lori erica ruff documentary lori erica ruff documentary

NY Daily News Also found in the lock box was a paper with several seemingly random scribblings.[6]. 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. Interesting history topics are just a click away. McLean also asked them not to come after her. Image: http://reallifeishorror.blogspot.co.uk/. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices. Dismayed by having to move and attend a new school, she told Deanne shed be leaving for good. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. One of these had notes written and a collection of phone numbers and names. If Lori was trying to escape her past, then it could explain her reluctance for publicity. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. The tall and slender brunette met Ruff at a bible study group and introduced herself as Lori Kennedy. 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. Unfortunately, it looks like Lori took all of her secrets to the grave. 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. One of television's most popular true-crime series adapted for your ears. She left behind an 11-page suicide note but apparently no clue that she had lived a secret life. Lori Erica Ruff's true identity was Kimberly McLean. Lori acquired Turner's birth certificate in 1988, a time when you could just send a letter requesting a birth certificate with little resistance. 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. [3], The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. Her mothers remarriage didnt help either and she told her family she was going away. 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. Blake and Lori married in 2004the only witness to their marriage was the priest. Who was she? Eager to meet her, the family invited her to lunch. To give you the best possible experience, this site uses cookies. 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. 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. The writings on the paper found in the lock box included the scribblings "North Hollywood police," "402 months," and "Ben Perkins." Among the various documents was a certificate indicating that Lori Kennedy had changed her name from Becky Sue Turner. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. [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]. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. Before she took her own life with a shotgun, Lori placed a pair of letters inside the car. When asked about her background,Lori was guarded and evasive; she claimed her parents were dead and she had no siblings. Velling agreed to help identify her as a case of identify theft. [2], In the months between the separation and Lori's suicide, she behaved very erratically. They tried several times to have a child, but she had trouble conceiving and suffered multiple miscarriages. When he returned to his parents, he filed for a divorce. Mother and child spent a lot of time together, which is normal for such a doting mother. Blake's mom, Nancy Ruff, described facing a stone wall. Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number - a. 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. Perhaps Lori was creating parents for the benefit of Blake. 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. Nothing. 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. 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. 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. [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. This page was last modified on 5 May 2016, at 17:33. So, it was granted without question. The woman received breast implants in 1991 and claimed to have suffered from bulimia in 1990. 2009-2021 Historic Mysteries. Host Charlie brings in appropriate historic and cultural context to look beyond what happened and consider why it happened. IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. Erica Kelley is a native Tennessean exploring historical and contemporary true crime in the South. There was a successful application for a new social security number. Every day, stories unfold that have no resolution. The trail leading backwards was in the forbidden lockbox. Investigators wondered if she had been a KGB agent, or if she had been in the military and gone AWOL. ", "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. 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. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. This is a true crime podcast that spares none of the details and delves into what makes these killers tick. Other commentators noted that Ruff briefly attended UT Arlington and may have become familiar with the film prior to changing her identity. 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." Four years filled with miscarriages and disappointments passed. According to the Seattle Times , a crowd-sourced investigation into Ruff's background began after the paper ran . Or, maybe she was none of them. Real Life is Horror. The local police department began a routine investigation and quickly found a safe at the bottom of a closet. 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. [4] She also said her father was a failed stockbroker. El Caso de Lori Erica Ruff -Documental Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/HypnosMorfeoPaginaoficial/?fref=ts Sigueme en Twitter: https://twitter.com/hypnosmo. And when asked about her days in high school, she said she skipped it and went straight to college. 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. This led investigators to believe that Ruff was older than she claimed, although the difference turned out to be less than a year. [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. There was a birth and death certificate in the box. He found a birth certificate for one person that wasn't her. Blake's parents were suspicious of Lori right from the beginning. [3], On Christmas Eve 2010, Ruff's body was discovered in her car in the Ruffs' driveway, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. The Ruff family declined to comment on the story, which was first reported by the Seattle Times on Saturday. Buried deep in the back of Lori's closet, Blake pulled out a sealed lockbox. [8], In the months between the separation and Lori's suicide, she behaved very erratically. Lori Erica Ruff - identity SOLVED? Find a Grave According to the man, whom Velling did not name, Jane Doe had more problems than he could deal with.. She was never too keen to go into further detail. Blake, who was close with his parents, couldn't take it anymore. She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. DNA taken from the body might also help crack the case. Ruff described her as being incredibly secretive, particularly regarding her past. He filed for divorce a short time later. After her death, Lori's husband found a lockbox with papers inside that shed light on his wife's past. After her death, her husband and his family found the evidence of her falsified identity in a lock box in her closet. Authorities believe she initially traveled to the home with the intent of harming the family.[6]. After they married, Lori and Blake moved across the state from his parents, and they tried to have a child almost immediately. She wasn't Lori Erica Ruffshe was a Pennsylvania woman named Kimberly McLean. Why had Lori begun behaving so erratically? Blake Ruff thought he had found someone special. Henceforth, Lori would be known as Lori Erica Ruff. Lori Erica Kennedy / Lori Ruff - Identified. Who was she? Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher. However, it was written on hotel stationery from Bangkok, Thailand. During all of this, Blake continued in his efforts to pry more details from the mother of his baby. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. [7] She then traveled to Idaho, where she used the document to obtain a state ID card on June 16.[8]. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Plot Summary submission guide. It did. 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. "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. Ruff did his best to find out as much about his new partner as he could. We don't take ourselves too seriously but we take true crime very seriously. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theywalkamongus. The news of Kimberlys death saddened her mother deeply. With the help of investigator Joe Velling, he traced the DNA to a family in Pennsylvania. Then, in September 2016, investigators believed they solved the case. Lori's husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. She told them her parents were dead and that she had no living siblings or extended family. About a month afterward, the certificate was used to obtain legal identification in Idaho. Most of these discoveries came from talking to those that she had worked with previously. Ruff gradually acquired more documents in her new name, including a Social Security number. 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 became distressed due to her parents divorce. She parked her car, left it running, and shot herself. Loris husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. Photo Credit: Alchetron. The only person in attendance at their wedding ceremony, held in a church outside Dallas, was the officiating preacher. This has led investigators to believe that Ruff was much older than she claimed to be. 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. It took hard work on the part of investigators and some unique forensic genealogy for the truth to come out. In 1989, her new identity was completed with a Texas drivers license. She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. When Lori Erica Kennedy took her own life, she left behind evidence that she'd stolen another's identity. However, Perkins has no memory of the woman, and there were no matches for the woman in fingerprint and facial recognition databases. I find her case fascinating, especially in a post-9/11 world where there are so many avenues for identifying individuals. At the time, a request of this nature was hardly unusual. "My God, that's Kimberly!," one Pennsylvania relative exclaimed, the Seattle Times reported. 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. And, why had she changed her identity and hid her past from those closest to her? 1,529 likes. However, according to records, Becky Sue Turner asphyxiated in a house fire when she was just 2 years old. [3], In 2003, she met Blake Ruff, the son of a well-established family in East Texas,[2][3] in a Bible study class. Les currently resides in London and is a freelance writer with a long standing passion for the unexplained and paranormal. However, several weeks after getting the new identification, Becky legally changed her identity to Lori Erica Kennedy in Dallas. 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. Ruff did his best to find out as much about his new partner as he could. True Crime. They married and had a daughter together. 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. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. However, the Mclean family now has a granddaughter who offers a glimpse of their beloved Kimberly. Market data provided by Factset. Southern charm is attempted but southern sass is bountiful. But nobody in the world knew Lori Erica Ruff. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices. 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. Lori kept to herself, rarely speaking Finally, in 2008, the pair had a daughter, conceived with in vitro fertilization. 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. Pic credit: Family pic. She was sending deranged emails to the Ruffs. They looked for signs of gambling addiction and sex trafficking. Lori didnt take this at all well. Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number a move that effectively erased her past. 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). Ruff gradually acquired more documents in her new name, including a Social Security number. Related: The Strange Case of the Isdal Woman. In life, Lori hadwarnedhimto stay away from it. Or, Lori Erika Kennedy? She didnt even allow the publication of the announcement of their nuptials in the local newspaper either. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. But to a dogged federal investigator, she is "Jane Doe," a Texas mother who killed herself three years ago in her famil. 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. 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. She enrolled at Dallas County Community College in the fall of 1990 and eventually graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a business administration degree in 1997. [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. [1] After two years, Fitzpatrick finally identified Ruff when she discovered a third cousin match who was related to the Cassidys. Such things have happened in other cases, and are often traumatic events. She had brown hair and hazel eyes. She also took a birth date of July 18, 1969. or redistributed. In 2016, she was identified as. All rights reserved. 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. Lori Erica Ruff. [6], After getting married, the Ruffs moved to Leonard, Texas. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. 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. 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. But this could have simply been a number picked for convenience purposes only. Hosts Mike Ferguson and Mike Gibson guide you through the most interesting true crime stories. 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. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. 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. Additionally, she displayed many asocial behaviors, such as leaving social gatherings to take naps. 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. 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 . Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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.. The contents of this safe put into sharp focus everything that Blake thought he knew about Lori 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 then discovered the lock box in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. Before 1988, Lori Erica Kennedy simply did not exist. [3], After getting married, the Ruffs moved to Leonard, Texas. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Lori Erica Ruff. In 1986, Kimberly McLean ran away from her home at the age of 18. Was she Lori Erica Ruff? 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. Everyone in Dallas has an accent and she did not. Various identification cards of Lori Ruff (AKA: Kimberly McLean) retrieved from the Social Security Administration. Nancy said it was like that all afternoon she asked questions, and Lori provided evasive answers. He noticed the car and called the police. 2021 Emash Digital & Mike Ferguson, Mike Morford. Blake was caught in the middle, and eventually he couldn't take it anymore. In addition, there were no matches for the woman in any existing fingerprint and facial recognition databases. But Blake was in love. 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. She and her young daughter had visibly lost weight. She then moved to Idaho and procured a drivers license using the deceased girls birth certificate. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. 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 After marrying, the couple moved away from the senior Ruffs, who lived in eastern Texas, settling in Leonard, Texas, in the southwestern region. 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. 2021 Wondery LLC. Blake admitted knowledge of the box. And, with the child, Lori's behavior became even more erratic. 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? When contacted, however, Perkins stated that he had never heard of Becky Sue Turner or Lori Kennedy. It is one thing to suspect Lori Erica Ruff of being a simple identity thief, but it is another thing to understand why. 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. Both fingerprints and DNA testing turned up nothing to help get to the bottom of her true identity. Watch 48 Hours Saturday 10/9c on CBS and Paramount+ and hear all new episodes every Sunday. 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. [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. After several months living as Becky Sue Turner, she legally changed her name to Lori Kennedy. The letter failed to mention crucial details such what was her role and responsibilities. Then, in September 2016, the case of Lori Erica Ruff was finally solved: her real name wasKimberly McLean. 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. ", "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? All rights reserved. Prior to marrying Blake, Loriwas known as Lori Erica Kennedy. [8] Other papers included the birth certificate of Becky Sue Turner and a judge's ruling granting a name change to Lori Erica Kennedy. In 2003 McLean met Jon Blakely "Blake" Ruff, the son of a socially prominent family in East Texas,[8][6] in a Bible study class. She was overly protective, and she refused to let other people hold their daughter. Lori definitely was not who she portrayed herself to be, so who was she? Join Jim Clemente (former FBI profiler), Laura Richards (criminal behavioral analyst, former New Scotland Yard) and Lisa Zambetti (Casting director for CBS' Criminal Minds) as they profile behavior from real criminal cases. She received a Texas driver license in 1989 and qualified for a GED[8] the following year. Blake had enough with her inability to get along with his family. Her father-in-law discovered her body inside Blakes car. Lori Ruffs handwritten notes. 2010 42- , . Be the first to contribute! Little Beckywas just two years old when she diedin a house fire outside of Seattle, Washington in 1971. Due to her off-putting[opinion][clarification needed], secretive[citation needed] behavior, she clashed with her husband's family, and her marriage eventually collapsed. 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. 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. We now need to revise that list to seven, since one of those mysteries has now been solved.