She then moved to Idaho and obtained a driver's license using Becky's birth certificate, according to news.com.au. 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. Lori kept to herself, rarely speaking Finally, in 2008, the pair had a daughter, conceived with in vitro fertilization. Or, maybe she was none of them. They then discovered the lock box in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. Her mothers remarriage didnt help either and she told her family she was going away. It did. She died by suicide in the driveway of her former in-laws' home in Longview, Texas, on Christmas Eve 2010. You can help support the show at patreon.com/criminology, Learn more about your ad choices. 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 (2021 Podcast Episode) Plot Showing all 0 items Jump to: Summaries It looks like we don't have any Plot Summaries for this title yet. His recollection was that she was a dancer at a Dallas-area nightclub at the time [she was attending school], Velling said. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices. 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. [1] He flew to Pennsylvania to meet the potential family. Loris husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. Marriage is a sacred act between two people that care deeply for one another. Within the next two years, she obtained the birth certificate of Becky Sue Turner, a 2-year-old girl who had died with her two sisters in a house fire in 1971. RedHanded the podcast jumps head first into all manner of macabre madness. 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. Nothing. [7] She eventually gave birth to a baby girl via in vitro fertilisation in 2008. 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. His wifewas not who she claimed to be. Photo Credit: Alchetron. The house was in total shambles. The investigation into her suicide hit dead end after dead end. I also want to get the Early Bird Books newsletter featuring great deals on ebooks. I also want to get Early Bird Books newsletter featuring book deals, recommendations, and giveaways. 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. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. Follow along with 48 Hours every week as award-winning CBS News correspondents investigate the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience. One was for her daughter. The response? [7] She then traveled to Idaho, where she used the document to obtain a state ID card on June 16.[8]. Then, in September 2016, investigators believed they solved the case. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number - a. All rights reserved. Although Blakes family was suspicious of Lori from the beginning, Blake himself was very much in love. [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. All rights reserved. The contents of this safe put into sharp focus everything that Blake thought he knew about Lori Kennedy. Lori definitely was not who she portrayed herself to be, so who was she? They tried several times to have a child, but had trouble conceiving and suffered multiple miscarriages. We now need to revise that list to seven, since one of those mysteries has now been solved. After they married, Lori and Blake moved across the state from his parents, and they tried to have a child almost immediately. IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. The only person in attendance at their wedding ceremony, held in a church outside Dallas, was the officiating preacher. If Lori was trying to escape her past, then it could explain her reluctance for publicity. She parked her car, left it running, and shot herself. When contacted, however, Perkins stated that he had never heard of Becky Sue Turner or Lori Kennedy. The harassment was so severe that the Ruffs were planning to file a cease and desist order just before Lori's death. After she died, her ex-husband's family discovered a lockbox in a closet in her home. After her death, Lori's husband found a lockbox with papers inside that shed light on his wife's past. When Blake met Lori, she went by the name of "Lori Erica Kennedy." But who she really was is still a mystery. By the time Blake Ruff's wife died, he realized he didn't know her at all. She was overly protective, and she refused to let other people hold their daughter. The house belonged . Join us for a good mix of lesser known cases as well as our take on what we call the "Big Timers". 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. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theywalkamongus. 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. Blake did learn that Lori was born somewhere in Arizona. The news of Kimberlys death saddened her mother deeply. Related: Lady of the Dunes: Was the Unidentified Cape Cod Murder Victim an Extra in Jaws? Trophy Wife: Dirigido por Christian Sesma. 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. At the time, a request of this nature was hardly unusual. 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. Lori acquired Turner's birth certificate in 1988, a time when you could just send a letter requesting a birth certificate with little resistance. Real Life is Horror. In his spare time he enjoys astronomy and Xboxing. On Monday though, Lori. As far as the police officers could tell, Lori never traveled abroad before 1990, as there is no passport with that name. She wasn't Lori Erica Ruffshe was a Pennsylvania woman named Kimberly McLean. Blake Ruff thought he had found someone special. This is a true crime podcast that spares none of the details and delves into what makes these killers tick. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. And, why had she changed her identity and hid her past from those closest to her? Both fingerprints and DNA testing turned up nothing to help get to the bottom of her true identity. The following people have been ruled out as possible identities for Ruff:[5], Ruff was a white female, who was approximately 41 to 50 years old when she committed suicide. 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. Due to her off-putting[opinion][clarification needed], secretive[citation needed] behavior, she clashed with her husband's family, and her marriage eventually collapsed. Buried deep in the back of Lori's closet, Blake pulled out a sealed lockbox. [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. Additionally, she displayed many asocial behaviors, such as leaving social gatherings to take naps. Blake, who was close with his parents, couldn't take it anymore. She then moved to Idaho and procured a drivers license using the deceased girls birth certificate. 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 . And she may have even attempted to break into the family's home, according to the Seattle Times. 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. Lori Erica Ruff's true identity was Kimberly McLean. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. But to a dogged federal investigator, she is "Jane Doe," a Texas mother who killed herself three years ago in her family's driveway after spending decades using stolen identities to erase a past that remains mired in mystery. 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. 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. They looked for signs of gambling addiction and sex trafficking. However, over time he began to get the impression that he was the only one trying to make their marriage work. Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher. 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. 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. 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. El Caso de Lori Erica Ruff -Documental Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/HypnosMorfeoPaginaoficial/?fref=ts Sigueme en Twitter: https://twitter.com/hypnosmo. Upon opening the container, Blakediscovered why: Inside was a birth certificate and IDs belonging to several different people. 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. He revealed that Lori considered it to be a personal item that must never be opened. ", "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. 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. [1] After two years, Fitzpatrick finally identified Ruff when she discovered a third cousin match who was related to the Cassidys. This was very sophisticated, Velling said. Within a few months of Blake moving out, Lori had completely deteriorated. The request was made in Bakersfield, California. Was she Lori Erica Ruff? For years, it was nothing but a series of dead ends. Les currently resides in London and is a freelance writer with a long standing passion for the unexplained and paranormal. In 1986, Kimberly McLean ran away from her home at the age of 18. But to a dogged federal investigator, she is "Jane Doe," a Texas mother who killed herself three years ago in her famil. That created a lot of heartburn for the family.. Blake Ruff has admitted that he isn't completely sure what drew him to Lori. [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. or redistributed. Any time she got around the family, they would ask her questions and it was uncomfortable for her. According to the Seattle Times, a crowd-sourced investigation into Ruffs background began after the paper ran a story on her in 2013. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. [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. Crimelines walks you through true crime events, pairing captivating tales with clear storytelling. It was in 2010 when events finally took their toll on her. 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. "My God, that's Kimberly!," one Pennsylvania relative exclaimed, the Seattle Times reported. 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. Early on Christmas Eve, Lori drove over to the Ruff house. 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.. 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. After several months living as Becky Sue Turner, she legally changed her name to Lori Kennedy. Ruff did his best to find out as much about his new partner as he could. Although she left notes for her husband and her daughter, they didn't provide any clues. She was much older than that, he said. ", "Texas woman's true identity baffles ex-husband, authorities years after her suicide", "She stole another's identity, and took her secret to the grave. Hosts Mike Ferguson and Mike Gibson guide you through the most interesting true crime stories. Or, Becky Sue Turner? One of television's most popular true-crime series adapted for your ears. Related: A Killer Calls: The Unsolved Murder of Dorothy Jane Scott. She left behind an 11-page suicide note but apparently no clue that she had lived a secret life. And she was aggressive about it, Velling said. 2021 Emash Digital & Mike Ferguson, Mike Morford. It had the instructions to open on her 18th birthday. 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. Lori Erica Kennedy / Lori Ruff - Identified. 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. However, according to records, Becky Sue Turner asphyxiated in a house fire when she was just 2 years old. Be the first to contribute! 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. She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. He noticed the car and called the police. For the next couple of years, Blake worked on all aspects of the marriage. This page was last modified on 5 May 2016, at 17:33. [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. Lori left behind two suicide notes, one of which was addressed to her husband and the other to her young daughter. Sources After her death, Lori's husband found a lockbox with papers inside that shed light on his wife's past. The pair set up a home together and tried to start a family. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. About a month afterward, the certificate was used to obtain legal identification in Idaho. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. So, join us, plug in, sit back and prepare for scares. 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. The two moved to Leonard, about 60 miles northeast of Dallas and roughly 125 miles from Ruffs parents in Longview. Eager to meet her, the family invited her to lunch. 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. "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. Nancy said it was like that all afternoon she asked questions, and Lori provided evasive answers. Given some of the comments she made or suggested, she didnt appear to realize why the marriage ended. Accept Read More, Jeffrey Alan Lash: His Remarkable Mystery. She had told him she was from Arizona, that both her parents were dead, and that she had no siblings. As with the birth certificate, it was relatively straight forward to acquire a new social security number. After four years of attempts, miscarriages, and disappointments, the couple had a daughter. She must now fight to clear her name and figure out who betrayed her husband. 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. [6], After getting married, the Ruffs moved to Leonard, Texas. She began to lose weight and attended counseling sessions held at the local church. [6] 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 enlisted the services of a so-called identity broker.[6]. Four years filled with miscarriages and disappointments passed. Other commentators noted that Ruff briefly attended UT Arlington and may have become familiar with the film prior to changing her identity. Interesting history topics are just a click away. To her husband, she was Lori Kennedy. [3], On Christmas Eve 2010, Ruff's body was discovered in her car in the Ruffs' driveway, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. Whatever the motivation behind one man entering wedlock to one woman, both parties usually do know each other intimately. According to the Seattle Times , a crowd-sourced investigation into Ruff's background began after the paper ran . The Bizarre Truth About Lori Ruff, The Woman Without An Identity. It was under this new assumed name that sheeventually moved to the Dallas area, where she met andmarried Blake Ruff. This has led investigators to believe that Ruff was much older than she claimed to be. Within the next two years, she obtained the birth certificate of Becky Sue Turner, a two-year-old girl who had died with her two sisters in a house fire in 1971. However, Perkins has no memory of the woman, and there were no matches for the woman in fingerprint and facial recognition databases. [4] She also said her father was a failed stockbroker. Lori definitely was not who she portrayed herself to be, so who was she? They Walk Among Us is an award-winning weekly UK true crime podcast covering a broad range of cases from the sinister to the surreal. NY Daily News These secrets Lori Ruff had kept from even her husband, Blake Ruff, and his family. Blake admitted knowledge of the box. 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. Review our. She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. The Bat Bombs of WWII: Presidentially Approved, Totally Anna Anderson: Imposter of Duchess Anastasia, End of the World Predictions that Never Happened. Also found in the lockbox was a paper with several seemingly random scribblings. Lori's behavior caused immense tensions between Lori and the Ruffs, even keeping the new grandparents from visiting their granddaughter. She also began sending harassing e-mails to the Ruffs, created a scene at a custody hearing, and stole a set of house keys from them. Investigation Discovery's ' Where Murder Lies: The Girl in the Lockbox' chronicles the story behind Lori Ruff's past. Lori would also spend time fidgeting and stare at the palms and back of her hands. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Before she took her own life with a shotgun, Lori placed a pair of letters inside the car. The trail leading backwards was in the forbidden lockbox. Lori met her future husband, Blake, in 2003. 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 [6], Ruff was "extremely protective" of her daughter, often refusing to let anyone else hold her and even taking the baby with her to use the bathroom. She was never too keen to go into further detail. In 2013, a nuclear-physicist-turned-forensic genealogist Collen Fitzpatrick worked on Ruffs case and new details emerged about her past. But Blake was in love. Hosted on Acast. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff (October 16, 1968 December 24, 2010), was an American identity thief[3] whose true identity remained unknown for nearly six years after her death. She created a false identity for the sole purpose of getting lost in America, Velling told FoxNews.com. After Lori Erica Ruff's death, Blake Ruff realized his wife was a complete stranger. She suffered a miscarriage before eventually giving birth to a baby girl in 2008. Her student loan applications listed three references, one of whom was a former classmate she had briefly dated. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Erica Kelley is a native Tennessean exploring historical and contemporary true crime in the South. 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 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. Velling traveled to the city and approached a member of the Cassidy family, who saw Loris drivers license photo. Synopsis 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. She arrived at this identity by way of a girl named Becky Sue Turner. 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. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of streaming providers. 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. Related: Girl in the Green Mac: The Baffling, Unsolved Disappearance of Sheila Fox. ", "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. 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? She was above average height at 5feet 10inches (1.78m) tall, and weighed 160 pounds (73kg). Among the various documents was a certificate indicating that Lori Kennedy had changed her name from Becky Sue Turner. However, it was written on hotel stationery from Bangkok, Thailand. After she died, her ex-husband's family discovered a lockbox in a closet in her home. Lori Erica Ruff. Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number a move that effectively erased her past. They then discovered the lockbox in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. 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.

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