Can Forensics Be Used To Solve A 120 Year Old Cold Case?

The macabre case of serial killer ‘Jack the Ripper’, whom it is believed murdered at least five prostitutes in the 1880s, has fascinated and intrigued people for more than 120 years.

With the passage of time, memories and evidence have faded or disappeared.

After 120 years can forensics be employed to help solve the case?

In what will probably be the first of several posts, I will look here at the application of forensic linguistics to the ‘Ripper’ murders -

Dr Christopher Davies And The Forensic Science Service

The identity of Jack The Ripper has been questioned ever since his killing spree in the 1880s.

There has been much specualtion, and many different names put forward over the years, all seemingly with good reason. However, the true identity of the killer has never been proven beyond doubt, though the Forensic Science Service has now provided some interesting new evidence, thanks to its specialist skills.

An expert, Dr Christopher Davies, conducted handwriting analysis on annotations in a book (an autobiography entitled ‘The Lighter Side of my Official Life’, written by Dr Robert Anderson, the Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police at the time of the crime).

The book, which is believed to have been owned by the Chief Inspector who investigated the original case, Donald Swanson, contains notes naming Kosminski as the Ripper.

Chief Inspector Swanson

Chief Inspector Swanson noted that the reason the only witness to one of the crimes would not speak out against the alleged Ripper was because ‘The suspect was also a Jew, and also because his evidence would convict the suspect, and witness would be the means of murderer being hanged which he did not wish to be left on his mind.’

The book was loaned to the Metropolitan Police Crime Museum in London in July 2006.

Dr Davies, who is based at the Forensic Science Service’s Lambeth Laboratory, was then asked for his expert opinion as to whether the writing actually did belong to Chief Inspector Swanson.

This was determined by comparing it to that in a memoranda he was known to have written.

Linguistic Comparison

Dr Davies compared the two samples of writing for their general style, the size, spacing, fluency and proportions and found there was a high probability that they were written by the same person – Donald Swanson.

The report containing his findings will now be kept along with the annotated book at the Crime Museum.

Dr Davies hopes that his findings will give those interested in the Ripper mystery something new to debate upon -

“What was interesting about analysing the book was that it had been annotated twice in two different pencils at different times, which does raise the question of how reliable the second set of notes were as they were made some years later.

There are enough similarities between the writing in the book and that found in the ledger to suggest that it probably was Swanson’s writing, although in the second, later set, there are small differences.

These could be attributed to the ageing process and either a mental or physical deterioration, but we cannot be completely certain that is the explanation.

The added complication is that people in the Victorian era tended to have very similar writing anyway as they were all taught the same copybook, so the kind of small differences I observed may just have been the small differences between different authors.

It is most likely to be Swanson, but I’m sure the report will be cause for lively debate amongst those interested in the case.”

Alan McCormick, Curator of the Crime Museum, said -

“The evidence provided by Dr Davies makes for fascinating reading and really helps us to judge the significance of the annotations in the book naming Kosminski as Jack the Ripper.

I’m delighted he has agreed to let us keep the report at the Crime Museum permanently and I’m sure copies of it will be requested time and time again from the Forensic Science Service.”

Your Views

Has the application of forensic linguistics to the Ripper case given us answers or simply asked for questions?

Can such modern techniques be applied to such an old case with any certainty or reliability?

Could Kosminski really have been Jack The Ripper?

What do you think?