Lori Erica Ruff was the alias of an unidentified American woman and identity thief who committed suicide on December 24, 2010 in Longview, Texas.After she died, her ex-husband's family discovered a lockbox in a closet in her home. This is a true crime podcast that spares none of the details and delves into what makes these killers tick. The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. Lori Erica Ruff (born Kimberly McLean, October 16, 1968 - December 24, 2010) was a woman who took her own life while living in Longview, Texas. Want more real-life mysteries? The house was discovered in disarray, with piles of dirty dishes, laundry, and trash stacked up around the house, as well as shredded documents and papers with incoherent scribblings on them. They tried several times to have a child, but she had trouble conceiving and suffered multiple miscarriages. Lori Erica Ruff and Her Various Identities - Historic Mysteries It was either she or his family, and he chose his family, Velling said. In the days following her death, he began the grim task of sorting . Lori Erica Ruff - identity SOLVED? Years later, in the life she created with Ruff, tensions between the Verizon account manager and the wife he never really knew eventually reached a breaking point. For years, it was nothing but a series of dead ends. Little Beckywas just two years old when she diedin a house fire outside of Seattle, Washington in 1971. The new Mrs. Ruff was an unusually private person, particularly around her in-laws, according to Velling, special agent in charge of the Social Security Office of the Inspector General in Seattle, Wash. When people made small talk with her like asking where she went to high school she would say, 'Its none of your business.' One was for her daughter. Blake's mom, Nancy Ruff, described facing a stone wall. It took hard work on the part of investigators and some unique forensic genealogy for the truth to come out. There was a successful application for a new social security number. On Christmas Eve 2010, the body of 42-year-old Lori Erica Ruff was found in acar parked outside the Rufffamily home in Longview, Texas. However, Perkins has no memory of the woman, and there were no matches for the woman in fingerprint and facial recognition databases. Why had Lori begun behaving so erratically? After the birth of their daughter, Lori's behavior became increasingly strange. Police also found a curious letter within the safe. She suffered a miscarriage before eventually giving birth to a baby girl in 2008. The request was made in Bakersfield, California. [8], In the months between the separation and Lori's suicide, she behaved very erratically. At the time, a request of this nature was hardly unusual. | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA Notice, This website uses cookies to improve your experience. The woman received breast implants in 1991 and claimed to have suffered from bulimia in 1990. But, it didn't happen easily and it took the hard work of a number of people and a little bit of luck to learn the truth. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Lori refused to allow anyone else to babysit her child. Additionally, she displayed many asocial behaviors, such as leaving social gatherings to take naps. She had told him she was from Arizona, that both her parents were dead, that she had had an unhappy childhood, and that she had no siblings; she also said her father had been a failed stockbroker. They then discovered the lockbox in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. [6] The Ruffs opened and read the letter, but it contained only "ramblings from a clearly disturbed person" and no details about Lori's past. Lori Ruffs handwritten notes. Lori Erica Kennedy / Lori Ruff - Identified - Facebook She was eventually identified as a native. The letter failed to mention crucial details such what was her role and responsibilities. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. Where is Lori Ruff's Daughter Now? - The Cinemaholic One of these had notes written and a collection of phone numbers and names. All rights reserved. She began to lose weight and attended counseling sessions held at the local church. This was very sophisticated, Velling said. Using DNA analysis from Ruff's daughter, investigators were able to trace Ruff's identity back to a family in Pennsylvania, whose teenage daughter had disappeared in 1986, per Mental Floss. 2021 Wondery LLC. Pic credit: Family pic. [6] The article was subsequently republished in numerous newspapers around the world. A neighbor recalled that she and her daughter appeared to be undernourished and that Lori would often ramble incoherently to herself while pacing back and forth outside. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. They then discovered the lock box in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. It's not exactly clear why Kimberly McLean fled (most family accounts suggest it was due to a dislike of her new stepfather), but extended family immediately recognized the woman in the investigator's photo. The two moved to Leonard, about 60 miles northeast of Dallas and roughly 125 miles from Ruffs parents in Longview. This site uses cookies to improve user experience. These secrets Lori Ruff had kept from even her husband, Blake Ruff, and his family. After they married, Lori and Blake moved across the state from his parents, and they tried to have a child almost immediately. She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Authorities believe she initially traveled to the home with the intent of harming the family.[6]. Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. Based on her own research, and a DNA sample the Ruff family submitted that indicated Lori had a first cousin named Michael Cassidy, Fitzpatrick suggested Velling contact the Cassidy family in Philadelphia. In 2003 McLean met Jon Blakely "Blake" Ruff, the son of a socially prominent family in East Texas,[8][6] in a Bible study class. Loris behavior was highly erratic in the timebetween theseparationand her death; she sent threatening emails to Blake and his family, and might have even attempted a break-in at Blakes parents home. And, why had she changed her identity and hid her past from those closest to her?You can help support the show at patreon.com/criminologyAn Emash Digital productionLearn more about your ad choices. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies. Then, in September 2016, the case of Lori Erica Ruff was finally solved: her real name wasKimberly McLean. All of that work by the investigators traced several links back in the history of Lori Ruff's false identities, but they still didn't know who she really was. Due to her off-putting[opinion][clarification needed], secretive[citation needed] behavior, she clashed with her husband's family, and her marriage eventually collapsed. However, according to records, Becky Sue Turner asphyxiated in a house fire when she was just 2 years old. Image: Social Security Administration. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. The woman used the birth certificate to obtain a valid Idaho identification card under the name Becky Sue Turner, issued on June 16, 1988, and bearing the photo of Jane Doe. She didnt even allow the publication of the announcement of their nuptials in the local newspaper either. She left behind an 11-page suicide note but apparently no clue that she had lived a secret life. She and her young daughter had visibly lost weight. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Her father-in-law discovered her body inside Blakes car. Marriage is a sacred act between two people that care deeply for one another. In addition, there were no matches for the woman in any existing fingerprint and facial recognition databases. The news of Kimberlys death saddened her mother deeply. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Papers belonging to Ruff, who had been married with a child, surfaced after her suicide indicating she had once been known as Lori Kennedy, and prior to that, as Becky Sue Turner, the name of a young girl who had died in a Washington state fire in 1971. [7] She eventually gave birth to a baby girl via in vitro fertilisation in 2008. She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. ", "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number - a. Hersuicide cameafter Blake had filed fordivorce and moved back in with his parents. He found a birth certificate for one person that wasn't her. Was she Lori Erica Ruff? We don't take ourselves too seriously but we take true crime very seriously. Lori left behind two suicide notes, one of which was addressed to her husband and the other to her young daughter. [1] She eventually graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1997, with a degree in Business Administration. They married and had a daughter together. Shortly after marrying Ruff, Jane Doe tried repeatedly to conceive a child of her own with much difficulty, according to Velling. Velling said hes determined to uncover Jane Doe's true identity because he suspects she may have used a so-called identity broker to pull off such a complex crime. In his spare time he enjoys astronomy and Xboxing. Velling agreed to help identify her as a case of identify theft. There were two other pieces of paper. Hair pulled from the woman's head had skin on it that helped forensic investigators learn she had one of the genes associated with coronary artery disease. Late in 2015, Velling received a call from a former nuclear physicist and forensic genealogist named Colleen Fitzpatrick, who had been following the case online. The family members identified the picture of the mystery woman as Kimberly Mclean. She would regularly be seen with her in some of her favorite tea shops. Blake Ruff has admitted that he isn't completely sure what drew him to Lori. 2010 42- , . On the West Coast, we generally dont have a discernible accent, said Velling, a Seattle native. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff (October 16, 1968-December 24, 2010), was an identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. When Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff took her own life on Christmas Eve, 2010 in Longview, Texas, she took with her all of the secrets of her true identity. Among the various documents was a certificate indicating that Lori Kennedy had changed her name from Becky Sue Turner. In July 1988, she moved to Dallas, where, according to court documents, she legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. He noticed the car and called the police. RedHanded the podcast jumps head first into all manner of macabre madness. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, However, it was written on hotel stationery from Bangkok, Thailand. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. It did. She wanted to live in her little cocoon.. A friend of the family verified that Becky Sue Turner had died in a house fire at the age of 2. Although plenty of questions about the case still have not been answered, Lori Ruff's name was removed from the federal government's database of missing and unidentified persons. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. She also received breast implants during this time. His recollection was that she was a dancer at a Dallas-area nightclub at the time [she was attending school], Velling said. But nobody in the world knew Lori Erica Ruff. According to Deannes brother, Tom, Kimberly grew irate after her mother and father separated in the 1980s. Whilethe file on Lori Erica Ruff may be closed, her bizarre case continues to fascinate, and will forever raise thechillingquestion: Just how well do you know those closest to you? Within the next two years, she . Apparently, after Becky Sue Turner perished, a woman turned up and requested a copy of the birth certificate. Dismayed by having to move and attend a new school, she told Deanne shed be leaving for good. Yes! It had the instructions to open on her 18th birthday. A week later, she obtained a Social Security number, removing traces of her true identity. Lori Erica Ruff Suicide Is 3 Years Later Still A Mystery In Texas Hosted on Acast. When Lori Erica Kennedy took her own life, she left behind evidence that she'd stolen another's identity. She obtained this identity via a girl named Becky Sue Turner, who died in 1971 in a house fire near Seattle, Washington. According to the Seattle Times , a crowd-sourced investigation into Ruff's background began after the paper ran . Lori Ruff | Unidentified Wiki | Fandom After her death, her husband and his family found the evidence of her falsified identity in a lock box in her closet. [7] She then traveled to Idaho, where she used the document to obtain a state ID card on June 16.[8]. She was above average height at 5feet 10inches (1.78m) tall, and weighed 160 pounds (73kg). After several months living as Becky Sue Turner, she legally changed her name to Lori Kennedy. In 2016, she was identified as. We now need to revise that list to seven, since one of those mysteries has now been solved. Knowing the identity of the third cousin led her to Ruff's identity. [1][10] Fitzpatrick had Ruff's husband and daughter tested by a direct-to-consumer testing company, through which she was able to obtain Ruff's DNA results using genetic genealogy phasing techniques, which essentially subtracted Blake Ruff's DNA from Lori's. The harassment was so severe that the Ruffs filed a cease and desist order just before Lori's death. That created a lot of heartburn for the family.. McLean, posing as Becky Sue Turner, then appeared before a judge in Dallas on July 5, 1988, and legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. According to the man, whom Velling did not name, Jane Doe had more problems than he could deal with.. As far as the police officers could tell, Lori never traveled abroad before 1990, as there is no passport with that name. ", "Texas woman's true identity baffles ex-husband, authorities years after her suicide", "Live chat with investigator, reporter about Jane Doe case", "Mystery woman: After 30 years and a suicide, Lori Ruff's real identity emerges", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lori_Erica_Ruff&oldid=1125479355, Articles with minor POV problems from October 2022, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from October 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 4 December 2022, at 06:14. In 2010, a woman in Texas named Lori Ruff parked her Tahoe in the driveway of the house where her estranged husband Blake had been living since he had walked out on her after their relationship had soured. Les currently resides in London and is a freelance writer with a long standing passion for the unexplained and paranormal. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Within a few months of Blake moving out, Lori had completely deteriorated. However, the Mclean family now has a granddaughter who offers a glimpse of their beloved Kimberly. [1] Velling approached a relative, who immediately identified the deceased Lori Ruff as Kimberly McLean.[1]. When contacted, however, Perkins stated that he had never heard of Becky Sue Turner or Lori Kennedy. Trophy Wife: Dirigido por Christian Sesma. Lori met her future husband, Blake, in 2003. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. Lori Erica Ruff's true identity was Kimberly McLean. There was a birth and death certificate in the box. The Bat Bombs of WWII: Presidentially Approved, Totally Anna Anderson: Imposter of Duchess Anastasia, End of the World Predictions that Never Happened. Lori Erica Ruff. The harassment was so severe that the Ruffs were planning to file a cease and desist order just before Lori's death. She then moved to Idaho and procured a drivers license using the deceased girls birth certificate. Lori Erica Ruff: The Perplexing Mystery of the Woman - The Lineup They looked for signs of gambling addiction and sex trafficking. She was sending unhinged, threatening emails to the Ruffs; she and her daughter were losing weight; she even possibly tried to break into the Ruffs' home. She enrolled in Dallas County Community College,[7] and in 1997 she graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a degree in business administration. They believed she fled because she did not like her mothers new husband. Lori kept to herself, rarely speaking Finally, in 2008, the pair had a daughter, conceived with in vitro fertilization. Legal Statement. IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. Prior to that, she was known as Becky Sue Turner, an identity forged with the birth certificate of a long-dead child. The Bizarre Truth About Lori Ruff, The Woman Without An Identity. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theywalkamongus. Related: Jeffrey Alan Lash: His Remarkable Mystery. Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was She also took a birth date of July 18, 1969. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. How had their marriage fallen apart? Perhaps because of these miscarriages, Lori was ultra-protective of her daughter. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. The only person in attendance was the preacher. After earning a GED and a college degree, she married into a wealthy East Texas family and gave birth to a daughter. Different cultures define matrimony in different ways and tie the knot for various reasons. Ruff did his best to find out as much about his new partner as he could. Criminology: Lori Erica Ruff on Apple Podcasts She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. [4] She was eventually identified as a native of suburban Philadelphia who left home at age 17, in the fall of 1986,[5] because she did not get along with her mother and stepfather. For two years, Social Security investigator Joseph Velling has been working to uncover the real identity of Lori Erica Ruff, who was Lori Erica Kennedy before marrying into an East Texas family in 2004. Henceforth, Lori would be known as Lori Erica Ruff. Lori attended the University of Texas regularly and graduated with a business administration degree in 1997. And why didn't she see any other option but to end her own life? One of television's most popular true-crime series adapted for your ears. [1] She eventually gave birth to a baby girl via in-vitro fertilization in 2008. Real Life is Horror. Becky was born in one state and died in another, making it much less likely that a fraudulent use of her identity would be noticed. She was eventually identified as a native of suburban Philadelphia who left home at age 17, in the fall of 1986, because she did not get along with her mother and stepfather. The house belonged . A man who knew Ruff during this time has stated that she worked as a stripper in the early 1990s. Included among theitems was a sealed lockbox buried deep in Loriscloset. Lori Erica Ruff was the alias of an unidentified American woman and identity thief who committed suicide on December 24, 2010 in Longview, Texas. Every day, stories unfold that have no resolution. She had told him she was from Arizona, that both her parents were dead, and that she had no siblings. Lori began to complain to Blake about his parents whenever she was even mildly inconvenienced. After several months living as Becky Sue Turner, she legally changed her name to Lori Kennedy and moved to the Dallas area, where she met Blake Ruff. Follows Toni, who has a complete breakdown and ends up in a mental facility after the unexpected news that her husband was murdered, and even she is a suspect. NY Daily News Ruff gradually acquired more documents in her new name, including a Social Security number. We cover everything from big time serial killers (and those you may never have heard of), to hauntings, possessions, disturbing mysteries, bizarre whodunits and basically anything that tickles our creepy fancy. Market data provided by Factset. The truth of Ruff's deception only came to light after she committed suicide, and some determined investigators began looking into . Lori Erica Kennedy / Lori Ruff - Identified. The writings on the paper found in the lock box included the scribblings "North Hollywood police," "402 months," and "Ben Perkins." Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff (October 16, 1968 - December 24, 2010), was an American identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. The tension between the Ruffs continued to grow as the new grandparents were rebuffed from visits. In May of 2016, several commentators on the internet noticed similarities to Ruff's story and to the plot of a 1987 crime drama called Positive I.D., which was directed by a professor of film at UT Arlington. This page was last modified on 5 May 2016, at 17:33. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. When asked about her background,Lori was guarded and evasive; she claimed her parents were dead and she had no siblings. The nature of these scribblings led some followers of the case to believe that Ruff was trying to avoid prison time, due to the references to police, a possible jail-term length, and the name of Ben Perkins, a Los Angeles attorney. The tall and slender brunette met Ruff at a bible study group and introduced herself as Lori Kennedy. The pair set up a home together and tried to start a family. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Others, including a private detective, tasked with finding out more about her, consider that an incident in her past concerned her sufficiently to create an entirely new identity. It must have been for some horrific reasoneither she was running away from a crime or an abusive family or relationship., She wanted a complete break from her past, said Velling. McLean used the child's birth certificate to obtain an Idaho state identification card, then moved to Texas and had her name legally changed to Lori Erica Kennedy. Mother and child spent a lot of time together, which is normal for such a doting mother. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff (October 16, 1968 - December 24, 2010), was an identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six ye Lori Erica Ruff - Top podcast episodes He describes her as being incredibly secretive, particularly regarding her past. [8] She would also obsessively track the Ruffs' family history and try to find out their family recipes, but she still refused to talk about her own past. She parked her car, left it running, and shot herself. It took hard work on the part of investigators and some unique forensic genealogy for the truth to come out. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. Related: A Killer Calls: The Unsolved Murder of Dorothy Jane Scott. And when asked about her days in high school, she said she skipped it and went straight to college. But Blake was in love. Buried deep in the back of Lori's closet, Blake pulled out a sealed lockbox. Lori Erica Ruff Criminology podcast Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. By the time she married Jon Blakely Blake Ruff, of Longview, Texas, in January 2004, her phony identification was as solid as her real past was distant. I think she was born sometime between 1960 and 1968., Records gathered by Velling provide tantalizing clues. And, as he flipped through multiple IDs with pictures of his wife at different ages, he realized they all had different names printed on them, according to the Daily Mail. It's a big Universe full of wonders. Unresolved is an investigative and immersive look at those stories, as host Micheal Whelan tries to determine why these stories - unsolved crimes and other unexplained phenomena - have no ending. Who Was Lori Ruff: DNA Evidence Sheds Light on Texas Mystery Woman Or at least they should. [5], From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core, "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? A 2013 Seattle Times feature article about the case was published in news outlets around the world and created enormous interest in the online "websleuth" community. And she did it all pre-InternetShe may have done this on her own, but its possible she sought out one of these identity brokers.. If you can never get enough true crime Congratulations, youve found your people. 2009-2021 Historic Mysteries. The nature of these scribblings has led some to believe that Ruff was trying to avoid prison time, due to the references to police, a possible jail term length, and the name of an attorney. In the box a number of documents were discovered which revealed that Ruff had stolen the identity of Becky Sue Turner, a 2-year-old girl killed in a fire in 1971 in Fife, Washington, in 1988, and then changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. Join us for a good mix of lesser known cases as well as our take on what we call the "Big Timers". The Bizarre Truth About Lori Ruff, The Woman Without An Identity McLean also asked them not to come after her. She received a Texas driver license in 1989 and qualified for a GED[8] the following year. Any time she got around the family, they would ask her questions and it was uncomfortable for her. Who was she? Lori Ruff & The Dark Secret She Hid From Everyone - YouTube 2021 Emash Digital & Mike Ferguson, Mike Morford. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff, was an American identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. So, join us, plug in, sit back and prepare for scares. The mystery surrounding Jane Does identity begins in May 1988, when the unknown woman requested the Bakersfield, Calif., birth certificate of a 2-year-old girl, Becky Sue Turner, who died in a 1971 house fire in Fife, Wash., Velling said. Using DNA analysis from Ruff's daughter, investigators were able to trace Ruff's identity back to a family in Pennsylvania, whose teenage daughter had disappeared in 1986, per Mental Floss. In a matter of months, Lori completely deteriorated. Blake and Lori married in 2004the only witness to their marriage was the priest. Crimelines walks you through true crime events, pairing captivating tales with clear storytelling. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. You can help support the show at patreon.com/criminology, Learn more about your ad choices. On Christmas Eve in 2010, Lori Erica Ruff sat in her car outside her in-laws' Longview, Texas home, and ended her life with a gunshot to the head. [2], In the months between the separation and Lori's suicide, she behaved very erratically. Blake admitted knowledge of the box. He filed for divorce a short time later. In the car were two suicide notes: an 11-page one addressed to "my wonderful husband" and another addressed to her daughter, to be opened on her 18th birthday. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the mysterious Lori Erica Ruff. But Lori tragically died by suicide just before Christmas in 2010. Be the first to contribute! Lori definitely was not who she portrayed herself to be, so who was she? (Perkins, who was black and who marketed his legal services to LA's African-American community, had never taken on a white client during his career.) Investigators then began to search of hertrue identitya process that would take six years to complete. But, it didn't happen easily and it took the hard work of a number of people and a little bit of luck to learn the truth.Join Mike and . When problems became too difficult for him to continue, Blake finally accepted that their marriage wasnt working and subsequently moved out of the home they shared. Review our. As many of you know, "Lori Ruff" is the assumed name of an otherwise anonymous woman who died in 2010. On December 24, 2010, the body of Lori Erica Ruff was found in her car parked in the driveway of the Ruff family's Texas home. She arrived at this identity by way of a girl named Becky Sue Turner. The response? [7] The couple eloped in January 2004 after Nancy Ruff, Blake's mother, inquired about placing a wedding announcement in the local newspaper. In the box, which she told her husband never to touch, were all the documents exposing her elaborate ruse the paperwork showing the name change and the application for a Social Security number, among other receipts. They separated, but on Christmas Eve, 2010, the woman everyone knew as Lori Erica Ruff pulled into the driveway of the Ruff family home and shot herself. [2] The writings on the paper found in the lockbox included the scribblings "North Hollywood police", "402 months", and "Ben Perkins", who turned out to be an attorney.
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