For collectors of the grisly, gruesome, and ghastly, a piece of evidence lifted off the body of a Jack the Ripper victim is now on sale for $4.75 million.
In 2007, Russell Edwards, a businessman and self-described "armchair detective," purchased a shawl worn by Catherine Eddowes, one of Jack the Ripper's victims, the New York Post reports. Edwards wanted to once and for all determine the identity of Jack the Ripper, and brought the bloodied shawl to a molecular biologist for examination. The results of that test led Edwards to believe that he finally cracked the case, and in a book called Naming Jack the Ripper, he said the serial killer was a Polish immigrant with schizophrenia named Aaron Kosminski.
Now that he's certain he's solved the nearly 130-year-old mystery, Edwards is parting with the piece. Anyone who wants the shawl can send their millions to Moments in Time, the company selling it. Just keep in mind that the company's disclaimer states, "There is some controversy surrounding the authenticity" of how the shawl was discovered, and "interested parties are advised to do their own research."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriageSpeed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
