[Grammar] could have been or had been

[elenah]

Hello
I was wondering if I could ask you a silly question. I got little bit confused.
Do we always use " could have been" if we are talking about an imaginary or hypocritical situation in the past?
Even if the people who we are talking about are dead?
"Out of the three people who do you think could have been Jack the Ripper?"
Can I say: " .........Could had been Jack the Ripper?"
If we were discussing the suspects in Jack the Ripper case?
Thank you an advance

 

[tzfujimino]

Hi, elenah.
The word you should use is "hypothetical", not "hypocritical".:-D

Can I say "... could have been Jack the Ripper"?

Yes, you can.