Jack the Ripper's face has finally been unmasked -- or so it appears -- after staying under wraps for more than a century, this according to a newly discovered artifact.
The chilling mug of one of the world's most elusive and infamous serial murderers was allegedly found carved into the wooden handle of a walking stick once owned by the London cop tasked with capturing the killer.
Scotland Yard Detective Frederick Abberline spent years trying to track down the mysterious butcherer, but failed to do so. He was gifted the cane after he got booted from the case. He retired from the police force in 1892 and died in 1929.
Just a little background on "the Ripper" ... He slaughtered five women across London's East End in 1888, slashing their throats and dissecting their bodies. He mailed part of a kidney from one victim to the investigators with taunting letters giving himself the moniker, "Jack the Ripper." Police believed he had a background in human anatomy because of his gruesome handiwork.
Back to the facial artifact ... Abberline's wooden cane was stored for years at the Police College in Bramshill, Hampshire, UK, but was thought to be lost after the institution closed in 2015.
Miraculously. the cane resurfaced at the College of Policing's headquarters in Ryton, West Midlands. Staff workers were recently looking through various memorabilia from the Bramshill shutdown when they stumbled upon the historic artifact.
Jack the Ripper's purported face has now been put on display to show new officer recruits advancements in police technology. At the time, detectives began experimenting with new techniques to solve the puzzling case.
The engraving is the only known facial image of the notorious killer, whose identity remains a mystery to this day.