[3], The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. 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. When a woman known as Lori Erica Ruff died in Texas three years ago, she left behind a mystery that has investigators baffled. [3], After getting married, the Ruffs moved to Leonard, Texas. Lori Erica Ruff. Within the next two years, she . Then, in September 2016, investigators believed they solved the case. Lori refused to allow anyone else to babysit her child. 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. With the help of investigator Joe Velling, he traced the DNA to a family in Pennsylvania. ", "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 began to complain to Blake about his parents whenever she was even mildly inconvenienced. In 2013, a nuclear-physicist-turned-forensic genealogist Collen Fitzpatrick worked on Ruffs case and new details emerged about her past. He found a birth certificate for one person that wasn't her. Authorities believe she initially traveled to the home with the intent of harming the family.[6]. When Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff took her own life on Christmas Eve, 2010 in Longview, Texas, she took with her all of the secrets of her true identity. Accept Read More, Jeffrey Alan Lash: His Remarkable Mystery. 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. 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. They married and had a daughter together. We now need to revise that list to seven, since one of those mysteries has now been solved. It was in 2010 when events finally took their toll on her. Or, Becky Sue Turner? Although she left notes for her husband and her daughter, they didn't provide any clues. In his spare time he enjoys astronomy and Xboxing. 2021 Wondery LLC. 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. Marriage is a sacred act between two people that care deeply for one another. Market data provided by Factset. 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. Lori's husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. The family members identified the picture of the mystery woman as Kimberly Mclean. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. 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. [6] The article was subsequently republished in numerous newspapers around the world. They then discovered the lock box in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. His letter contained pages of incoherent rambling. [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. She obtained a Texas drivers license in 1989, listing her age as 19. Perhaps because of these miscarriages, Lori was ultra-protective of her daughter. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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. When contacted, however, Perkins stated that he had never heard of Becky Sue Turner or Lori Kennedy. She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. We cover everything from big time serial killers (and those you may never have heard of), to hauntings, possessions, disturbing mysteries, bizarre whodunits and basically anything that tickles our creepy fancy. [3], In 2003, she met Blake Ruff, the son of a well-established family in East Texas,[2][3] in a Bible study class. Be the first to contribute! This led investigators to believe that Ruff was older than she claimed, although the difference turned out to be less than a year. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices. According to Deannes brother, Tom, Kimberly grew irate after her mother and father separated in the 1980s. Nancy said it was like that all afternoon she asked questions, and Lori provided evasive answers. 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. [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. Both fingerprints and DNA testing turned up nothing to help get to the bottom of her true identity. When he returned to his parents, he filed for a divorce. Where is the Body of the Legendary King Gorm of Denmark. Who was she? She began to lose weight and attended counseling sessions held at the local church. Prior to marrying Blake, Loriwas known as Lori Erica Kennedy. In 2010, he moved back in with his parents and filed for divorce. The investigation into her suicide hit dead end after dead end. She was above average height at 5feet 10inches (1.78m) tall, and weighed 160 pounds (73kg). It took hard work on the part of investigators and some unique forensic genealogy for the truth to come out. [1] He flew to Pennsylvania to meet the potential family. Market data provided by Factset. 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. He describes her as being incredibly secretive, particularly regarding her past. [4] She also said her father was a failed stockbroker. She arrived at this identity by way of a girl named Becky Sue Turner. Given some of the comments she made or suggested, she didnt appear to realize why the marriage ended. Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number a move that effectively erased her past. The other was for Blake. 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). McLean requested the birth certificate in Bakersfield, California, Becky Sue Turner's birthplace. One of these had notes written and a collection of phone numbers and names. One of television's most popular true-crime series adapted for your ears. 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. They tried several times to have a child, but had trouble conceiving and suffered multiple miscarriages. [1] Despite the questions Blake's family had about Lori, the couple married in January 2004. However, several weeks after getting the new identification, Becky legally changed her identity to Lori Erica Kennedy in Dallas. Fitzpatrick found matching DNA records using saliva samples of Blake and Loris daughter. Over time the pair grew closer and eventually, they eloped to Dallas. 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. 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. 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. She had told him she was from Arizona, that both her parents were dead, that she had had an unhappy childhood, and that she had no siblings; she also said her father had been a failed stockbroker. The grieving husbandrecognized the box. She created a false identity for the sole purpose of getting lost in America, Velling told FoxNews.com. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff (October 16, 1968-December 24, 2010), was an identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. 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. 2021 Emash Digital & Mike Ferguson, Mike Morford. After they married, Lori and Blake moved across the state from his parents, and they tried to have a child almost immediately. There were two other pieces of paper. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The trail leading backwards was in the forbidden lockbox. Or at least they should. The house was in total shambles. The Bizarre Truth About Lori Ruff, The Woman Without An Identity. 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. So, join us, plug in, sit back and prepare for scares. 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. On Monday though, Lori. Con Erica Peeples, Tiffany Black, Sean Patrick Thomas, Chris Sakyi. She also received breast implants during this time. Blake, who was close with his parents, couldn't take it anymore. She died by suicide in the driveway of her former in-laws' home in Longview, Texas, on Christmas Eve 2010. By changing her name, she created a clean identity a person with no past.. I also want to get Early Bird Books newsletter featuring book deals, recommendations, and giveaways. Velling, a seasoned government sleuth, has been stumped in figuring out the true name and background of this Jane Doe, who took on aliases with spy-like sophistication. He noticed the car and called the police. Lori Erica Ruff Kept Her Past Locked Up in a Secret Safe Blake Ruff thought he had found someone special. For several years, nobody suspected anything. 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. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. She didnt even allow the publication of the announcement of their nuptials in the local newspaper either. Legal Statement. Such things have happened in other cases, and are often traumatic events. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. The house belonged to his parents and it was his father who discovered her [] The post Lori Erica Ruff 93 Generation Why appeared first on The Generation Why Podcast.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. DNA taken from the body might also help crack the case. Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number - a. The tension between the Ruffs continued to grow as the new grandparents were rebuffed from visits. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. 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. 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. Was she Lori Erica Ruff? The woman told doctors in 2005 that she was 35 a claim Velling doubts. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 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. El Caso de Lori Erica Ruff -Documental Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/HypnosMorfeoPaginaoficial/?fref=ts Sigueme en Twitter: https://twitter.com/hypnosmo. 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. 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. Want more real-life mysteries? Why had Lori begun behaving so erratically? ", "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. After her death, her husband and his family found the evidence of her falsified identity in a lock box in her closet. [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. For years, it was nothing but a series of dead ends. Blake did learn that Lori was born somewhere in Arizona. Although Blakes family was suspicious of Lori from the beginning, Blake himself was very much in love. His wifewas not who she claimed to be. Whilethe file on Lori Erica Ruff may be closed, her bizarre case continues to fascinate, and will forever raise thechillingquestion: Just how well do you know those closest to you? All rights reserved. After Lori Erica Ruff's death, Blake Ruff realized his wife was a complete stranger. She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of streaming providers. Host Charlie brings in appropriate historic and cultural context to look beyond what happened and consider why it happened. Lori kept to herself, rarely speaking Finally, in 2008, the pair had a daughter, conceived with in vitro fertilization. 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. 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 . For the next couple of years, Blake worked on all aspects of the marriage. This was very sophisticated, Velling said. 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. [1] She eventually graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1997, with a degree in Business Administration. But to a dogged federal investigator, she is "Jane Doe," a Texas mother who killed herself three years ago in her famil. 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. 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. [7] She then traveled to Idaho, where she used the document to obtain a state ID card on June 16.[8]. 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. She suffered a miscarriage before eventually giving birth to a baby girl in 2008. The family tried everything to find her but she changed her name and location regularly, making it difficult for Kimberlys family to find her. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. At the time of this application, Lori quoted her age as 19. 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. [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]. [2], In the months between the separation and Lori's suicide, she behaved very erratically. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff, was an American identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. All rights reserved. [1], Fitzpatrick informed Joe Velling, who had in the meantime retired from the SSA. 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. 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. This is a true crime podcast that spares none of the details and delves into what makes these killers tick. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Lori acquired Becky Turners birth certificate in 1988. And, why had she changed her identity and hid her past from those closest to her? 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. About a month afterward, the certificate was used to obtain legal identification in Idaho. Shortly after marrying Ruff, Jane Doe tried repeatedly to conceive a child of her own with much difficulty, according to Velling. Everyone in Dallas has an accent and she did not. 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.' Blake's mom, Nancy Ruff, described facing a stone wall. Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. In 2016, she was identified as. In July 1988, she moved to Dallas, where, according to court documents, she legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. It took hard work on the part of investigators and some unique forensic genealogy for the truth to come out. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices. The two moved to Leonard, about 60 miles northeast of Dallas and roughly 125 miles from Ruffs parents in Longview. (Perkins, who was black and who marketed his legal services to LA's African-American community, had never taken on a white client during his career.) 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. In 2010, he moved back across the state to live with his parents. Image: http://reallifeishorror.blogspot.co.uk/. Different cultures define matrimony in different ways and tie the knot for various reasons. 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 . After four years of attempts, miscarriages, and disappointments, the couple had a daughter. [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. They believed she fled because she did not like her mothers new husband. But, it didn't happen easily and it took the hard work of a number of people and a little Join her as she shows you just how southern fried the justice system can be in the Deep South. These secrets Lori Ruff had kept from even her husband, Blake Ruff, and his family. After her death, Lori's husband found a lockbox with papers inside that shed light on his wife's past. She parked her car, left it running, and shot herself. All rights reserved. Lori's behavior caused immense tensions between Lori and the Ruffs, even keeping the new grandparents from visiting their granddaughter. However, over time he began to get the impression that he was the only one trying to make their marriage work. 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. And when he asked her to marry him in 2004, she said yes, but insisted on no announcement in the newspaper, and wanted a wedding where only the minister was present. Blake was caught in the middle, and eventually he couldn't take it anymore. 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. This site uses cookies to improve user experience. As far as the police officers could tell, Lori never traveled abroad before 1990, as there is no passport with that name. 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.. She had brown hair and hazel eyes. Lori Erica Ruff The Generation Why Podcast. Henceforth, Lori would be known as Lori Erica Ruff. You can help support the show at patreon.com/criminology, Learn more about your ad choices. She then moved to Idaho and obtained a driver's license using Becky's birth certificate, according to news.com.au. ", "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? 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. She received a Texas driver license in 1989 and qualified for a GED[8] the following year. [6], After getting married, the Ruffs moved to Leonard, Texas. By the time Blake Ruff's wife died, he realized he didn't know her at all. 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. And she was aggressive about it, Velling said. All rights reserved. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. Sometime later, Blake's father left the house to pick up the paper. It's a big Universe full of wonders. Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher. Legal Statement. Sign up for The Lineup's newsletter, and receive our eeriest cases delivered straight to your inbox. The writings on the paper found in the lock box included the scribblings "North Hollywood police," "402 months," and "Ben Perkins." You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Related: The Strange Case of the Isdal Woman. 2009-2021 Historic Mysteries. [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. Many of these sessions tended to feature increasingly strange behavior on her part. Velling agreed to help identify her as a case of identify theft. She was never too keen to go into further detail. It is one thing to suspect Lori Erica Ruff of being a simple identity thief, but it is another thing to understand why. 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. His recollection was that she was a dancer at a Dallas-area nightclub at the time [she was attending school], Velling said. Lori would also spend time fidgeting and stare at the palms and back of her hands. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff, was an American identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. But all that he managed to discover was that Lori had something of a difficult upbringing. Lori definitely was not who she portrayed herself to be, so who was she? But it wasn't until Lori ended her life on Christmas Eve that the Ruffs would get answers. I find her case fascinating, especially in a post-9/11 world where there are so many avenues for identifying individuals. Blake and Lori married in 2004the only witness to their marriage was the priest.