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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. Then, in September 2016, investigators believed they solved the case. The tall and slender brunette met Ruff at a bible study group and introduced herself as Lori Kennedy. 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. 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 he returned to his parents, he filed for a divorce. To her husband, she was Lori Kennedy. This is a true crime podcast that spares none of the details and delves into what makes these killers tick. or redistributed. She arrived at this identity by way of a girl named Becky Sue Turner. Lori Erica Ruff The Generation Why Podcast. Most of these discoveries came from talking to those that she had worked with previously. By the time Blake Ruff's wife died, he realized he didn't know her at all. Market data provided by Factset. She obtained a Texas drivers license in 1989, listing her age as 19. When Lori Erica Kennedy took her own life, she left behind evidence that she'd stolen another's identity. 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.' The woman told doctors in 2005 that she was 35 a claim Velling doubts. Perhaps Lori was creating parents for the benefit of Blake. Lori Ruffs handwritten notes. Photo Credit: Alchetron. She began to lose weight and attended counseling sessions held at the local church. She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. Blake's parents were suspicious of Lori right from the beginning. 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 Ruff went by many names. 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. 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. All rights reserved. She suffered a miscarriage before eventually giving birth to a baby girl in 2008. The Bat Bombs of WWII: Presidentially Approved, Totally Anna Anderson: Imposter of Duchess Anastasia, End of the World Predictions that Never Happened. | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA Notice, This website uses cookies to improve your experience. She became distressed due to her parents divorce. After she died, her ex-husband's family discovered a lockbox in a closet in her home. Lori began to complain to Blake about his parents whenever she was even mildly inconvenienced. Ruff did his best to find out as much about his new partner as he could. Among the various documents was a certificate indicating that Lori Kennedy had changed her name from Becky Sue Turner. And when asked about her days in high school, she said she skipped it and went straight to college. RedHanded the podcast jumps head first into all manner of macabre madness. 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. Prior to that, she was known as Becky Sue Turner, an identity forged with the birth certificate of a long-dead child. McLean also asked them not to come after her. 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. And she may have even attempted to break into the family's home, according to the Seattle Times. [7] The couple eloped in January 2004 after Nancy Ruff, Blake's mother, inquired about placing a wedding announcement in the local newspaper. However, Perkins has no memory of the woman, and there were no matches for the woman in fingerprint and facial recognition databases. [3], After getting married, the Ruffs moved to Leonard, Texas. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! 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. They separated, but on Christmas Eve, 2010, the woman everyone knew as Lori Erica Ruff pulled into the driveway of the Ruff family home and shot herself. 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 Different cultures define matrimony in different ways and tie the knot for various reasons. 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 response? In his spare time he enjoys astronomy and Xboxing. Investigation Discovery's ' Where Murder Lies: The Girl in the Lockbox' chronicles the story behind Lori Ruff's past. However, several weeks after getting the new identification, Becky legally changed her identity to Lori Erica Kennedy in Dallas. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Shewas an accomplished identity thief. She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. [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. [1] She then traveled to Idaho, where she obtained a state ID card on June 16 using the girl's birth certificate.[2]. Velling traveled to the city and approached a member of the Cassidy family, who saw Loris drivers license photo. 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. Sources However, over time he began to get the impression that he was the only one trying to make their marriage work. The pair set up a home together and tried to start a family. 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. And she was aggressive about it, Velling said. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. 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. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. 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. 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. 2021 Emash Digital & Mike Ferguson, Mike Morford. True Crime. Other commentators noted that Ruff briefly attended UT Arlington and may have become familiar with the film prior to changing her identity. [8] Other papers included the birth certificate of Becky Sue Turner and a judge's ruling granting a name change to Lori Erica Kennedy. His recollection was that she was a dancer at a Dallas-area nightclub at the time [she was attending school], Velling said. Ruff gradually acquired more documents in her new name, including a Social Security number. Given some of the comments she made or suggested, she didnt appear to realize why the marriage ended. [7] She then traveled to Idaho, where she used the document to obtain a state ID card on June 16.[8]. Before she took her own life with a shotgun, Lori placed a pair of letters inside the car. Everyone in Dallas has an accent and she did not. 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. It's a big Universe full of wonders. Yes! Papers belonging to Ruff, who had been married with a child, surfaced after her suicide indicating she had once been known as Lori Kennedy, and prior to that, as Becky Sue Turner, the name of a young girl who had died in a Washington state fire in 1971. And, why had she changed her identity and hid her past from those closest to her? She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. On December 24, 2010, the body of Lori Erica Ruff was found in her car parked in the driveway of the Ruff family's Texas home. All rights reserved. For the next couple of years, Blake worked on all aspects of the marriage. 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. The Varangians: Viking Conquerors turned Byzantium Honor Guard, The Secret Necropolis of Ancient Varna and the First Goldsmiths. [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]. Then, in September 2016, the case of Lori Erica Ruff was finally solved: her real name wasKimberly McLean. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Southern charm is attempted but southern sass is bountiful. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Any time she got around the family, they would ask her questions and it was uncomfortable for her. The family members identified the picture of the mystery woman as Kimberly Mclean. Who was she? Every day, stories unfold that have no resolution. 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. [3], The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. It outlined work that Lori had done for him until 1988. 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. 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. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Plot Summary submission guide. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, 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. His letter contained pages of incoherent rambling. (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.) Synopsis Join her as she shows you just how southern fried the justice system can be in the Deep South. [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. 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. "True identity of Lori Ruff revealed six years after she committed suicide", "After 30 Years, Lori Ruff's True Identity Finally Revealed", "5 Creepy-As-Hell Stories Of Real People With No Identity", "She stole another's identity, and took her secret to the grave. Additionally, she displayed many asocial behaviors, such as leaving social gatherings to take naps. Buried deep in the back of Lori's closet, Blake pulled out a sealed lockbox. After her death, Lori's husband found a lockbox with papers inside that shed light on his wife's past. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. Her mothers remarriage didnt help either and she told her family she was going away. Prior to marrying Blake, Loriwas known as Lori Erica Kennedy. The Ruff family declined to comment on the story, which was first reported by the Seattle Times on Saturday. They then discovered the lock box in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. In 2013, a nuclear-physicist-turned-forensic genealogist Collen Fitzpatrick worked on Ruffs case and new details emerged about her past. She parked her car, left it running, and shot herself. Market data provided by Factset. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. It was signed by a man called Roger Steinbeck. Or, maybe she was none of them. 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. She told them her parents were dead and that she had no living siblings or extended family. [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]. Four years filled with miscarriages and disappointments passed. 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. Lori acquired Becky Turners birth certificate in 1988. She also received breast implants during this time. I think she was born sometime between 1960 and 1968., Records gathered by Velling provide tantalizing clues. It took hard work on the part of investigators and some unique forensic genealogy for the truth to come out. She received a Texas driver license in 1989 and qualified for a GED[8] the following year. She left behind an 11-page suicide note but apparently no clue that she had lived a secret life. This has led investigators to believe that Ruff was much older than she claimed to be. 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. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. 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. Hersuicide cameafter Blake had filed fordivorce and moved back in with his parents. She was never too keen to go into further detail. This page was last modified on 5 May 2016, at 17:33. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. And, with the child, Lori's behavior became even more erratic. There was a successful application for a new social security number. Such things have happened in other cases, and are often traumatic events. After several miscarriages, the couple finally had a daughter in 2008. 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. As far as the police officers could tell, Lori never traveled abroad before 1990, as there is no passport with that name. While the hotel was genuine and a favored haunt of numerous celebrities, there was no trace of the author. A week later, she obtained a Social Security number, removing traces of her true identity. Now, as he opened it, he understood why it was forbidden territory. Blake did learn that Lori was born somewhere in Arizona. Trophy Wife: Dirigido por Christian Sesma. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff, was an American identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. In 1986, Kimberly McLean ran away from her home at the age of 18. 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. A Net Inceptions project. The other was for Blake. Her student loan applications listed three references, one of whom was a former classmate she had briefly dated. [8], In the months between the separation and Lori's suicide, she behaved very erratically. See acast.com/privacy for more information. But who she really was is still a mystery. "My God, that's Kimberly!," one Pennsylvania relative exclaimed, the Seattle Times reported. Or, Becky Sue Turner? 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. 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. ", "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. One of television's most popular true-crime series adapted for your ears. [1] After two years, Fitzpatrick finally identified Ruff when she discovered a third cousin match who was related to the Cassidys. Real Life is Horror. [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. However, it was written on hotel stationery from Bangkok, Thailand. [6], After getting married, the Ruffs moved to Leonard, Texas. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Or, Lori Erika Kennedy? Sometime later, Blake's father left the house to pick up the paper.