By Tim Binnall
A researcher in the UK argues that newly unearthed medical records reveal the identity of the infamous serial killer Jack the Ripper. The intriguing new suspect reportedly comes courtesy of Sarah Bax Horton, who is actually the granddaughter of one of the original investigators of the notorious spree of at least five slayings that were committed by a still-unknown perpetrator in London's Whitechapel district back in 1888. Carrying on the family tradition, she had been dutifully digging into the case for quite some time and now believes that she has managed to unmask the miscreant who terrorized the city well over a century ago.
Horton asserts that the newly unearthed medical records of a man by the name of Hyam Hyams suggest he was, in fact, Jack the Ripper. Her theory largely centers around what she describes as "distinctive physical characteristics" possessed by her suspect and also attributed to the serial killer by eyewitnesses who managed to catch a glimpse of him. Specifically, she notes that the Ripper was said to walk in a unique fashion wherein his knees were bent, while also sporting an unusually stiff arm. According to Horton, Hyams medical records indicate that he also possessed these characteristics due to his having epilepsy, which caused an unusual gait, and an injury to his arm, which rendered it unable to bend.
Fleshing out her theory further, Horton posits that Hyams was likely the Ripper because he had begun suffering a mental decline at around the same time as the slayings and the condition led to fits of violence that ultimately led to him being committed in 1889. Additionally, Horton indicates that Hyams' job as a cigar maker would account for the Ripper's precision when he sliced open his unfortunate victims. While Horton's theory is undoubtedly intriguing, as long time Ripper followers know, there have been a slew of potential perpetrators put forward by researchers over the last 135 years with the possibility of the case being definitively solved becoming increasingly unlikely as it moves even further into true crime history.