Aaron's mental health

Nah, you don't have to make a thread for it. It's not that big a deal to make a whole thread about.

Did he get along with any of his siblings?

(I'll make a Mature chat thread just after I post this. It needed one anyway.)

I really can't find any evidence of this, but there are suggestions that he might have worked as a night guard for his brother in law's tailoring business in exchange for him staing with them. How long he carried on like this, I don;t know, but he was most active at night. The fella was caught sneaking out by some policemen while under 24 hour watch, and I shall try and find the account written. It's an interesting read. Aaron sounds sooo suspicious...

Well, I guess that's how he did his night killings.

Here is the account:

I shall never forget one occasion when I had to shadow our man during one of his late walks. As I watched him from the house opposite one night, it suddenly struck me that there was a wilder look than usual on his evil countenance, and I felt that something was about to happen. When darkness set in I saw him come forth from the door of his little shop and glance furtively around to see if he were being watched. I allowed him to get right out of the street before I left the house, and then I set off after him. I followed him to Lehman Street, and there I saw him enter a shop which I knew was the abode of a number of criminals well known to the police.

He did not stay long. For about a quarter of an hour I hung about keeping my eye on the door, and at last I was rewarded by seeing him emerging alone.

He made his way down to St George's in the East End, and there to my astonishment I saw him stop and speak to a drunken woman.

I crouched in a doorway and held my breath. Was he going to throw himself right into my waiting arms? He passed on after a moment or two, and on I slunk after him.

As I passed the woman she laughed and shouted something after me, which, however, I did not catch.

My man was evidently of opinion that he might be followed every minute. Now and again he turned his head and glanced over his shoulder, and consequently I had the greatest difficulty in keeping behind him.

I had to work my way along, now with my back to the wall, now pausing and making little runs for a sheltering doorway. Not far from where the model lodging house stands he met another woman, and for a considerable distance he walked along with her.

Just as I was beginning to prepare myself for a terrible ordeal, however, he pushed her away from him and set off at a rapid pace.

In the end he brought me, tired, weary, and nerve-strung, back to the street he had left where he disappeared into his own house.

Next morning I beheld him busy as usual. It is indeed very strange that as soon as this madman was put under observation, the mysterious crimes ceased, and that very soon he removed from his usual haunts and gave up his nightly prowls. He was never arrested for the reason that not the slightest scrap of evidence could be found to connect him with the crimes.

Wow. It must have been scary to know you can be caught at any moment.

Yeah, thought it was an interesting little find! His 'checking behind him' really arouses the suspicion. Unless he knew that he was out to do something illegal, he wouldn't have acted like that. Chatting up prostitutes and then realising he's been sighted with one, thus explaining his darting off, really makes me certain that out of all the suggested suspects, it's got to be him.

I can only imagine how interesting it must've been for that witness. And ya, that is a pretty good givaway.

Well, the policeman was pretty freaked out and thought he might do something. Since he looked all psycho that night and was acting suspiciously. I t wouldn;t surprise me if they did a strip search that they'd find a knife on him!!

Is it possible the reason he was looking behind him is that he had a feeling he was being followed?

I think you might be right there. Of course, it may be a mixture of both, since upon realising that he had been followed, he quickly darted away from the woman. But certainly yes, he would have been aware of the overwhelming possibility that he was he wasn't alone.

I found out some really cool new evidence that I have linked myself!

Being a left hander - I proudly present the fact that Jack the Ripper was left handed.
And what has this got to do with Kosminski? Well, recent studies by scienctists have found that left-handed people may have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia. An international group of scientists, led by a team at Oxford University, have identified a gene that seems to increase the chance of being left-handed. The researchers said that the same gene - called LRRTM1 - increases the risk of developing the brain disorder!

So, since we do not know, and never will no whether Aaron was left or right handed, I can safely say he was more likely to be left handed due to his development of schizophrenia, and this means he is more likely to have been Jack the Ripper!!

I never knew he was left handed! That is an interesting find Louise!

Well, there's been a bit of confusion as to which hand he used, because it depends on where he sat to perform his mutilations, but most people say he was left handed. If that is the case, then I have even more things in common with him, and the interesting schizophrenia fact that I happened to stumble upon really blew me away how this could weakly link Kosminski to the Ripper murders!

You're left handed? That's the one thing that's different about us. I'm right handed. Although I'm teaching myself to be both cause that can come in handy.

Yeah, I'm left handed! ^^ it's really annoying though, because all the tools around are practically all designed for right handed people and you have to pay extra to get non standard. Also, quite often you're stuck. I've adapted to use right handed scissors and right handed tin openers consequently.

I got so excited with that trivial fact when I found out he could be left handed! It's like he's part of the left-handers clan of left handed awesomeness!! XD

I understand it can get annoying. I tryed using my mouse with my left hand one day. Epic Fail. XD

That does sound like an interesting find and I just noticed on your background on this site, Jack is holding his knife with his left hand!

LOL! I just noticed that too! XD I was going to post it but I thought naaaah... XD

That's another adaptation I've had to make - using the mouse with my right hand. Strangely I have enormous control over it, since I used to draw sometimes on paint and and found I was quite accurate! XD Strange...

I'm also wondering how I would portray a lot of his auditory and aural experiences in comic strips/ animations, since it would be difficult to make the audience/ reader clear that it's only him seeing it.

Ya, I have gotten quite good at writing with my left hand. ^^
ya, I hope you can figure it out.

That's good to know! XD It must be so cool to be able to write with both hands!

I might put it in a little think bubble, or slant the writing. Thats one thing I could do. Also, depending on the perspective of it all, if his family are seeing it, then it would disappear and Aaron would just look werid.

Oh, I know another point against Kosminski is that his english wouldn't have been that great, and that he would have to have put on some kind of manipulation act - and seen as Kosminski was the quiet sort a lot of the time, he wouldn;t have been able to manipulate them. But I don't see anything whatsoever to indicate manipulation of the victims - and there was no manipulation needed in his role as a customer of prostitutes. But we have no witness statements that shows the Ripper in any lengthier conversations with the women, and he didn't have to. That is one reason why they are so suitable as murder victims; their working situation and their need for money makes that redundant, and they are taking the whole initiative for the most part.

Well, I'm not perfect at it, but I'm better than most people.
He wouldn't really have to minipulate them if they usually were drunk would he?

Yeah - all his victims were believed to have been drunk when they died, plus Jack might have been a little tipsy on one of the murders as it says in a witness statement! XD I find that quite amusing to picture!

Aaron Kosminski could not be held responsible for any of his words or actions

It would have some bearing on the identification of him as a criminal by a fellow Jew, and serves as some explanation as to why the witness didn’t testify.

If the witness had any inkling that the shoteh would even be prosecuted never mind hanged, he probably would not volunteer to be the accuser as in Jewish law the miscreant would not be guilty of anything, even if the accusation pertained to the Ripper crimes...



In Jewish law, an insane person (shoteh) is regarded as incompetent and irresponsible in all respects. He is exempt from the performance of all commandments; his testimony is not accepted in court; his contractual obligations---such as sale of property or entering into marriage or granting his wife a divorce (if he married her while sane)---are null and void; he is not liable for any damage that he caused or for assault, although others who assaulted him must compensate him. It is assumed that he has no sense of shame, so one who shames him bears no liability.

Moreover, if someone dispatched a shoteh with a torch to set fire to someone's property, the sender is liable. An insane person may not marry, since he/she cannot give the consent legally required for marriage. If a man's wife becomes insane, he may not divorce her for fear she may be sexually abused. Since he cannot maintain normal conjugal relations with her, he may marry another woman despite the ban against bigamy, on condition that hundred rabbis sign a release and he makes arrangements for the proper maintenance of his insane wife.

Paranoid schizophrenia is more a function of brain chemistry rather than events which can influence expression. Mary Kelley may have simply been the result of having the time to do the job correctly.
Lacking a functioning conscience, I doubt Jack was not revulsed by his handiwork, but rather satisfied, which might be for quite a time. Until the compulsion or the voices told him so, his next performance might not be forthcoming until after he was confined.
Paranoid schizophrenics can be very dangerous depending on the nature of their reality. The good news is that most are not.

My above was in response to an earlier posting because I keep forgetting there can be more than one page. I'm now current.
While the Jewish law explanation nicely sums up the refusal, I don't believe it fully explores the motivations.. If the identifier was an immigrant Jew he would have been familiar with the differences between the laws of man and those of God. Unless one is living in a Muslim state or lawless territory, religious laws take a back seat to statutory law.
So why not testify?
Problems with discrimantion by the police and authority in general.
Uncertainty as to actual guilt. Just because he spoke with doesn't mean he did the job.
Familiarity and sympathy for Aaron. Say yes , i saw him, won't testify, stand on Jewish law as reason while deciding they won't let him repeat and it might turn out not to be AK.
I like the insanity related explanation as a core idea, though.

Cacaobrain: Cant events infuence brain chemistry, so much so as to have a brain disorder such as that? I think so.