or redistributed. [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. And she was aggressive about it, Velling said. One of television's most popular true-crime series adapted for your ears. Market data provided by Factset. Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number a move that effectively erased her past. She died by suicide in the driveway of her former in-laws' home in Longview, Texas, on Christmas Eve 2010. All rights reserved. It is generally believed that a new identity was already being considered either for herself or others. Now, as he opened it, he understood why it was forbidden territory. She was much older than that, he said. 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. The woman received breast implants in 1991 and claimed to have suffered from bulimia in 1990. Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher. 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. Erica Kelley is a native Tennessean exploring historical and contemporary true crime in the South. She refused to let other people hold the child and was overly protective, even for a first-time mother. 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? The trail leading backwards was in the forbidden lockbox. Was she Lori Erica Ruff? McLean assumed a series of aliases before marrying Blake Ruff in 2004 and settling downleaving no trace of Kimberly McLean, at least until Fitzpatrick began researching her family tree. 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. After the birth of their daughter, Lori's behavior became increasingly strange. Among the various documents was a certificate indicating that Lori Kennedy had changed her name from Becky Sue Turner. Lori Erica Ruff The Generation Why Podcast. 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). Although she left notes for her husband and her daughter, they didn't provide any clues. They then discovered the lock box in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff'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. You can help support the show at patreon.com/criminology, Learn more about your ad choices. Buried deep in the back of Lori's closet, Blake pulled out a sealed lockbox. 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. Before 1988, Lori Erica Kennedy simply did not exist. Lori's behavior caused immense tensions between Lori and the Ruffs, even keeping the new grandparents from visiting their granddaughter. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices. In the days following her death, hebegan the grim task of sortingthrough his wifespossessions. A week later, she obtained a Social Security number, removing traces of her true identity. 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. She wasnt Lori Erica Ruffshe was a Pennsylvania woman named Kimberly McLean. Related: Girl in the Green Mac: The Baffling, Unsolved Disappearance of Sheila Fox. Over time the pair grew closer and eventually, they eloped to Dallas. It outlined work that Lori had done for him until 1988. Crimelines walks you through true crime events, pairing captivating tales with clear storytelling. I also want to get Early Bird Books newsletter featuring book deals, recommendations, and giveaways. But nobody in the world knew Lori Erica Ruff. It's a big Universe full of wonders. The family tried everything to find her but she changed her name and location regularly, making it difficult for Kimberlys family to find her. She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Or, maybe she was none of them. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. Lori didnt take this at all well. In addition, there were no matches for the woman in any existing fingerprint and facial recognition databases. How had their marriage fallen apart? A man who knew Ruff during this time has stated that she worked as a stripper in the early 1990s. 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 who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. After she died, her ex-husband's family discovered a lockbox in a closet in her home. He noticed the car and called the police. In a matter of months, Lori completely deteriorated. There was a birth and death certificate in the box. Her student loan applications listed three references, one of whom was a former classmate she had briefly dated. It had the instructions to open on her 18th birthday. According to the man, whom Velling did not name, Jane Doe had more problems than he could deal with.. But Blake was in love. 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.. One was for her daughter. Prior to that, she was known as Becky Sue Turner, an identity forged with the birth certificate of a long-dead child. That created a lot of heartburn for the family.. 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. All rights reserved. For the next couple of years, Blake worked on all aspects of the marriage. Shortly after marrying Ruff, Jane Doe tried repeatedly to conceive a child of her own with much difficulty, according to Velling. 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. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the mysterious Lori Erica Ruff. 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. 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. After her death, Lori's husband found a lockbox with papers inside that shed light on his wife's past. But this could have simply been a number picked for convenience purposes only. 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. Or, Lori Erika Kennedy? She would regularly be seen with her in some of her favorite tea shops. The two moved to Leonard, about 60 miles northeast of Dallas and roughly 125 miles from Ruffs parents in Longview. 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. Different cultures define matrimony in different ways and tie the knot for various reasons. 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. 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. But who she really was is still a mystery. Related: A Killer Calls: The Unsolved Murder of Dorothy Jane Scott. However, the Mclean family now has a granddaughter who offers a glimpse of their beloved Kimberly. His wifewas not who she claimed to be. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. And she had no accent, leading Velling to believe she originally came from the Pacific Northwest or West Coast. When Blake met Lori, she went by the name of "Lori Erica Kennedy." The writings on the paper found in the lock box included the scribblings "North Hollywood police," "402 months," and "Ben Perkins." Why had Lori begun behaving so erratically? 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 began sending harassing emails to the Ruffs, created a scene at a custody exchange, and stole a set of house keys from them. Legal Statement. After they married, Lori and Blake moved across the state from his parents, and they tried to have a child almost immediately. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of streaming providers. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Plot Summary submission guide. He revealed that Lori considered it to be a personal item that must never be opened. This site uses cookies to improve user experience. 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. Police also found a curious letter within the safe. 2021 Emash Digital & Mike Ferguson, Mike Morford. 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 harassment was so severe that the Ruffs filed a cease and desist order just before Lori's death. She wanted to live in her little cocoon.. Knowing the identity of the third cousin led her to Ruff's identity. Lori began to complain to Blake about his parents whenever she was even mildly inconvenienced. The Minds of Madness - True Crime Stories. 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, 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. [3], In 2003, she met Blake Ruff, the son of a well-established family in East Texas,[2][3] in a Bible study class. Unfortunately, it looks like Lori took all of her secrets to the grave. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices. Blake admitted knowledge of the box. [3], The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. ", "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. Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. We don't take ourselves too seriously but we take true crime very seriously. It was under this new assumed name that sheeventually moved to the Dallas area, where she met andmarried Blake Ruff. They looked for signs of gambling addiction and sex trafficking. Then, in September 2016, investigators believed they solved the case. 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. [1] He flew to Pennsylvania to meet the potential family. 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. 2010 42- , . In his spare time he enjoys astronomy and Xboxing. [1] After two years, Fitzpatrick finally identified Ruff when she discovered a third cousin match who was related to the Cassidys. ", "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? Nothing. Included among theitems was a sealed lockbox buried deep in Loriscloset. There were no dates and the letter itself was a little vague. Lori definitely was not who she portrayed herself to be, so who was she? The request was made in Bakersfield, California. It was signed by a man called Roger Steinbeck. [1] She then traveled to Idaho, where she obtained a state ID card on June 16 using the girl's birth certificate.[2]. [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. 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 We now need to revise that list to seven, since one of those mysteries has now been solved. Lori Erica Ruff was the alias of an unidentified American woman and identity thief who committed suicide on December 24, 2010 in Longview, Texas. Various identification cards of Lori Ruff (AKA: Kimberly McLean) retrieved from the Social Security Administration. 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. The truth of Ruff's deception only came to light after she committed suicide, and some determined investigators began looking into . 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. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. 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, it didn't happen easily and it took the hard work of a number of people and a little Les currently resides in London and is a freelance writer with a long standing passion for the unexplained and paranormal. Every day, stories unfold that have no resolution. She was eventually identified as a native. 2021 Wondery LLC. It must have been for some horrific reasoneither she was running away from a crime or an abusive family or relationship., She wanted a complete break from her past, said Velling. 1,529 likes. [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. Blake, who was close with his parents, couldn't take it anymore. So, it was granted without question. A neighbor recalled that she and her daughter appeared to be very thin and that Lori would often ramble incoherently about her problems. [1] She eventually gave birth to a baby girl via in-vitro fertilization in 2008. The Bat Bombs of WWII: Presidentially Approved, Totally Anna Anderson: Imposter of Duchess Anastasia, End of the World Predictions that Never Happened. [6] The article was subsequently republished in numerous newspapers around the world. And, with the child, Lori's behavior became even more erratic. Yes! Lori acquired Turner's birth certificate in 1988, a time when you could just send a letter requesting a birth certificate with little resistance. McLean also asked them not to come after her. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. Hersuicide cameafter Blake had filed fordivorce and moved back in with his parents. However, according to records, Becky Sue Turner asphyxiated in a house fire when she was just 2 years old. They then discovered the lockbox in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. In July 1988, she moved to Dallas, where, according to court documents, she legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. All of that work by the investigators traced several links back in the history of Lori Ruff's false identities, but they still didn't know who she really was. 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. Fitzpatrick found matching DNA records using saliva samples of Blake and Loris daughter. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. 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. Many of these sessions tended to feature increasingly strange behavior on her part. Southern charm is attempted but southern sass is bountiful. The contents of this safe put into sharp focus everything that Blake thought he knew about Lori Kennedy. She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. She told them her parents were dead and that she had no living siblings or extended family. Everyone in Dallas has an accent and she did not. Or at least they should. 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.' Hosts Mike Ferguson and Mike Gibson guide you through the most interesting true crime stories. Related: The Strange Case of the Isdal Woman. 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. 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 Fife, Washington, in 1988, and then changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. Given some of the comments she made or suggested, she didnt appear to realize why the marriage ended. Watch 48 Hours Saturday 10/9c on CBS and Paramount+ and hear all new episodes every Sunday. She was never too keen to go into further detail. She arrived at this identity by way of a girl named Becky Sue Turner. At the time, a request of this nature was hardly unusual. Loris husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. 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. But it wasn't until Lori ended her life on Christmas Eve that the Ruffs would get answers. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. [5], From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core, "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Any time she got around the family, they would ask her questions and it was uncomfortable for her. Four years filled with miscarriages and disappointments passed. Investigators then began to search of hertrue identitya process that would take six years to complete.
What State Is Known As The Diamond State,
Tuscola County Court News,
Durham Middle School Athletics,
1967 Pontiac Station Wagon For Sale,
Bar Rescue Miles From Success Update,
Articles L