Authenticated eBay letter could skyrocket in value after linking Aaron Kosminski to Jack the Ripper case

A fascinating slice of history has been unearthed as a letter purchased on eBay, which could potentially pinpoint Jack the Ripper's identity, has been deemed authentic by scientific analysis. The correspondence, bought for a mere £240 by a carpet fitter from Bradford, is now estimated to be worth a staggering £125,000 after experts determined it originated from the era of the notorious serial killer, reports the Mirror.

This 14-line missive suggests that Aaron Kosminski, one of the prime suspects in the gruesome case, had assaulted a woman with scissors less than a year after the infamous Whitechapel murders. Adding weight to its authenticity, the letter mentions, "It's a wonder he hasn't hung for what he did to those poor girls".

The true identity of the perpetrator who gruesomely killed Polly Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Kate Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly – all destitute women sleeping rough in London's East End in 1888 – has baffled many for over a century. Originally discovered during a stocktake at the University of Melbourne's Theology department, within the pages of an old book, Tim Atkinson, 58, later procured the letter via the popular online auction site and enlisted a scientist from Liverpool University to scrutinise the document using a cutting-edge Video Spectral Comparator (VSC).

The VSC, which combines digital imaging and variable light sources and filters, rigorously examined the item under different wavelengths, revealing no alterations while confirming both the ink and paper were contemporaneous with late Victorian times and had not been subject to artificial aging.

Mr Atkinson remarked: "I saw it on eBay and thought I'd take a punt on it and now I've got it authenticated and it came back as positive. It's the most important letter to come to light. It proves Kosminksi was around and could be the murderer. It could be worth up to £125,000 but I'm not a money man."

Jeff Leahy, who has produced a documentary on the infamous murders, commented: "I understood the scepticism when the letter first surfaced on ebay because we've been plagued by fake diaries, forged letters, and most recently a DNA exaggeration. So the new results are very exciting as we now have another credible Jack the Ripper 'source'. For the first time we have a connection to Aaron Kosminski being mad and violent, and to the Jack the Ripper murders."

Critics of the Kosminski theory argue that the Polish barber couldn't have been the killer due to his confinement in a psychiatric hospital. However, the letter suggests otherwise.

Dated 1889, it was penned by Reverend William Patrick Dott and describes an assault on a woman named Mary by a 'Kosminski' who charged at her with scissors in the East End. The letter also refers to a "Tilly", believed to be Matilda Kosminski, Aaron's sister.

Mr Atkinson found out that the author of the letter was associated with All Hallows church in Barking, east London, during that period.

The signature on his letter was found to be identical to that of the Reverend's in a parish register from 1897. Police records from 1894 indicated that detectives thought he harboured a "great hatred of women, especially of the prostitute class, and had strong homicidal tendencies".

However, Kosminski was never apprehended and passed away in an asylum in 1919.