Could Exhuming Mary Kelly Prove The Identity Of Jack The Ripper?
Current law relating to the exhumation of human remains in England and Wales states that consent from the next of kin for each set of remains would be required - and in cases where there are a large number of remains within a grave, it is unlikely licences will be granted.
But DNA testing of the remains of Mary Jane Kelly - should she be discovered - would allow for a comparison to be made in order to determine if she was likely to be Elizabeth Weston Davies.
Dr King said: “As information presently stands, a successful search for Kelly’s remains would require a herculean effort that would likely take years of research, would be prohibitively costly and would cause unwarranted disturbance to an unknown number of individuals buried in a cemetery that is still in daily use, with no guarantee of success.
“Most human remains found during excavations remain stubbornly, and forever, anonymous and this must also be the fate of Mary Jane Kelly.”
Ripper suspects have ranged from the painter Walter Sickert, Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll, to the wife of an eminent Victorian surgeon.
One theory suggests he didn’t exist at all – and was actually the invention of a journalist hunting for a scoop.
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