[7] The couple eloped in January 2004 after Nancy Ruff, Blake's mother, inquired about placing a wedding announcement in the local newspaper. "My God, thats Kimberly! The family member confirmed Ruff was actually Kimberly McLean, daughter of Deanne Cassidy and James McLean, who had run away from home in Pennsylvania at the age of 18. Although plenty of questions about the case still have not been answered, Lori Ruff's name was removed from the federal government's database of missing and unidentified persons. Although Blakes family was suspicious of Lori from the beginning, Blake himself was very much in love. And, with the child, Lori's behavior became even more erratic. or redistributed. Nothing. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. They tried several times to have a child, but had trouble conceiving and suffered multiple miscarriages. [7] She eventually gave birth to a baby girl via in vitro fertilisation in 2008. In 1986, Kimberly McLean ran away from her home at the age of 18. Ruff had a first cousin named Cassidy on her list of matches; however, the name was very common and the cousin was not responsive. ", "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. Prior to marrying Blake, Loriwas known as Lori Erica Kennedy. Related: Lady of the Dunes: Was the Unidentified Cape Cod Murder Victim an Extra in Jaws? 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. [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. True Crime. We don't take ourselves too seriously but we take true crime very seriously. 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. Some people can explain all of this with nothing more sinister than the Witness Protection Program. [6] The article was subsequently republished in numerous newspapers around the world. Lori Erica Ruff The Generation Why Podcast. She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. But who she really was is still a mystery. To her husband, she was Lori Kennedy. [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. [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. [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. Marriage is a sacred act between two people that care deeply for one another. One of television's most popular true-crime series adapted for your ears. Jane Doe had a simple narrative and stuck to it: She was the only child of a failed stockbroker and his wife, who both died. It was in 2010 when events finally took their toll on her. Dismayed by having to move and attend a new school, she told Deanne shed be leaving for good. Was she Lori Erica Ruff? She and her young daughter had visibly lost weight. 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. El Caso de Lori Erica Ruff -Documental Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/HypnosMorfeoPaginaoficial/?fref=ts Sigueme en Twitter: https://twitter.com/hypnosmo. 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. Different cultures define matrimony in different ways and tie the knot for various reasons. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. ", "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 left behind an 11-page suicide note but apparently no clue that she had lived a secret life. DNA taken from the body might also help crack the case. She also took a birth date of July 18, 1969. See acast.com/privacy for more information. 2010 42- , . Anyone with credible tips on this case is urged to email this reporter at [email protected]. However, it was written on hotel stationery from Bangkok, Thailand. 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 ye Lori Erica Ruff - Top podcast episodes She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. [3], In 2003, she met Blake Ruff, the son of a well-established family in East Texas,[2][3] in a Bible study class. In July 1988, she moved to Dallas, where, according to court documents, she legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. Before 1988, Lori Erica Kennedy simply did not exist. She died by suicide in the driveway of her former in-laws' home in Longview, Texas, on Christmas Eve 2010. And when asked about her days in high school, she said she skipped it and went straight to college. The only person in attendance at their wedding ceremony, held in a church outside Dallas, was the officiating preacher. It took hard work on the part of investigators and some unique forensic genealogy for the truth to come out. 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. All rights reserved. But to a dogged federal investigator, she is "Jane Doe," a Texas mother who killed herself three years ago in her famil. 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. For example, Lori would often ramble to the minister on a variety of topics; mainly her perceived flaws, problems, and the failure of her marriage. They looked for signs of gambling addiction and sex trafficking. 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. Unfortunately, it looks like Lori took all of her secrets to the grave. The Ruff family declined to comment on the story, which was first reported by the Seattle Times on Saturday. And, why had she changed her identity and hid her past from those closest to her? It was either she or his family, and he chose his family, Velling said. Lori attended the University of Texas regularly and graduated with a business administration degree in 1997. The news of Kimberlys death saddened her mother deeply. So, it was granted without question. [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. 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. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. 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. Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number - a. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices. 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. After marrying, the couple moved away from the senior Ruffs, who lived in eastern Texas, settling in Leonard, Texas, in the southwestern region. After four years of attempts, miscarriages, and disappointments, the couple had a daughter. Lori met her future husband, Blake, in 2003. All rights reserved. Such things have happened in other cases, and are often traumatic events. Ruff gradually acquired more documents in her new name, including a Social Security number. 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. The grieving husbandrecognized the box. Market data provided by Factset. After Lori Erica Ruff's death, Blake Ruff realized his wife was a complete stranger. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Plot Summary submission guide. She became distressed due to her parents divorce. Con Erica Peeples, Tiffany Black, Sean Patrick Thomas, Chris Sakyi. When a woman known as Lori Erica Ruff died in Texas three years ago, she left behind a mystery that has investigators baffled. Who was she? Given some of the comments she made or suggested, she didnt appear to realize why the marriage ended. Historic Mysteries provides captivating articles on archaeology, history, and unexplained mysteries. 2021 Emash Digital & Mike Ferguson, Mike Morford. Ruff gradually acquired more documents in her new name, including a Social Security number. 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. 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 . "My God, that's Kimberly!," one Pennsylvania relative exclaimed, the Seattle Times reported. Related: The Strange Case of the Isdal Woman. They married and had a daughter together. They then discovered the lock box in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. The tension between the Ruffs continued to grow as the new grandparents were rebuffed from visits. [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]. About a month afterward, the certificate was used to obtain legal identification in Idaho. All rights reserved. However, Perkins has no memory of the woman, and there were no matches for the woman in fingerprint and facial recognition databases. 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. Perhaps because of these miscarriages, Lori was ultra-protective of her daughter. Blake was caught in the middle, and eventually he couldn't take it anymore. And she had no accent, leading Velling to believe she originally came from the Pacific Northwest or West Coast. Lori refused to allow anyone else to babysit her child. After her death, her husband and his family found the evidence of her falsified identity in a lock box in her closet. 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." The Minds of Madness - True Crime Stories. Lori Erica Ruff. Loris behavior was highly erratic in the timebetween theseparationand her death; she sent threatening emails to Blake and his family, and might have even attempted a break-in at Blakes parents home. Lori didnt take this at all well. 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. [1] After two years, Fitzpatrick finally identified Ruff when she discovered a third cousin match who was related to the Cassidys. The tall and slender brunette met Ruff at a bible study group and introduced herself as Lori Kennedy. McLean also asked them not to come after her. A friend of the family verified that Becky Sue Turner had died in a house fire at the age of 2. Whomever she was, the woman Blake knew as Lori Ruff was not who she claimed to be. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. When he returned to his parents, he filed for a divorce. She enrolled in Dallas County Community College,[7] and in 1997 she graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a degree in business administration. Erica Kelley is a native Tennessean exploring historical and contemporary true crime in the South. Sometime later, Blake's father left the house to pick up the paper. 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. However, over time he began to get the impression that he was the only one trying to make their marriage work. She received a Texas driver license in 1989 and qualified for a GED[8] the following year. According to the man, whom Velling did not name, Jane Doe had more problems than he could deal with.. Lori Erica Ruff was the alias of an unidentified American woman and identity thief who committed suicide on December 24, 2010 in Longview, Texas. 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. Sign up for The Lineup's newsletter, and receive our eeriest cases delivered straight to your inbox. According to the Seattle Times , a crowd-sourced investigation into Ruff's background began after the paper ran . 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. [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]. His wifewas not who she claimed to be. I think she was born sometime between 1960 and 1968., Records gathered by Velling provide tantalizing clues. Lori Erica Ruff was the alias of an unidentified American woman and identity thief who committed suicide on December 24, 2010 in Longview, Texas. 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? 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. Host Charlie brings in appropriate historic and cultural context to look beyond what happened and consider why it happened. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 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. In life, Lori hadwarnedhimto stay away from it. For the next couple of years, Blake worked on all aspects of the marriage. Blake and Lori married in 2004the only witness to their marriage was the priest. She began to lose weight and attended counseling sessions held at the local church. After she died, her ex-husband's family discovered a lockbox in a closet in her home. She told them her parents were dead and that she had no living siblings or extended family. 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. He describes her as being incredibly secretive, particularly regarding her past. But, it didn't happen easily and it took the hard work of a number of people and a little According to Deannes brother, Tom, Kimberly grew irate after her mother and father separated in the 1980s. [8] Other papers included the birth certificate of Becky Sue Turner and a judge's ruling granting a name change to Lori Erica Kennedy.