It's a mystery that has eluded historians for more than 130 years - what is the true identity of one of the world's most notorious killers, Jack the Ripper?
But specialists think they might now have finally uncovered the truth behind the bloody legend, with new scientific research pointing to Polish immigrant Aaron Kosminski.
Researchers from Liverpool John Moores University carried out a series of genetic tests on a sample blood-covered shawl found at one of the murder scenes, long thought to have belonged to the Ripper.
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In a paper published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, the authors of the study wrote: "We describe for the first time systematic, molecular level analysis of the only surviving physical evidence linked to the Jack the Ripper murders.
"Finding both matching profiles in the same piece of evidence enhances the statistical probability of its overall identification and reinforces the claim that the shawl is authentic."
The bloodied piece of silk cloth was linked to the deaths of two of the Ripper's victims, Elizabeth Stride and Eddowes, on 30 Sept, 1888 in Whitechapel.
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As Stride's throat was cut but her body left relatively untouched, it's thought the killer had been disturbed and made his escape before being able to finish what he had started.
He is then believed to have carried on his search for another victim, eventually coming across the 46-year-old Eddowes - tearing out her kidney, which in the infamous 'From Hell' letter to police, claimed he had eaten.
The Ripper is known to have murdered at least five women; Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly, but it's widely thought he may have butchered many more.
The groundbreaking research now shows how genetic evidence points towards a 23-year-old Kosminski as the perpetrator of these heinous crimes.
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At the time of the murders, police identified him as their prime suspect but didn't have enough evidence to convict him.
DNA taken from the shawl has since been compared with those taken from Kosminski's known living descendants and suggests the killer has brown eyes and hair - matching eyewitness accounts.
According to the team of researchers, the new study is 'the most systematic and most advanced genetic analysis to date regarding the Jack the Ripper murders'.
But this is not the first time the young man has been linked to the murders.
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Another study by LJMU biochemist Jari Louhelainen, who coauthored the current study, first conducted testing on the suspect's DNA years earlier.
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