This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Or at least they should. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. After some failed marriage therapy meetings, Blake Ruff moved back to his parents' house in Longview and filed for divorce, leaving Lori with their daughter in Leonard. His wifewas not who she claimed to be. However, over time he began to get the impression that he was the only one trying to make their marriage work. Ruffs apparent identity theft pulled in former Social Security Administration investigator Joe Velling, who hoped that publicity from the Times piece would urge amateur sleuths to provide some leads. She had stolen the identity of deceased Becky Sue Turner in May 1988 before legally changing her name to "Lori Erica Kennedy ." Following her marriage in 2001, she assumed the surname "Ruff." [2] She would also obsessively track the Ruffs' family history and try to find out their family recipes, but still refused to talk about her past. As many of you know, "Lori Ruff" is the assumed name of an otherwise anonymous woman who died in 2010. They married and had a daughter together. When contacted, however, Perkins stated that he had never heard of Becky Sue Turner or Lori Kennedy. She wasnt Lori Erica Ruffshe was a Pennsylvania woman named Kimberly McLean. Lori's behavior caused immense tensions between Lori and the Ruffs, even keeping the new grandparents from visiting their granddaughter. 1,529 likes. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the mysterious Lori Erica Ruff. 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. Given some of the comments she made or suggested, she didnt appear to realize why the marriage ended. Many of these sessions tended to feature increasingly strange behavior on her part. Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was ", "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Dismayed by having to move and attend a new school, she told Deanne shed be leaving for good. He noticed the car and called the police. 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. The truth of Ruff's deception only came to light after she committed suicide, and some determined investigators began looking into . Was she Lori Erica Ruff? Every day, stories unfold that have no resolution. When Lori Erica Kennedy took her own life, she left behind evidence that she'd stolen another's identity. Over time the pair grew closer and eventually, they eloped to Dallas. 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. [1] She eventually graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1997, with a degree in Business Administration. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. And, with the child, Lori's behavior became even more erratic. And she was aggressive about it, Velling said. Les currently resides in London and is a freelance writer with a long standing passion for the unexplained and paranormal. She left behind an 11-page suicide note but apparently no clue that she had lived a secret life. So, join us, plug in, sit back and prepare for scares. But this could have simply been a number picked for convenience purposes only. When asked about her background,Lori was guarded and evasive; she claimed her parents were dead and she had no siblings. Prior to that, she was known as Becky Sue Turner, an identity forged with the birth certificate of a long-dead child. Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. The Generation Why Podcast: Lori Erica Ruff on Apple Podcasts Lori Erica Ruff - Wikipedia In a matter of months, Lori completely deteriorated. Now, as he opened it, he understood why it was forbidden territory. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. A neighbor recalled that she and her daughter appeared to be very thin and that Lori would often ramble incoherently about her problems. Who Was Lori Ruff: DNA Evidence Sheds Light on Texas Mystery Woman The writings on the paper found in the lock box included the scribblings "North Hollywood police," "402 months," and "Ben Perkins." All rights reserved. This page was last modified on 5 May 2016, at 17:33. The contents of this safe put into sharp focus everything that Blake thought he knew about Lori Kennedy. [2], In the months between the separation and Lori's suicide, she behaved very erratically. [3], The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. Blake's parents were suspicious of Lori right from the beginning. Early on Christmas Eve, Lori drove over to the Ruff house. At the time, a request of this nature was hardly unusual. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. 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 . At some point in the past, Lori had been a dancer at an exclusive gentlemans club, and a post-mortem examination revealed that Lori, not Becky, had received breast implants. 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. She had brown hair and hazel eyes. 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. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Prior to marrying Blake, Loriwas known as Lori Erica Kennedy. Loris husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number - a. Such things have happened in other cases, and are often traumatic events. [6], Eventually, Ruff did not want her in-laws to have any contact with her daughter; as a result, the Ruffs began encouraging Blake to get out of the marriage. After she died, her ex-husband's family discovered a lockbox in a closet in her home. El Sorprendente Caso de Lori Erica Ruff -Documental - YouTube [7] She eventually gave birth to a baby girl via in vitro fertilisation in 2008. 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. I also want to get Early Bird Books newsletter featuring book deals, recommendations, and giveaways. There were no dates and the letter itself was a little vague. Shortly after marrying Ruff, Jane Doe tried repeatedly to conceive a child of her own with much difficulty, according to Velling. He filed for divorce a short time later. [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. This was very sophisticated, Velling said. This is a true crime podcast that spares none of the details and delves into what makes these killers tick. 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. Velling agreed to help identify her as a case of identify theft. The request was made in Bakersfield, California. This led investigators to believe that Ruff was older than she claimed, although the difference turned out to be less than a year. [3], After getting married, the Ruffs moved to Leonard, Texas. [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. Or, Becky Sue Turner? She was eventually identified as a native of suburban Philadelphia who left home at age 18, in the fall of 1986, because she did not get along with her mother and stepfather. Lori Ruff & The Dark Secret She Hid From Everyone - YouTube Hosted on Acast. She and her young daughter had visibly lost weight. She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. The trail leading backwards was in the forbidden lockbox. Within a few months of Blake moving out, Lori had completely deteriorated. This has led investigators to believe that Ruff was much older than she claimed to be. ", "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. Before 1988, Lori Erica Kennedy simply did not exist. 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. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Blake did learn that Lori was born somewhere in Arizona. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Knowing the identity of the third cousin led her to Ruff's identity. [3], On Christmas Eve 2010, Ruff's body was discovered in her car in the Ruffs' driveway, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. She enrolled at Dallas County Community College in the fall of 1990 and eventually graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a business administration degree in 1997. Ruff described her as being incredibly secretive, particularly regarding her past. She then moved to Idaho and procured a drivers license using the deceased girls birth certificate. On Christmas Eve 2010, the body of 42-year-old Lori Erica Ruff was found in a car parked outside the Ruff family home in Longview, Texas. Real Life is Horror. 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. Related: The Strange Case of the Isdal Woman. [6], On December 24, 2010, Ruff's body was discovered in her car in the Ruffs' driveway, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. For the next couple of years, Blake worked on all aspects of the marriage. There was a successful application for a new social security number. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Lori kept to herself, rarely speaking Finally, in 2008, the pair had a daughter, conceived with in vitro fertilization. They then discovered the lockbox in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. She arrived at this identity by way of a girl named Becky Sue Turner. 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. When given the chance for an extravagant and lavish wedding day to remember, Lori declined the offer. It's clear that even at this time, Lori knew what she was doingBecky had been born in one state and died in another, making it far less likely that the fraudulent use of her identity would be discovered. She created a false identity for the sole purpose of getting lost in America, Velling told FoxNews.com. Lori Erica Ruff. Ruff gradually acquired more documents in her new name, including a Social Security number. In 1989, her new identity was completed with a Texas drivers license. According to the man, whom Velling did not name, Jane Doe had more problems than he could deal with.. 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. In September 2011 the Ruff family, with the help of a congressional aide, sought the help of Joe Velling, an investigator for the Social Security Administration (SSA). 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.. According to Deannes brother, Tom, Kimberly grew irate after her mother and father separated in the 1980s. 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. The two moved to Leonard, about 60 miles northeast of Dallas and roughly 125 miles from Ruffs parents in Longview. 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. In 2016, she was identified as. During all of this, Blake continued in his efforts to pry more details from the mother of his baby. 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.