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. She and her young daughter had visibly lost weight. 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. Unfortunately, it looks like Lori took all of her secrets to the grave. DNA taken from the body might also help crack the case. 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. Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher. But all that he managed to discover was that Lori had something of a difficult upbringing. There were no dates and the letter itself was a little vague. 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. Lori Erica Ruff - Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core At the time, a request of this nature was hardly unusual. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. The other was for Blake. 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. [1] Velling approached a relative, who immediately identified the deceased Lori Ruff as Kimberly McLean.[1]. Perhaps Lori was creating parents for the benefit of Blake. [5], From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core, "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? She was much older than that, he said. [1] She then traveled to Idaho, where she obtained a state ID card on June 16 using the girl's birth certificate.[2]. 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. Prior to marrying Blake, Loriwas known as Lori Erica Kennedy. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies. Con Erica Peeples, Tiffany Black, Sean Patrick Thomas, Chris Sakyi. She then moved to Idaho and procured a drivers license using the deceased girls birth certificate. We don't take ourselves too seriously but we take true crime very seriously. Blake, who was close with his parents, couldn't take it anymore. Who Was Lori Ruff: DNA Evidence Sheds Light on Texas Mystery Woman Lori definitely was not who she portrayed herself to be, so who was she? Lori Erica Ruff. [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. When Blake met Lori, she went by the name of "Lori Erica Kennedy." Find a Grave El Caso de Lori Erica Ruff -Documental Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/HypnosMorfeoPaginaoficial/?fref=ts Sigueme en Twitter: https://twitter.com/hypnosmo. To give you the best possible experience, this site uses cookies. 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. And, with the child, Lori's behavior became even more erratic. 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. Where is Lori Ruff's Daughter Now? - The Cinemaholic About: Lori Erica Ruff - dbpedia.org 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. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. She became distressed due to her parents divorce. Some people can explain all of this with nothing more sinister than the Witness Protection Program. 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. Lori didnt take this at all well. Numerous theories regarding her identity can be found on various internet websites. 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 Kennedy / Lori Ruff - Identified. [7] She eventually gave birth to a baby girl via in vitro fertilisation in 2008. She left behind an 11-page suicide note but apparently no clue that she had lived a secret life. Shewas an accomplished identity thief. 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. The local police department began a routine investigation and quickly found a safe at the bottom of a closet. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Trophy Wife (2022) - IMDb Southern charm is attempted but southern sass is bountiful. The only person in attendance was the preacher. And she had no accent, leading Velling to believe she originally came from the Pacific Northwest or West Coast. Lori Erica Ruff went by many names. We now need to revise that list to seven, since one of those mysteries has now been solved. One of television's most popular true-crime series adapted for your ears. Erica Kelley is a native Tennessean exploring historical and contemporary true crime in the South. Then, in September 2016, investigators believed they solved the case. She was sending deranged emails to the Ruffs. Blake Ruff has admitted that he isn't completely sure what drew him to Lori. In the days following her death, hebegan the grim task of sortingthrough his wifespossessions. In July 1988, she moved to Dallas, where, according to court documents, she legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. Her father-in-law discovered her body inside Blakes car. 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. 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. 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. Lori and Blake tried to have a child almost immediately after they were married, but found themselves experiencing fertility issues. She suffered a miscarriage before eventually giving birth to a baby girl in 2008. Lori Erica Ruff (Podcast Episode 2021) - Plot Summary - IMDb Investigation Discovery's ' Where Murder Lies: The Girl in the Lockbox' chronicles the story behind Lori Ruff's past. And she may have even attempted to break into the family's home, according to the Seattle Times. Then, in September 2016, the case of Lori Erica Ruff was finally solved: her real name wasKimberly McLean. She refused to let other people hold the child and was overly protective, even for a first-time mother. 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. 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. Upon opening the container, Blakediscovered why: Inside was a birth certificate and IDs belonging to several different people. Image: http://reallifeishorror.blogspot.co.uk/. The Ruff family declined to comment on the story, which was first reported by the Seattle Times on Saturday. This has led investigators to believe that Ruff was much older than she claimed to be. His recollection was that she was a dancer at a Dallas-area nightclub at the time [she was attending school], Velling said. El Sorprendente Caso de Lori Erica Ruff -Documental - YouTube Related: The Strange Case of the Isdal Woman. Ruff did his best to find out as much about his new partner as he could. Synopsis Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theywalkamongus. 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. Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. Before 1988, Lori Erica Kennedy simply did not exist. It is one thing to suspect Lori Erica Ruff of being a simple identity thief, but it is another thing to understand why. When given the chance for an extravagant and lavish wedding day to remember, Lori declined the offer. Blake had enough with her inability to get along with his family. Whomever she was, the woman Blake knew as Lori Ruff was not who she claimed to be. Police also found a curious letter within the safe. [3], Ruff was incredibly overprotective of her daughter, often refusing to let anyone else hold her, which angered her husband's family. Blake Ruff thought he had found someone special. Image: Social Security Administration. One of these had notes written and a collection of phone numbers and names. After following numerous leads he was stumped, and sought the help of the general public to identify her through an article published June 22, 2013, in The Seattle Times. Pic credit: Family pic. Authorities believe she initially traveled to the home with the intent of harming the family.[6]. Lori acquired Turner's birth certificate in 1988, a time when you could just send a letter requesting a birth certificate with little resistance. To her husband, she was Lori Kennedy. And she was aggressive about it, Velling said. The tension between the Ruffs continued to grow as the new grandparents were rebuffed from visits. As Blake began the daunting task of sorting through his wife's possessions, he knew that he would have to deal with one thing that Lori had always told him he was to never touch. Accept Read More, Jeffrey Alan Lash: His Remarkable Mystery. In July 1988, she moved to Dallas, where, according to court documents, she legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. 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. [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. Little Beckywas just two years old when she diedin a house fire outside of Seattle, Washington in 1971. And, why had she changed her identity and hid her past from those closest to her? 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. But to a dogged federal investigator, she is "Jane Doe," a Texas mother who killed herself three years ago in her famil. By changing her name, she created a clean identity a person with no past.. Lori's husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. 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 also took a birth date of July 18, 1969. Apparently, after Becky Sue Turner perished, a woman turned up and requested a copy of the birth certificate. But, it didn't happen easily and it took the hard work of a number of people and a little But Lori tragically died by suicide just before Christmas in 2010. Join her as she shows you just how southern fried the justice system can be in the Deep South. ", "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. Lori acquired Becky Turners birth certificate in 1988. Various identification cards of Lori Ruff (AKA: Kimberly McLean) retrieved from the Social Security Administration. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The letter failed to mention crucial details such what was her role and responsibilities. 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. Blake was caught in the middle, and eventually he couldn't take it anymore. She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. However, Perkins has no memory of the woman, and there were no matches for the woman in fingerprint and facial recognition databases. The family tried everything to find her but she changed her name and location regularly, making it difficult for Kimberlys family to find her. 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. [1] He flew to Pennsylvania to meet the potential family. A neighbor recalled that she and her daughter appeared to be very thin and that Lori would often ramble incoherently about her problems. The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. Related: A Killer Calls: The Unsolved Murder of Dorothy Jane Scott. In a matter of months, Lori completely deteriorated. 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 received a Texas driver license in 1989 and qualified for a GED[8] the following year. In the days following her death, he began the grim task of sorting . Lori Erica Ruff The Generation Why Podcast. [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]. Sometime later, Blake's father left the house to pick up the paper. 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.. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. In the days that followed, Blake tried to make sense of how things had gone so wrong. She was eventually identified as a native. 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. Blake's mom, Nancy Ruff, described facing a stone wall. His wifewas not who she claimed to be. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff (October 16, 1968-December 24, 2010), was an identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. Ruff did his best to find out as much about his new partner as he could. Market data provided by Factset. [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. The truth of Ruff's deception only came to light after she committed suicide, and some determined investigators began looking into . The Bat Bombs of WWII: Presidentially Approved, Totally Anna Anderson: Imposter of Duchess Anastasia, End of the World Predictions that Never Happened. Who was she? It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. 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." Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices. Ruff had a first cousin named Cassidy on her list of matches; however, the name was very common and the cousin was not responsive. In 2010, he moved back in with his parents and filed for divorce. 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. 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. Although she left notes for her husband and her daughter, they didn't provide any clues. Also found in the lock box was a paper with several seemingly random scribblings.[6]. After the birth of their daughter, Lori's behavior became increasingly strange. To her husband, she was Lori Kennedy. It is generally believed that a new identity was already being considered either for herself or others. The Varangians: Viking Conquerors turned Byzantium Honor Guard, The Secret Necropolis of Ancient Varna and the First Goldsmiths. She died by suicide in the driveway of her former in-laws' home in Longview, Texas, on Christmas Eve 2010. If you can never get enough true crime Congratulations, youve found your people. She then moved to Idaho and obtained a driver's license using Becky's birth certificate, according to news.com.au. Lori Erica Ruff: The Perplexing Mystery of the Woman - The Lineup Her mothers remarriage didnt help either and she told her family she was going away. His letter contained pages of incoherent rambling. Many of these sessions tended to feature increasingly strange behavior on her part. 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. Additionally, she displayed many asocial behaviors, such as leaving social gatherings to take naps. For years, it was nothing but a series of dead ends. Blake did learn that Lori was born somewhere in Arizona. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. 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. After she died, her ex-husband's family discovered a lockbox in a closet in her home. Most of these discoveries came from talking to those that she had worked with previously. After four years of attempts, miscarriages, and disappointments, the couple had a daughter. 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. Lori Erica Ruff was the alias of an unidentified American woman and identity thief who committed suicide on December 24, 2010 in Longview, Texas. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. [8] Other papers included the birth certificate of Becky Sue Turner and a judge's ruling granting a name change to Lori Erica Kennedy. After her death, her husband and his family found the evidence of her falsified identity in a lock box in her closet. The response? Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Marriage is a sacred act between two people that care deeply for one another. When contacted, however, Perkins stated that he had never heard of Becky Sue Turner or Lori Kennedy. Sign up for The Lineup's newsletter, and receive our eeriest cases delivered straight to your inbox. They then discovered the lockbox in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. Lori Ruff & The Dark Secret She Hid From Everyone - YouTube The trail leading backwards was in the forbidden lockbox. 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 . 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. During all of this, Blake continued in his efforts to pry more details from the mother of his baby. 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. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of streaming providers. She was above average height at 5feet 10inches (1.78m) tall, and weighed 160 pounds (73kg). In 2013, a nuclear-physicist-turned-forensic genealogist Collen Fitzpatrick worked on Ruffs case and new details emerged about her past.