An author and self-proclaimed “Ripperologist” has claimed to have discovered the real identity of infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper after a major DNA breakthrough.

The mass murderer struck fear throughout London in 1888 after a series of brutal killings in the English capital. His crimes have gone unsolved for years, until now, when Russell Edwards claims to have cracked the case.

Edwards purchased a shawl found on one of the Ripper’s victims during a 2007 auction and claims to have been able to extract DNA from the piece of clothing.

The shawl was bloodstained and when DNA was taken from it, results stated that it contained the DNA of both Catherine Eddowes, the victim, and a man called Aaron Kosminski. With this, Edwards is confident that Kosminski was the Ripper all along.

Kosminski was a Polish barber who emigrated to the UK in the 1880s. He was a suspect at the time of the murders in the Whitechapel district of London but was never arrested because police had nothing to directly link him to the crimes.

Edwards claims that the DNA test returned a 100% match to the Ripper suspect. This is essentially impossible because for there to be a conclusive match, there would have had to be a catalogued sample from the man himself, which it has been proven does not exist.

They can be “100% sure” of the match, but it is categorically impossible for it to be anything other than the Ripperologist being confident in his findings.

But despite this, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Eddowes, as well as the descendants of Kosminski, have called for an inquest to finally uncover the truth.

The victim’s distant relative, Karen Miller, said: “Having the real person legally named in a court, which can consider all the evidence, would be a form of justice for the victims.

“We have got proof. Now, we have this inquest to legally name the killer.

“The name Jack the Ripper has become sensationalised, it has gone down in history as this famous character. It has all been about him, this iconic name, but people have forgotten about the victims who did not have justice at the time.

“What about the real name of the person who did this? Having the real person legally named in a court which can consider all the evidence would be a form of justice for the victims.”

There has been no official comment as to if this new evidence will be taken forward officially.