A 23-year-old Polish barber was infamous killer Jack the Ripper, scientists claim, bringing an end to perhaps the most notorious ‘whodunit’ ever. The sensational claim comes as scientists took fresh DNA tests from a blood-stained shawl.

DNA found on a shawl next to the mutilated body of one of the notorious serial killer’s five victims 130 years ago has proved a match to barber Aaron Kosminski, 23, experts revealed this week. He was previously named as a prime suspect by the detective who led the hunt for the Ripper but there was never enough evidence to convict him for the grisly slayings.

But now for the first time supporting DNA evidence has been published in the “most advanced study to date regarding this case”. Researchers analysed a stained silk shawl discovered by 46-year-old Catherine Eddowes’ body in 1888, which had blood and semen on it. Advance analysis can now sensationally confirm the DNA as a match to Kosminski’s living descendants.

The analysis also suggests the killer had brown hair and brown eyes. The new details have been published in a paper by Jari Louhelainen, of Liverpool John Moores University, and David Miller of the University of Leeds. They wrote: “The killer’s identity has remained a mystery to date. Here, we describe the investigation of, to our knowledge, the only remaining physical evidence linked to these murders, recovered from one of the victims at the scene of the crime.

“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.” However, despite the revelation, critics have questioned whether the shawl is viable evidence, claiming there is no proof it was alongside Eddowes’ body, and that it might have been contaminated over time. Kosminski, a Polish immigrant, ended up dying in an asylum, and was previously said to be “definitely, categorically and absolutely” the man behind the killing spree in 1888 in London’s East End.

The Ripper murdered at least five women, slashing their throats, removing some of their internal organs and leaving their bodies in Whitechapel’s darkened alleyways.