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Ok this is going to sound a bit outlandish but hear me out. Mary Kelly is buried in a mass grave, whose original location is supposedly lost in time. IF we could figure out where she was buried, first, how would they determine who was Mary Kelly and who was not? Second, one they get past that couldn't dna tell what she looked like and trace her to her family? And how much of a stretch is it to think if you look hard enough there's a record somewhere of where she's buried?
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Any trace of DNA will be long gone by now so it's not really a viable route to go down. However if you're interested in possible exhumation of MJK you'll definetly want to look at what Dr. Wynne Weston-Davies tried to achieve a few years ago. From what I can remember WWD claimed he was a descendant of MJK and that his great grandfather and reporter involved in writing about the inquests, Francis Spurzheim Craig was JtR. While I don't think his overall theory is correct, he was able to provide enough evidence about his heritage and MJK burial site to get permission from the government to exhume the grave he thought belonged to her. However the church strongly opposed the exhumation and it never went anywhere.
I believe he wanted her supposed burial site exhumed so he could prove he was her descendant and to also see if any of JtR DNA remained. WWD wrote a book about his attempts to exhume her so you might want to look for that.
However I can say it would be almost impossible to recover any DNA from her now, let alone usable DNA. And the thought of getting DNA from JtR from her is a non starter in my opinion. Add to this the ethical issues with exhumation, I don't think we'll ever know where MJK is truly burried.
I'm sure there are others on the forum who can expand on this and correct me if I've made a mistake but I hope this can answer your questions.
Astatine -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Real-Mary-K.../dp/1910536091 this is the book I mentioned. Even if I don't agree with the theory of who JtR was, most of it is an in depth search of who MJK was and focuses on her and finding her family.Comment
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Wynne believes Mary Kelly could be identified due to cuts to her bones.
Excellent chance there would be usable DNA.
Permission was refused. Will not happen.My name is Dave. You cannot reach me through Debs email account
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It’s hearsay on what DNA is possible without seeing what state the remains are in today. There could be potential traces of micro DNA. Who knows? The Catholic Church who own the cemetery are not budging on this and are ever likely to.Comment
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Jon Menges did a Ripperologist article on this. There appears to be no chance of Weston-Davies ever getting permission for an exhumation.Regards
Sir Herlock Sholmes.
“A house of delusions is cheap to build but draughty to live in.”Comment
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Ok i'm unfamiliar with Catholic practices, is it a matter of faith, or against their faith rather, to disturb the rest of the dead as to why they won't grant permission; could the church grant say alone or do they need governmental say with it? Is it a simple thing of disruption or by unearthing such a grave it may remind people of things that the church used to allow or do that they don't anymore? I'm reaching but i would like to know what the big deal is about unearthing a body relating to among, IF NOT THE, greatest most well known murder case the world has ever seen.Last edited by clark2710; 03-13-2021, 11:02 PM.Comment
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I take it that they exhausted all of their avenues? I mean who has the power to grant such a request?Originally posted by Herlock Sholmes View PostComment
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Permission in principle was granted by the authorities, but it's ultimately up to the Catholic Church, since they have authority over the cemetery. The church have refused permission. It's not a criminal investigation, and the odds of locating the remains without disturbing many others was pretty slim. The church don't see that the end justifies the means.Originally posted by clark2710 View PostThems the Vagaries.....Comment
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ah ok then and yeah that makes sense...so they'd have to have some pretty convincing evidence she's HERE or THEREOriginally posted by Al Bundy's Eyes View PostComment
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