much stronger than others. however there are none a solid case can be made against.


Steve

[John Malcolm]

Not only do I think Kosminski is the "best" suspect, I think he is the only person named so far that there is any case at all for. The biggest problem for his candidacy is that he doesn't fit the image of what the vast majority of theorists and enthusiasts have imagined all these years.

One thing that seems to be forgotten when speaking of Aaron K. is the fact that there are indeed records beyond threatening his sister with a knife that indicate a violent disposition even after his incarceration. (Not that it really matters though- for example Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer were both model prisoners. And, although he wasn't a serial killer, I don't recall any violent incidents at Broadmoor with Ron Kray after his committal.) For the record, while at Colney Hatch, Aaron "took up a chair, and attempted to strike the charge attendant"; and also, from the same note, in 1892: "at times excited and violent". So, if you are saying he was entirely "harmless", that's an argument you can throw out the window.