Blake had enough with her inability to get along with his family. After she died, her ex-husband's family discovered a lockbox in a closet in her home. 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. 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. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Plot Summary submission guide. By changing her name, she created a clean identity a person with no past.. 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. Accept Read More, Jeffrey Alan Lash: His Remarkable Mystery. Where Murder Lies is investigating the mysterious case of identity thief Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff, aka Kimberly Maria McLean, who, unbeknown to her husband, led a secret life for decades. [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. They looked for signs of gambling addiction and sex trafficking. 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. Some people can explain all of this with nothing more sinister than the Witness Protection Program. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Any time she got around the family, they would ask her questions and it was uncomfortable for her. We now need to revise that list to seven, since one of those mysteries has now been solved. She wasn't Lori Erica Ruffshe was a Pennsylvania woman named Kimberly McLean. 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. 1,529 likes. After her death, Lori's husband found a lockbox with papers inside that shed light on his wife's past. Ruff's earliest known activity dates back to May 1988, when she requested the birth certificate of Becky Sue Turner, a two-year-old girl who was killed, along with two of her siblings, in a house fire in Fife, Washington in 1971. 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. It wasnt until the Ruffs found a safebox hidden inside their daughter-in-laws bedroom closet that showed the woman wasnt who she had claimed to be. 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. I also want to get Early Bird Books newsletter featuring book deals, recommendations, and giveaways. One of television's most popular true-crime series adapted for your ears. Marriage is a sacred act between two people that care deeply for one another. Lori's behavior caused immense tensions between Lori and the Ruffs, even keeping the new grandparents from visiting their granddaughter. IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. It was in 2010 when events finally took their toll on her. After marrying, the couple moved away from the senior Ruffs, who lived in eastern Texas, settling in Leonard, Texas, in the southwestern region. 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. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. All rights reserved. Whatever the motivation behind one man entering wedlock to one woman, both parties usually do know each other intimately. 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. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Ruff did his best to find out as much about his new partner as he could. 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. Interesting history topics are just a click away. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Included among theitems was a sealed lockbox buried deep in Loriscloset. In 1989, her new identity was completed with a Texas drivers license. Most of these discoveries came from talking to those that she had worked with previously. She was never too keen to go into further detail. In addition, there were no matches for the woman in any existing fingerprint and facial recognition databases. Velling traveled to the city and approached a member of the Cassidy family, who saw Loris drivers license photo. ", "Mystery of the woman with two names: Investigator tries to discover true identity of mother who committed suicide three years ago after husband finds evidence of a double life hidden in a lock box", List of unidentified decedents in the United States, List of unidentified decedents in California, List of unidentified murder victims in the United States, List of unidentified murder victims in California, List of unidentified murder victims in Texas, List of unidentified murder victims in New York, List of unidentified murder victims in Florida, List of unidentified murder victims in Michigan, List of unidentified murder victims in Pennsylvania, National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Lori_Erica_Ruff&oldid=718811075, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, About Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core. 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. Buried deep in the back of Lori's closet, Blake pulled out a sealed lockbox. The Bizarre Truth About Lori Ruff, The Woman Without An Identity. The grieving husbandrecognized the box. [3], In 2003, she met Blake Ruff, the son of a well-established family in East Texas,[2][3] in a Bible study class. "True identity of Lori Ruff revealed six years after she committed suicide", "After 30 Years, Lori Ruff's True Identity Finally Revealed", "5 Creepy-As-Hell Stories Of Real People With No Identity", "She stole another's identity, and took her secret to the grave. Crimelines walks you through true crime events, pairing captivating tales with clear storytelling. [3] The fact that Ruff was able to cover up her identity so well in a time before the Internet has led to speculation that she had visited an "identity broker".[3]. [3], The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. DNA taken from the body might also help crack the case. 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. All rights reserved. Who was she? Many of these sessions tended to feature increasingly strange behavior on her part. Over time the pair grew closer and eventually, they eloped to Dallas. She was above average height at 5feet 10inches (1.78m) tall, and weighed 160 pounds (73kg). But Lori tragically died by suicide just before Christmas in 2010. Lori Erica Ruff. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. In May 1988, McLean obtained the birth certificate of Becky Sue Turner, a two-year-old girl who had died, along with two of her siblings, in a house fire in Fife, Washington in 1971. After several months living as Becky Sue Turner, she legally changed her name to Lori Kennedy. Due to her off-putting[opinion][clarification needed], secretive[citation needed] behavior, she clashed with her husband's family, and her marriage eventually collapsed. Or, Becky Sue Turner? He describes her as being incredibly secretive, particularly regarding her past. According to Deannes brother, Tom, Kimberly grew irate after her mother and father separated in the 1980s. During all of this, Blake continued in his efforts to pry more details from the mother of his baby. However, Perkins has no memory of the woman, and there were no matches for the woman in fingerprint and facial recognition databases. His recollection was that she was a dancer at a Dallas-area nightclub at the time [she was attending school], Velling said. Using a DNA analysis from Ruffs daughter, investigators were able to trace Ruffs identity back to a family in Pennsylvania, whose daughter had disappeared in 1986, when she was 17. 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 investigation into her suicide hit dead end after dead end. Related: Lady of the Dunes: Was the Unidentified Cape Cod Murder Victim an Extra in Jaws? Lori attended the University of Texas regularly and graduated with a business administration degree in 1997. There was a successful application for a new social security number. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff (October 16, 1968-December 24, 2010), was an identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. Ordinary people who do unthinkable thingsThe Minds of Madness is a True Crime Podcast that examines the most disturbing criminal minds and the impact violent crimes have on survivors of homicide. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. As many of you know, "Lori Ruff" is the assumed name of an otherwise anonymous woman who died in 2010. [1] Despite the questions Blake's family had about Lori, the couple married in January 2004. 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. She suffered a miscarriage before eventually giving birth to a baby girl in 2008. Yes! [7] The couple eloped in January 2004 after Nancy Ruff, Blake's mother, inquired about placing a wedding announcement in the local newspaper. ", "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. Blake Ruff married the woman he had known asLori in2004. [7] She then traveled to Idaho, where she used the document to obtain a state ID card on June 16.[8]. The tension between the Ruffs continued to grow as the new grandparents were rebuffed from visits. In his spare time he enjoys astronomy and Xboxing. 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. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff, was an American identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. Also found in the lock box was a paper with several seemingly random scribblings.[6]. 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 Morf as they discuss the mysterious Lori Erica Ruff. Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. This site uses cookies to improve user experience. Ruff had a first cousin named Cassidy on her list of matches; however, the name was very common and the cousin was not responsive. Where is the Body of the Legendary King Gorm of Denmark. Why had Lori begun behaving so erratically? 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. [1] She then traveled to Idaho, where she obtained a state ID card on June 16 using the girl's birth certificate.[2]. When contacted, however, Perkins stated that he had never heard of Becky Sue Turner or Lori Kennedy. | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA Notice, This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Related: A Killer Calls: The Unsolved Murder of Dorothy Jane Scott. True Crime. Blake's mom, Nancy Ruff, described facing a stone wall. The other had dates and the letters D and M on it. If Lori was trying to escape her past, then it could explain her reluctance for publicity. [4] She also said her father was a failed stockbroker. Although she left notes for her husband and her daughter, they didn't provide any clues. Henceforth, Lori would be known as Lori Erica Ruff. [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. She created a false identity for the sole purpose of getting lost in America, Velling told FoxNews.com. [3], Eventually, Ruff did not want her in-laws to have any contact with her daughter. [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. Different cultures define matrimony in different ways and tie the knot for various reasons. But Blake was in love. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. The response? This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. [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 obtained a Texas drivers license in 1989, listing her age as 19. Shortly after marrying Ruff, Jane Doe tried repeatedly to conceive a child of her own with much difficulty, according to Velling. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. And she may have even attempted to break into the family's home, according to the Seattle Times. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. On Monday though, Lori. For example, Lori would often ramble to the minister on a variety of topics; mainly her perceived flaws, problems, and the failure of her marriage. The harassment was so severe that the Ruffs were planning to file a cease and desist order just before Lori's death. Everyone in Dallas has an accent and she did not. Lori Erica Ruff was the alias of an unidentified American woman and identity thief who committed suicide on December 24, 2010 in Longview, Texas. Lori Erica Ruff was the alias of an unidentified American woman and identity thief who committed suicide on December 24, 2010 in Longview, Texas. 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. And, with the child, Lori's behavior became even more erratic. Numerous theories regarding her identity can be found on various internet websites. She wanted to live in her little cocoon.. Lori's husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. [5], From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core, "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? Every day, stories unfold that have no resolution. All rights reserved. When asked about her background,Lori was guarded and evasive; she claimed her parents were dead and she had no siblings. Lori began to complain to Blake about his parents whenever she was even mildly inconvenienced. And, why had she changed her identity and hid her past from those closest to her? After earning a GED and a college degree, she married into a wealthy East Texas family and gave birth to a daughter. And she was aggressive about it, Velling said. She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Given some of the comments she made or suggested, she didnt appear to realize why the marriage ended. Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher. 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. Real Life is Horror. 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. 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. She then received a Texas driver license in 1989, and the next year qualified for a GED[2] then enrolled in Dallas County Community College. The harassment was so severe that the Ruffs filed a cease and desist order just before Lori's death. It had the instructions to open on her 18th birthday. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices. 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.' He noticed the car and called the police. Pic credit: Family pic. Join Jim Clemente (former FBI profiler), Laura Richards (criminal behavioral analyst, former New Scotland Yard) and Lisa Zambetti (Casting director for CBS' Criminal Minds) as they profile behavior from real criminal cases. 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. 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 . His letter contained pages of incoherent rambling. These secrets Lori Ruff had kept from even her husband, Blake Ruff, and his family. See acast.com/privacy for more information. The letter failed to mention crucial details such what was her role and responsibilities. Legal Statement. Until now, Lori Erica Ruff was known to authorities as Jane Doe a woman of mystery who jumped from state to state, taking on the identities of other people. After obtaining the driver's license, Ruff went before a judge in Dallas on July 5 1988 and legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy; a week later she obtained a social security number, effectively erasing her past. She obtained this identity via a girl named Becky Sue Turner, who died in 1971 in a house fire near Seattle, Washington. Lori Erica Ruff - identity SOLVED? [citation needed], After Lori's funeral, some of the Ruffs drove to Leonard to see if they could find out more about her in her house. The woman told doctors in 2005 that she was 35 a claim Velling doubts. Lori didnt take this at all well. She became distressed due to her parents divorce. It took hard work on the part of investigators and some unique forensic genealogy for the truth to come out. She parked her car, left it running, and shot herself. I think she was born sometime between 1960 and 1968., Records gathered by Velling provide tantalizing clues. 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 family tried everything to find her but she changed her name and location regularly, making it difficult for Kimberlys family to find her. It was under this new assumed name that sheeventually moved to the Dallas area, where she met andmarried Blake Ruff. Sources [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. 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. The house belonged . A neighbor recalled that she and her daughter appeared to be very thin and that Lori would often ramble incoherently about her problems. Join her as she shows you just how southern fried the justice system can be in the Deep South. She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. I also want to get the Early Bird Books newsletter featuring great deals on ebooks. After some failed marriage therapy sessions, Blake Ruff moved back to his parents' house in Longview and filed for divorce, leaving Lori with their daughter in Leonard. Last spring, we brought you 8 Mysterious People Without a Past, a list of individuals who seemed to have had much of their early existence wiped from history. Although questions about the case remain, Lori Ruff's name has now been removed from the federal government's database for missing and unidentified persons. Within the next two years, she . She received a Texas driver license in 1989 and qualified for a GED[8] the following year. 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. Ruff's true origins remained a mystery until 2016, when her identity was confirmed using a combination of public records and direct-to-consumer autosomal SNP analysis of her husband's and daughter's DNA, leading back to the McLeanCassidy family on Philadelphia's Main Line. 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. With little to no clues about who shemight actually be, the woman once known as Lori Erica Ruffwas registered in the federal governments database of missing and unidentified persons as a Jane Doe. Additionally, she displayed many asocial behaviors, such as leaving social gatherings to take naps. After her death, Lori's husband found a lockbox with papers inside that shed light on his wife's past. Lori Erica Ruff was as evasive as she had always been but did reveal that both of her parents had passed away and that she had no living relatives. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of streaming providers. His wifewas not who she claimed to be. 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. Lori Erica Ruff, a Texan who committed suicide in 2010 and left behind a series of puzzling documents hinting that she wasnt who her family thought she was, has now been identified. It did. McLean assumed a series of aliases before marrying Blake Ruff in 2004 and settling downleaving no trace of Kimberly McLean, at least until Fitzpatrick began researching her family tree. As with the birth certificate, it was relatively straight forward to acquire a new social security number. Four years filled with miscarriages and disappointments passed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. After four years of attempts, miscarriages, and disappointments, the couple had a daughter. 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. For several years, nobody suspected anything. Hosts Mike Ferguson and Mike Gibson guide you through the most interesting true crime stories. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies. 2010 42- , . 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. While the hotel was genuine and a favored haunt of numerous celebrities, there was no trace of the author. But nobody in the world knew Lori Erica Ruff. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The house was in total shambles. Erica Kelley is a native Tennessean exploring historical and contemporary true crime in the South. I find her case fascinating, especially in a post-9/11 world where there are so many avenues for identifying individuals. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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. In 2013, a nuclear-physicist-turned-forensic genealogist Collen Fitzpatrick worked on Ruffs case and new details emerged about her past. The Ruff family declined to comment on the story, which was first reported by the Seattle Times on Saturday. Colleen Fitzpatrick, a former nuclear physicist who created[citation needed] the field of forensic genealogy, learned of Lori Ruff in 2013 and began work on the case. Jane Doe had a simple narrative and stuck to it: She was the only child of a failed stockbroker and his wife, who both died. To her husband, she was Lori Kennedy. In July 1988, she moved to Dallas, where, according to court documents, she legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. With the help of investigator Joe Velling, he traced the DNA to a family in Pennsylvania. In the days following her death, he began the grim task of sorting . Or, maybe she was none of them.
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