According to Deannes brother, Tom, Kimberly grew irate after her mother and father separated in the 1980s. 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 [1] Despite the questions Blake's family had about Lori, the couple married in January 2004. 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. The news of Kimberlys death saddened her mother deeply. They married and had a daughter together. The following people have been ruled out as possible identities for Ruff:[5], Ruff was a white female, who was approximately 41 to 50 years old when she committed suicide. Various identification cards of Lori Ruff (AKA: Kimberly McLean) retrieved from the Social Security Administration. The tall and slender brunette met Ruff at a bible study group and introduced herself as Lori Kennedy. But it wasn't until Lori ended her life on Christmas Eve that the Ruffs would get answers. Lori Erica Ruff - identity SOLVED? 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. Every day, stories unfold that have no resolution. 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. Whomever she was, the woman Blake knew as Lori Ruff was not who she claimed to be. She had told him she was from Arizona, that both her parents were dead, and that she had no siblings. 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. When a woman known as Lori Erica Ruff died in Texas three years ago, she left behind a mystery that has investigators baffled. Image: http://reallifeishorror.blogspot.co.uk/. According to the Seattle Times , a crowd-sourced investigation into Ruff's background began after the paper ran . Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. There was a successful application for a new social security number. She would regularly be seen with her in some of her favorite tea shops. Upon opening the container, Blakediscovered why: Inside was a birth certificate and IDs belonging to several different people. Les currently resides in London and is a freelance writer with a long standing passion for the unexplained and paranormal. 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. She arrived at this identity by way of a girl named Becky Sue Turner. For years, it was nothing but a series of dead ends. [1] She eventually graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1997, with a degree in Business Administration. Or at least they should. After her death, her husband and his family found the evidence of her falsified identity in a lock box in her closet. In a matter of months, Lori completely deteriorated. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of streaming providers. [2], In the months between the separation and Lori's suicide, she behaved very erratically. 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. 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. The Ruff family declined to comment on the story, which was first reported by the Seattle Times on Saturday. [8] Other papers included the birth certificate of Becky Sue Turner and a judge's ruling granting a name change to Lori Erica Kennedy. Southern charm is attempted but southern sass is bountiful. [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. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. 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. Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. 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. But who she really was is still a mystery. Watch 48 Hours Saturday 10/9c on CBS and Paramount+ and hear all new episodes every Sunday. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. Ruff gradually acquired more documents in her new name, including a Social Security number. [1] After two years, Fitzpatrick finally identified Ruff when she discovered a third cousin match who was related to the Cassidys. 2009-2021 Historic Mysteries. But all that he managed to discover was that Lori had something of a difficult upbringing. 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). She wanted to live in her little cocoon.. Lori Erica Ruff The Generation Why Podcast. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. A man who knew Ruff during this time has stated that she worked as a stripper in the early 1990s. Early on Christmas Eve, Lori drove over to the Ruff house. For the next couple of years, Blake worked on all aspects of the marriage. You can help support the show at patreon.com/criminology, Learn more about your ad choices. When Blake met Lori, she went by the name of "Lori Erica Kennedy." [3], The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. When Lori Erica Kennedy took her own life, she left behind evidence that she'd stolen another's identity. Lori acquired Turner's birth certificate in 1988, a time when you could just send a letter requesting a birth certificate with little resistance. But nobody in the world knew Lori Erica Ruff. Blake admitted knowledge of the box. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. It was signed by a man called Roger Steinbeck. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, [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. Apparently, after Becky Sue Turner perished, a woman turned up and requested a copy of the birth certificate. All rights reserved. [1], Fitzpatrick informed Joe Velling, who had in the meantime retired from the SSA. This was very sophisticated, Velling said. It was under this new assumed name that sheeventually moved to the Dallas area, where she met andmarried Blake Ruff. And when asked about her days in high school, she said she skipped it and went straight to college. But to a dogged federal investigator, she is "Jane Doe," a Texas mother who killed herself three years ago in her famil. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices. Given some of the comments she made or suggested, she didnt appear to realize why the marriage ended. The tension between the Ruffs continued to grow as the new grandparents were rebuffed from visits. Knowing the identity of the third cousin led her to Ruff's identity. Investigators then began to search of hertrue identitya process that would take six years to complete. Before she took her own life with a shotgun, Lori placed a pair of letters inside the car. She also began sending harassing e-mails to the Ruffs, created a scene at a custody hearing, and stole a set of house keys from them. Lori Erica Ruff was the alias of an unidentified American woman and identity thief who committed suicide on December 24, 2010 in Longview, Texas.After she died, her ex-husband's family discovered a lockbox in a closet in her home. Within the next two years, she . The writings on the paper found in the lock box included the scribblings "North Hollywood police," "402 months," and "Ben Perkins." She was overly protective, and she refused to let other people hold their daughter. ", "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? When he returned to his parents, he filed for a divorce. In 2013, a nuclear-physicist-turned-forensic genealogist Collen Fitzpatrick worked on Ruffs case and new details emerged about her past. 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. The woman received breast implants in 1991 and claimed to have suffered from bulimia in 1990. So, join us, plug in, sit back and prepare for scares. It is one thing to suspect Lori Erica Ruff of being a simple identity thief, but it is another thing to understand why. 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. Trophy Wife: Dirigido por Christian Sesma. Interesting history topics are just a click away. The grieving husbandrecognized the box. Different cultures define matrimony in different ways and tie the knot for various reasons. Lori and Blake tried to have a child almost immediately after they were married, but found themselves experiencing fertility issues. After obtaining the driver's license, Ruff went before a judge in Dallas on July 5 1988 and legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy; a week later she obtained a social security number, effectively erasing her past. The other had dates and the letters D and M on it. Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number - a. The pair set up a home together and tried to start a family. 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. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! This has led investigators to believe that Ruff was much older than she claimed to be. After marrying, the couple moved away from the senior Ruffs, who lived in eastern Texas, settling in Leonard, Texas, in the southwestern region. [1] Velling approached a relative, who immediately identified the deceased Lori Ruff as Kimberly McLean.[1]. 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. 1,529 likes. Be the first to contribute! 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. After she died, her ex-husband's family discovered a lockbox in a closet in her home. According to the man, whom Velling did not name, Jane Doe had more problems than he could deal with.. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theywalkamongus. Who was she? 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. 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. She must now fight to clear her name and figure out who betrayed her husband. Her student loan applications listed three references, one of whom was a former classmate she had briefly dated. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices. At some point in the past, Lori had been a dancer at an exclusive gentlemans club, and a post-mortem examination revealed that Lori, not Becky, had received breast implants. Blake had enough with her inability to get along with his family. El Caso de Lori Erica Ruff -Documental Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/HypnosMorfeoPaginaoficial/?fref=ts Sigueme en Twitter: https://twitter.com/hypnosmo. 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. With the help of investigator Joe Velling, he traced the DNA to a family in Pennsylvania. 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." Shewas an accomplished identity thief. Related: The Strange Case of the Isdal Woman. The local police department began a routine investigation and quickly found a safe at the bottom of a closet. She wasn't Lori Erica Ruffshe was a Pennsylvania woman named Kimberly McLean. In the days following her death, he began the grim task of sorting . And why didn't she see any other option but to end her own life? ", "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. 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. Before 1988, Lori Erica Kennedy simply did not exist. Little Beckywas just two years old when she diedin a house fire outside of Seattle, Washington in 1971. Synopsis They then discovered the lock box in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. Nancy said it was like that all afternoon she asked questions, and Lori provided evasive answers. On the West Coast, we generally dont have a discernible accent, said Velling, a Seattle native. [8], In the months between the separation and Lori's suicide, she behaved very erratically. Whatever the motivation behind one man entering wedlock to one woman, both parties usually do know each other intimately. The letter failed to mention crucial details such what was her role and responsibilities. 2021 Wondery LLC. 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] She eventually gave birth to a baby girl via in-vitro fertilization in 2008. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Plot Summary submission guide. Related: Jeffrey Alan Lash: His Remarkable Mystery. See acast.com/privacy for more information. They believed she fled because she did not like her mothers new husband. [1] She then traveled to Idaho, where she obtained a state ID card on June 16 using the girl's birth certificate.[2]. Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. 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. [7] She eventually gave birth to a baby girl via in vitro fertilisation in 2008. 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. The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. By the time Blake Ruff's wife died, he realized he didn't know her at all. Blake's parents were suspicious of Lori right from the beginning. But Blake was in love. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices. Over time the pair grew closer and eventually, they eloped to Dallas. For several years, nobody suspected anything. There were two other pieces of paper. She died by suicide in the driveway of her former in-laws' home in Longview, Texas, on Christmas Eve 2010. To her husband, she was Lori Kennedy. She was sending deranged emails to the Ruffs. 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. [6], On December 24, 2010, Ruff's body was discovered in her car in the Ruffs' driveway, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. Perhaps Lori was creating parents for the benefit of Blake. Join her as she shows you just how southern fried the justice system can be in the Deep South. His wifewas not who she claimed to be. All rights reserved. It did. 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. 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. 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. 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. With little to no clues about who shemight actually be, the woman once known as Lori Erica Ruffwas registered in the federal governments database of missing and unidentified persons as a Jane Doe. 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. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher. Four years filled with miscarriages and disappointments passed. She began to lose weight and attended counseling sessions held at the local church. In the car were two suicide notes: One 11page note addressed to "my wonderful husband" and another addressed to her daughter, to be opened on her 18th birthday. On Monday though, Lori. [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]. The harassment was so severe that the Ruffs filed a cease and desist order just before Lori's death. Lori attended the University of Texas regularly and graduated with a business administration degree in 1997. Her Idaho identification card listed her as 5 feet, 6 inches tall and her Dallas drivers license had her at 5 feet, 10 inches, but she was really somewhere in-between, Velling said. On Christmas Eve 2010, the body of 42-year-old Lori Erica Ruff was found in acar parked outside the Rufffamily home in Longview, Texas. 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. 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. | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA Notice, This website uses cookies to improve your experience. She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. The only person in attendance at their wedding ceremony, held in a church outside Dallas, was the officiating preacher. It is generally believed that a new identity was already being considered either for herself or others. Lori definitely was not who she portrayed herself to be, so who was she? 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. Was she Lori Erica Ruff? [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. Yes! They tried several times to have a child, but had trouble conceiving and suffered multiple miscarriages. Review our. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The woman told doctors in 2005 that she was 35 a claim Velling doubts. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff, was an American identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. 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. Ruff gradually acquired more documents in her new name, including a Social Security number. 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. It had the instructions to open on her 18th birthday. She told them her parents were dead and that she had no living siblings or extended family. And she may have even attempted to break into the family's home, according to the Seattle Times. It was either she or his family, and he chose his family, Velling said. Real Life is Horror. [4] She also said her father was a failed stockbroker. McLean also asked them not to come after her. [7] The couple eloped in January 2004 after Nancy Ruff, Blake's mother, inquired about placing a wedding announcement in the local newspaper. That created a lot of heartburn for the family.. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff (October 16, 1968-December 24, 2010), was an identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. DNA taken from the body might also help crack the case. This page was last modified on 5 May 2016, at 17:33. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff, was an American identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. Then, in September 2016, the case of Lori Erica Ruff was finally solved: her real name wasKimberly McLean. However, it was written on hotel stationery from Bangkok, Thailand. Lori kept to herself, rarely speaking Finally, in 2008, the pair had a daughter, conceived with in vitro fertilization. As far as the police officers could tell, Lori never traveled abroad before 1990, as there is no passport with that name. Blake Ruff has admitted that he isn't completely sure what drew him to Lori. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. Ruff did his best to find out as much about his new partner as he could. This site uses cookies to improve user experience. After her death, Lori's husband found a lockbox with papers inside that shed light on his wife's past. 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. Sources However, the Mclean family now has a granddaughter who offers a glimpse of their beloved Kimberly. In life, Lori hadwarnedhimto stay away from it. Lori Ruffs handwritten notes. The investigation into her suicide hit dead end after dead end. 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.' Lori left behind two suicide notes, one of which was addressed to her husband and the other to her young daughter. Fitzpatrick found matching DNA records using saliva samples of Blake and Loris daughter. Pic credit: Family pic. A Net Inceptions project. Loris husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. And, as he flipped through multiple IDs with pictures of his wife at different ages, he realized they all had different names printed on them, according to the Daily Mail. There was a birth and death certificate in the box. 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. 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. 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. Any time she got around the family, they would ask her questions and it was uncomfortable for her. Yes! 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. Historic Mysteries provides captivating articles on archaeology, history, and unexplained mysteries. Blake Ruff thought he had found someone special. Although questions about the case remain, Lori Ruff's name has now been removed from the federal government's database for missing and unidentified persons. Prior to that, she was known as Becky Sue Turner, an identity forged with the birth certificate of a long-dead child. 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. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies. 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 Ruff. 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. They then discovered the lockbox in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. By changing her name, she created a clean identity a person with no past.. Lori refused to allow anyone else to babysit her child. We don't take ourselves too seriously but we take true crime very seriously. This is a true crime podcast that spares none of the details and delves into what makes these killers tick. Blake and Lori married in 2004the only witness to their marriage was the priest. 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. According to the Seattle Times, a crowd-sourced investigation into Ruffs background began after the paper ran a story on her in 2013. [6] The article was subsequently republished in numerous newspapers around the world. Accept Read More, Jeffrey Alan Lash: His Remarkable Mystery. A week later, she obtained a Social Security number, removing traces of her true identity. 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 . Sign up for The Lineup's newsletter, and receive our eeriest cases delivered straight to your inbox. Mother and child spent a lot of time together, which is normal for such a doting mother. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. So, it was granted without question. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. However, according to records, Becky Sue Turner asphyxiated in a house fire when she was just 2 years old. Velling agreed to help identify her as a case of identify theft. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. 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. [3], Eventually, Ruff did not want her in-laws to have any contact with her daughter. However, Perkins has no memory of the woman, and there were no matches for the woman in fingerprint and facial recognition databases.
Collier County Tax Deed Auction, Articles L
Collier County Tax Deed Auction, Articles L