Other commentators noted that Ruff briefly attended UT Arlington and may have become familiar with the film prior to changing her identity. According to the man, whom Velling did not name, Jane Doe had more problems than he could deal with.. 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. 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. Lori Erica Kennedy / Lori Ruff - Identified - Facebook [1] She eventually gave birth to a baby girl via in-vitro fertilization in 2008. Where is the Body of the Legendary King Gorm of Denmark. The Bizarre Truth About Lori Ruff, The Woman Without An Identity After several miscarriages, the couple finally had a daughter in 2008. 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. 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 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.' Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. The other was for Blake. Lori Erica Ruff Kept Her Past Locked Up in a Secret Safe Blake Ruff thought he had found someone special. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff (October 16, 1968-December 24, 2010), was an identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. So, join us, plug in, sit back and prepare for scares. [1] She then traveled to Idaho, where she obtained a state ID card on June 16 using the girl's birth certificate.[2]. [8], In the months between the separation and Lori's suicide, she behaved very erratically. However, the Mclean family now has a granddaughter who offers a glimpse of their beloved Kimberly. Southern charm is attempted but southern sass is bountiful. 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. It outlined work that Lori had done for him until 1988. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. And when asked about her days in high school, she said she skipped it and went straight to college. [3], Ruff was incredibly overprotective of her daughter, often refusing to let anyone else hold her, which angered her husband's family. A man who knew Ruff during this time has stated that she worked as a stripper in the early 1990s. There was a successful application for a new social security number. 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. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. She then moved to Idaho and procured a drivers license using the deceased girls birth certificate. Lori's behavior caused immense tensions between Lori and the Ruffs, even keeping the new grandparents from visiting their granddaughter. She died by suicide in the driveway of her former in-laws' home in Longview, Texas, on Christmas Eve 2010. 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. With each question she asked, Lori deflected, the Seattle Times reported. The woman told doctors in 2005 that she was 35 a claim Velling doubts. In July 1988, she moved to Dallas, where, according to court documents, she legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. Related: Lady of the Dunes: Was the Unidentified Cape Cod Murder Victim an Extra in Jaws? [8] Other papers included the birth certificate of Becky Sue Turner and a judge's ruling granting a name change to Lori Erica Kennedy. [1] Despite the questions Blake's family had about Lori, the couple married in January 2004. They married and had a daughter together. Lori Erica Ruff - identity SOLVED? : r/UnresolvedMysteries - reddit Interesting history topics are just a click away. The investigation into her suicide hit dead end after dead end. 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. Ruff did his best to find out as much about his new partner as he could. She became distressed due to her parents divorce. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Legal Statement. In 2010, he moved back across the state to live with his parents. [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]. If you can never get enough true crime Congratulations, youve found your people. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of streaming providers. Investigators then began to search of hertrue identitya process that would take six years to complete. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices. She didnt even allow the publication of the announcement of their nuptials in the local newspaper either. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Ruff gradually acquired more documents in her new name, including a Social Security number. 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. Ruff described her as being incredibly secretive, particularly regarding her past. She also began sending harassing emails to the Ruffs, created a scene at a custody exchange, and stole a set of house keys from them. Eager to meet her, the family invited her to lunch. The Strange Life and Death of Lori Erica Ruff Or, Lori Erika Kennedy? Shewas an accomplished identity thief. ", "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 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. Any time she got around the family, they would ask her questions and it was uncomfortable for her. ", "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. Lori met her future husband, Blake, in 2003. During all of this, Blake continued in his efforts to pry more details from the mother of his baby. As far as the authorities were concerned, once Blake called them in, she was an identity thief now given the name "Jane Doe.". [1] After two years, Fitzpatrick finally identified Ruff when she discovered a third cousin match who was related to the Cassidys. In life, Lori hadwarnedhimto stay away from it. 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. Authorities believe she initially traveled to the home with the intent of harming the family.[6]. In the days following her death, hebegan the grim task of sortingthrough his wifespossessions. This has led investigators to believe that Ruff was much older than she claimed to be. While the hotel was genuine and a favored haunt of numerous celebrities, there was no trace of the author. Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. Or, maybe she was none of them. Lori's husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. She parked her car, left it running, and shot herself. As many of you know, "Lori Ruff" is the assumed name of an otherwise anonymous woman who died in 2010. We now need to revise that list to seven, since one of those mysteries has now been solved. Find a Grave Lori Erica Ruff - YouTube Photo Credit: Alchetron. As with the birth certificate, it was relatively straight forward to acquire a new social security number. Unfortunately, it looks like Lori took all of her secrets to the grave. After marrying, the couple moved away from the senior Ruffs, who lived in eastern Texas, settling in Leonard, Texas, in the southwestern region. Lori Erica Ruff. Every day, stories unfold that have no resolution. Lori Erica Ruff went by many names. After the birth of their daughter, Lori's behavior became increasingly strange. Apparently, after Becky Sue Turner perished, a woman turned up and requested a copy of the birth certificate. The local police department began a routine investigation and quickly found a safe at the bottom of a closet. 2021 Wondery LLC. The woman received breast implants in 1991 and claimed to have suffered from bulimia in 1990. NY Daily News She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. 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. Anyone with credible tips on this case is urged to email this reporter at cristina.corbin@foxnews.com. This page was last modified on 5 May 2016, at 17:33. His wifewas not who she claimed to be. She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. It did. Join her as she shows you just how southern fried the justice system can be in the Deep South. In a matter of months, Lori completely deteriorated. Blake and Lori married in 2004the only witness to their marriage was the priest. Whatever the motivation behind one man entering wedlock to one woman, both parties usually do know each other intimately. Lori Ruff & The Dark Secret She Hid From Everyone 864,142 views Feb 5, 2019 13K Dislike Share Save Weird History 3.81M subscribers Few stories have fascinated the Internet quite like the one of. In 2010, he moved back in with his parents and filed for divorce. In 1989, her new identity was completed with a Texas drivers license. She was very private and didn't open to people about 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. After her death, Lori's husband found a lockbox with papers inside that shed light on his wife's past. [3], Eventually, Ruff did not want her in-laws to have any contact with her daughter. 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. [9][6], After Lori's funeral, some of the Ruffs drove to Leonard to see if they could find out more about her in her house. Authorities inspected both letters, which they described asramblings from a clearly disturbed person.They contained no reference toLoris life as an identity thief, nor a confession of her trueidentity. DNA taken from the body might also help crack the case. Perhaps Lori was creating parents for the benefit of Blake. For years, it was nothing but a series of dead ends. 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.. When contacted, however, Perkins stated that he had never heard of Becky Sue Turner or Lori Kennedy. 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. After earning a GED and a college degree, she married into a wealthy East Texas family and gave birth to a daughter. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. 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. There was a birth and death certificate in the box. In the days that followed, Blake tried to make sense of how things had gone so wrong. [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. [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. He noticed the car and called the police. 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. Pic credit: Family pic. Lori Erica Ruff (Podcast Episode 2021) - Plot Summary - IMDb All rights reserved. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. Lori Erica Kennedy / Lori Ruff - Identified. Lori kept to herself, rarely speaking Finally, in 2008, the pair had a daughter, conceived with in vitro fertilization. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. Sign up for The Lineup's newsletter, and receive our eeriest cases delivered straight to your inbox. She suffered a miscarriage before eventually giving birth to a baby girl in 2008. The truth of Ruff's deception only came to light after she committed suicide, and some determined investigators began looking into . [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. [5], From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core, "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? 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 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. Some people can explain all of this with nothing more sinister than the Witness Protection Program. Lori Erica Ruff Wiki & Bio - everipedia.org For several years, nobody suspected anything. Lori Erica Ruff was the alias of an unidentified American woman and identity thief who committed suicide on December 24, 2010 in Longview, Texas. Numerous theories regarding her identity can be found on various internet websites. Within a few months of Blake moving out, Lori had completely deteriorated. They then discovered the lockbox in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Lori and Blake tried to have a child almost immediately after they were married, but found themselves experiencing fertility issues. [6], After getting married, the Ruffs moved to Leonard, Texas. She obtained a Texas drivers license in 1989, listing her age as 19. Fitzpatrick found matching DNA records using saliva samples of Blake and Loris daughter. [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. In 1986, Kimberly McLean ran away from her home at the age of 18. The contents of this safe put into sharp focus everything that Blake thought he knew about Lori Kennedy. 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. Lori Ruff & The Dark Secret She Hid From Everyone - YouTube 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 only person in attendance at their wedding ceremony, held in a church outside Dallas, was the officiating preacher. [1], Fitzpatrick informed Joe Velling, who had in the meantime retired from the SSA. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. In 2013, a nuclear-physicist-turned-forensic genealogist Collen Fitzpatrick worked on Ruffs case and new details emerged about her past. Who Was Lori Ruff: DNA Evidence Sheds Light on Texas Mystery Woman They then discovered the lock box in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. She was eventually identified as a native. She would regularly be seen with her in some of her favorite tea shops. A Net Inceptions project. Lori Erica Ruff Criminology podcast All rights reserved. Les currently resides in London and is a freelance writer with a long standing passion for the unexplained and paranormal. Trophy Wife (2022) - IMDb 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. However, over time he began to get the impression that he was the only one trying to make their marriage work. Most of these discoveries came from talking to those that she had worked with previously. Prior to that, she was known as Becky Sue Turner, an identity forged with the birth certificate of a long-dead child. These secrets Lori Ruff had kept from even her husband, Blake Ruff, and his family. [3], After getting married, the Ruffs moved to Leonard, Texas. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. Lori left behind two suicide notes, one of which was addressed to her husband and the other to her young daughter. 2021 Emash Digital & Mike Ferguson, Mike Morford. The response? The Ruff family declined to comment on the story, which was first reported by the Seattle Times on Saturday. It was either she or his family, and he chose his family, Velling said. Perhaps because of these miscarriages, Lori was ultra-protective of her daughter. 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. Related: The Strange Case of the Isdal Woman. Various identification cards of Lori Ruff (AKA: Kimberly McLean) retrieved from the Social Security Administration. By the time Blake Ruff's wife died, he realized he didn't know her at all. 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. Ruff gradually acquired more documents in her new name, including a Social Security number. Among the various documents was a certificate indicating that Lori Kennedy had changed her name from Becky Sue Turner. [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 refused to let other people hold the child and was overly protective, even for a first-time mother. 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. [4] She also said her father was a failed stockbroker. Investigation Discovery's ' Where Murder Lies: The Girl in the Lockbox' chronicles the story behind Lori Ruff's past. The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. According to the Seattle Times, a crowd-sourced investigation into Ruffs background began after the paper ran a story on her in 2013. When a woman known as Lori Erica Ruff died in Texas three years ago, she left behind a mystery that has investigators baffled. She told them her parents were dead and that she had no living siblings or extended family. Lori Ruffs handwritten notes. The Varangians: Viking Conquerors turned Byzantium Honor Guard, The Secret Necropolis of Ancient Varna and the First Goldsmiths. 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. 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. And she had no accent, leading Velling to believe she originally came from the Pacific Northwest or West Coast. Con Erica Peeples, Tiffany Black, Sean Patrick Thomas, Chris Sakyi. Before she took her own life with a shotgun, Lori placed a pair of letters inside the car. Lori acquired Turner's birth certificate in 1988, a time when you could just send a letter requesting a birth certificate with little resistance. She received a Texas driver license in 1989 and qualified for a GED[8] the following year. Marriage is a sacred act between two people that care deeply for one another.