[Flipside]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/jack-the-ripper-was-polish-immigrant-called-aaron-kosminski-new-book-claims-9716805.html

It seems that a shawl that was left at one of the murder scenes contained DNA from one of the suspects for being Jack the Ripper.

The increased possibility it was an Immigrant will, of course, send thrills up the spine of the Tabloids, but personally, I just find it fascinating that such a famous mystery seems to have taken a solid step towards being solved.

And, more importantly, what are the Vorlons going to do about this?

[Mr. Vega]

Speaking of the Vorlons, I always liked JMS' theory about Jack's identity:

Like most of the world, I've always been intrigued by Jack the Ripper, and the ongoing attempts to determine who he was and why he did the things he did (other than the fact that, well, he was a loony). The one theory that I developed, oddly, is one that I haven't seen anywhere else...so before we launch into this episode, a quick examination of Joe's Theory of the Ripper.

It's not a name you're likely to have come across in any of the books about the Ripper: the Reverend Samuel Barnett. But everything about him ties directly into the story of the Ripper, who was only overheard speaking once, saying to a victim, "You would do anything but pray." An interesting statement made even more interesting if the killer is a religious person. But more compelling still are the surrounding pieces of evidence.

According to reports made at the time, not long before the Ripper murders, the Reverend Barnett had something of a nervous breakdown. He was at breakfast and found a rat in his oatmeal, which rather unhinged the already twitchy Barnett. He went on a campaign to clean up the area he worked, which bordered on the Spitalfields region, where most of the murders took place. He often moved through the streets late at night, ministering to the poor, and nobody paid much attention to his goings and comings. He was reportedly the last to see at least two of the victims who were released from jail while he was out delivering blankets to said jails. He was also a rabid anti-Semite, and some of the Ripper's notes were of an anti-Semitic nature.

During the Ripper's attacks, one and only one letter was published in the Times of London that came within an inch of actually defending his actions...a letter that put forth the idea that the Ripper's murders were an attempt to send the government a message about the terrible conditions in the Spitalfields area, and that if they took steps to clean up the neighborhood, it might help encourage the Ripper to stop in his campaign. The letter, the only one of its kind ever written to the Times in the history of that publication, was almost a plea for understanding.

The letter was signed by The Mrs. Reverend Samuel Barnett.

Wait. It gets better.

On at least two occasions, Reverend Barnett was hauled in for questioning by Scotland Yard. The transcripts of those interviews were sealed and remain sealed to this day at the request of church officials...odd if there's nothing of any consequence in those interviews. Time and time again, as you review literature, Barnett keeps popping up in places and times where you wouldn't expect to see him. These are only some of the highlights. But here's the kicker.

The Ripper's last murder was the only one committed indoors, leading to the conclusion that the victim knew her assailant well enough to allow him into her room. Now, one might suggest that a man of the cloth would be considered safe enough to take this chance. But we don't need to go that far afield to justify the reasons why he would have been allowed easy access. We need only look to the man she had been living with, a man to whom she had reportedly given syphilis and disgraced his entire family.

The man's name was Joseph Barnett.

Three guesses who he was directly related to.

After that final incident, the Ripper murders stopped abruptly. Simultaneous with this, the Reverend Barnett was re-assigned outside England. Some said he had been sent to America.

Put more bluntly...when Barnett left England, the murders stopped instantly.

The trail ends there, as Barnett disappears into history. But in the last couple of years, one interesting codicil has come to my attention, something I'm still in the process of trying to confirm.

A couple of years after Barnett was allegedly transferred to America, there were a couple of Ripper-like prostitute murders reported along the Eastern seaboard. Then a break of a few months, then two more in the Southwest, in and around the New Mexico area. The murders stopped when the husband of one of the prostitutes came home early and discovered the man about to murder her, and killed him before he could finish the job.

A relative newcomer to the area, the murderer was known to a few folks in town only as Reverend Sam.

We may never know for certain whether or not Samuel Barnett is actually interred somewhere in the American Southwest. But that the Reverend Samuel Barnett was the Ripper is something that I believe almost to a certainty.

I like that one a lot more than the random immigrant theory.

[Flipside]

I think that is what is so fascinating about the Jack the Ripper case, in many cases, you cannot find a suspect, but around Spitalfields in early Victorian Times, it could be implied that there was actually a 'glut' of suspects, the whole area was a huge melting pot of crazy and poor circling around the puritanical views that helped define that era, which is why, in the history of the case, there have been named over 500 possible suspects.

JMS' account makes interesting reading though, it does sound, at the very least, like Rev. Barnett was an admirer of the man and may have copied him, or he may yet prove to be the Ripper himself, the DNA evidence is compelling, but not absolute proof of guilt.

I did smirk at the fact that one of the Policemen took the shawl home for his wife though, "I love you so much, I've pinched you the shawl of a murdered prostitute'. Ah, love isn't what it used to be....

[karajorma]

Hang on a sec, the author is claiming definitive proof of the identity of a murderer based on a semen stain found on the shawl of a prostitute?

Cause I suspect even a mediocre defence lawyer could supply reasonable doubt as to how that got there.

[Flipside]

Exactly, this proves the presence of the suspect, but does little to prove actual guilt, so I'm not as convinced as the author that this seals the deal.

[Flipside]

Sorry for the double post, but it occurs to me another reason that Rev. Barnett could be a viable suspect is that it is generally accepted that whoever did it had moderate knowledge of internal anatomy. During that period it was common for the clergy to study things like Biology, Medicine etc. Whilst a Barber might have the tools to do the job, I'm not certain they'd have the medical knowledge to remove internal organs in such a, for want of a better word, clean manner.

For people who are interested :

http://www.casebook.org/suspects/barnett.html

[Mr. Vega]

That's Joseph Barnett, the relative who was Kelly's boyfriend. Outside of JMS I've found no discussion of Samuel Barnett himself as a suspect even though he does, as JMS says, show up in the record quite a bit.

[Flipside]

Buggrit, didn't realize the first name was different

[Mongoose]

At least a quick search didn't turn up any information about Samuel Barnett moving to America, though that doesn't necessarily mean he didn't.