The writings on the paper found in the lock box included the scribblings "North Hollywood police," "402 months," and "Ben Perkins." 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. For several years, nobody suspected anything. This has led investigators to believe that Ruff was much older than she claimed to be. Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. Nancy said it was like that all afternoon she asked questions, and Lori provided evasive answers. 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. The tall and slender brunette met Ruff at a bible study group and introduced herself as Lori Kennedy. Lori Erica Kennedy / Lori Ruff - Identified. The grieving husbandrecognized the box. Photo Credit: Alchetron. He noticed the car and called the police. Lori Ruff | Unidentified Wiki | Fandom 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). 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 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. Lori and Blake tried to have a child almost immediately after they were married, but found themselves experiencing fertility issues. Four years filled with miscarriages and disappointments passed. Numerous theories regarding her identity can be found on various internet websites. 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. The house belonged . 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. [6], After getting married, the Ruffs moved to Leonard, Texas. 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. The trail leading backwards was in the forbidden lockbox. There were two other pieces of paper. Investigators then began to search of hertrue identitya process that would take six years to complete. After following numerous leads he was stumped, and sought the help of the general public to identify her through an article published June 22, 2013, in The Seattle Times. The Bat Bombs of WWII: Presidentially Approved, Totally Anna Anderson: Imposter of Duchess Anastasia, End of the World Predictions that Never Happened. Lori attended the University of Texas regularly and graduated with a business administration degree in 1997. [3], The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. 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. [7] She eventually gave birth to a baby girl via in vitro fertilisation in 2008. She told them her parents were dead and that she had no living siblings or extended family. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices. 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 . On Monday though, Lori. When contacted, however, Perkins stated that he had never heard of Becky Sue Turner or Lori Kennedy. 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 began to complain to Blake about his parents whenever she was even mildly inconvenienced. This page was last modified on 5 May 2016, at 17:33. [1] He flew to Pennsylvania to meet the potential family. The Strange Life and Death of Lori Erica Ruff 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." Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/theywalkamongus. Shortly after marrying Ruff, Jane Doe tried repeatedly to conceive a child of her own with much difficulty, according to Velling. She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Nothing. But Blake was in love. Most of these discoveries came from talking to those that she had worked with previously. The letter failed to mention crucial details such what was her role and responsibilities. However, according to records, Becky Sue Turner asphyxiated in a house fire when she was just 2 years old. Also found in the lock box was a paper with several seemingly random scribblings.[6]. When a woman known as Lori Erica Ruff died in Texas three years ago, she left behind a mystery that has investigators baffled. Lori Erica Ruff. In 2010, he moved back in with his parents and filed for divorce. To her husband, she was Lori Kennedy. She obtained this identity via a girl named Becky Sue Turner, who died in 1971 in a house fire near Seattle, Washington. IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA Notice, This website uses cookies to improve your experience. 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. Lori Erica Ruff: The Perplexing Mystery of the Woman - The Lineup ", "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. Prior to that, she was known as Becky Sue Turner, an identity forged with the birth certificate of a long-dead child. [6] The Ruffs opened and read the letter, but it contained only "ramblings from a clearly disturbed person" and no details about Lori's past. By the time Blake Ruff's wife died, he realized he didn't know her at all. Then, in September 2016, the case of Lori Erica Ruff was finally solved: her real name wasKimberly McLean. During all of this, Blake continued in his efforts to pry more details from the mother of his baby. To her husband, she was Lori Kennedy. The Bizarre Truth About Lori Ruff, The Woman Without An Identity. She wasn't Lori Erica Ruffshe was a Pennsylvania woman named Kimberly McLean. She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. If Lori was trying to escape her past, then it could explain her reluctance for publicity. 2021 Wondery LLC. Eager to meet her, the family invited her to lunch. All rights reserved. Upon opening the container, Blakediscovered why: Inside was a birth certificate and IDs belonging to several different people. [1], Fitzpatrick informed Joe Velling, who had in the meantime retired from the SSA. Hosts Mike Ferguson and Mike Gibson guide you through the most interesting true crime stories. Prior to marrying Blake, Loriwas known as Lori Erica Kennedy. [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. When Blake met Lori, she went by the name of "Lori Erica Kennedy." Lori Erica Ruff was the alias of an unidentified American woman and identity thief who committed suicide on December 24, 2010 in Longview, Texas. Con Erica Peeples, Tiffany Black, Sean Patrick Thomas, Chris Sakyi. Anyone with credible tips on this case is urged to email this reporter at cristina.corbin@foxnews.com. She obtained a Texas drivers license in 1989, listing her age as 19. Buried deep in the back of Lori's closet, Blake pulled out a sealed lockbox. 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. Or at least they should. After several miscarriages, the couple finally had a daughter in 2008. Legal Statement. 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. 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. The two moved to Leonard, about 60 miles northeast of Dallas and roughly 125 miles from Ruffs parents in Longview. Join us for a good mix of lesser known cases as well as our take on what we call the "Big Timers". 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. True identity of Lori Ruff revealed six years after she committed It was in 2010 when events finally took their toll on her. Dismayed by having to move and attend a new school, she told Deanne shed be leaving for good. She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. 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. 1,529 likes. 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. The family tried everything to find her but she changed her name and location regularly, making it difficult for Kimberlys family to find her. 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. 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. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Blake Ruff has admitted that he isn't completely sure what drew him to Lori. According to Deannes brother, Tom, Kimberly grew irate after her mother and father separated in the 1980s. 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 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. 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. Blake's parents were suspicious of Lori right from the beginning. Also found in the lockbox was a paper with several seemingly random scribblings. Knowing the identity of the third cousin led her to Ruff's identity. I also want to get the Early Bird Books newsletter featuring great deals on ebooks. Lori Erica Ruff Kept Her Past Locked Up in a Secret Safe Blake Ruff thought he had found someone special. Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was The Minds of Madness - True Crime Stories. Authorities inspected both letters, which they described asramblings from a clearly disturbed person.They contained no reference toLoris life as an identity thief, nor a confession of her trueidentity. "My God, that's Kimberly!," one Pennsylvania relative exclaimed, the Seattle Times reported. While the hotel was genuine and a favored haunt of numerous celebrities, there was no trace of the author. 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. ruff in - Translation into Russian - examples English | Reverso Context All rights reserved. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Lori's husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. Host Charlie brings in appropriate historic and cultural context to look beyond what happened and consider why it happened. When Lori Erica Kennedy took her own life, she left behind evidence that she'd stolen another's identity. Unfortunately, it looks like Lori took all of her secrets to the grave. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Who was she? DNA taken from the body might also help crack the case. El Sorprendente Caso de Lori Erica Ruff -Documental - YouTube One of these had notes written and a collection of phone numbers and names. Lori Erica Ruff's true identity was Kimberly McLean. It is one thing to suspect Lori Erica Ruff of being a simple identity thief, but it is another thing to understand why. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. He found a birth certificate for one person that wasn't her. Various identification cards of Lori Ruff (AKA: Kimberly McLean) retrieved from the Social Security Administration. Yes! Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff, was an American identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. Whomever she was, the woman Blake knew as Lori Ruff was not who she claimed to be. And she may have even attempted to break into the family's home, according to the Seattle Times. One of television's most popular true-crime series adapted for your ears. The local police department began a routine investigation and quickly found a safe at the bottom of a closet. 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. Investigation Discovery's ' Where Murder Lies: The Girl in the Lockbox' chronicles the story behind Lori Ruff's past. [1] She then traveled to Idaho, where she obtained a state ID card on June 16 using the girl's birth certificate.[2]. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. It was signed by a man called Roger Steinbeck. After her death, her husband and his family found the evidence of her falsified identity in a lock box in her closet. 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. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the mysterious Lori Erica Ruff. It wasnt until the Ruffs found a safebox hidden inside their daughter-in-laws bedroom closet that showed the woman wasnt who she had claimed to be. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Lori Erica Ruff The Generation Why Podcast. A friend of the family verified that Becky Sue Turner had died in a house fire at the age of 2. 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 Bizarre Truth About Lori Ruff, The Woman Without An Identity Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Ruff did his best to find out as much about his new partner as he could. True Crime. The only person in attendance was the preacher. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. In July 1988, she moved to Dallas, where, according to court documents, she legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. There were no dates and the letter itself was a little vague. In his spare time he enjoys astronomy and Xboxing. Blake Ruff thought he had found someone special. 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. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of streaming providers. She wasnt Lori Erica Ruffshe was a Pennsylvania woman named Kimberly McLean. 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. Police also found a curious letter within the safe. She was never too keen to go into further detail. Blake and Lori married in 2004the only witness to their marriage was the priest. [8] Other papers included the birth certificate of Becky Sue Turner and a judge's ruling granting a name change to Lori Erica Kennedy. 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. Find a Grave Or, Lori Erika Kennedy? Lori Ruff & The Dark Secret She Hid From Everyone - YouTube Lori Erica Ruff (Podcast Episode 2021) - Plot Summary - IMDb The only person in attendance at their wedding ceremony, held in a church outside Dallas, was the officiating preacher. 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. After they married, Lori and Blake moved across the state from his parents, and they tried to have a child almost immediately. McLean also asked them not to come after her. Then, in September 2016, investigators believed they solved the case. And when asked about her days in high school, she said she skipped it and went straight to college. Related: Jeffrey Alan Lash: His Remarkable Mystery. Loris husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. Yes! 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 Lori Erica Ruff - Wikipedia [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. The woman told doctors in 2005 that she was 35 a claim Velling doubts. "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. Many of these sessions tended to feature increasingly strange behavior on her part. Authorities believe she initially traveled to the home with the intent of harming the family.[6]. They tried several times to have a child, but had trouble conceiving and suffered multiple miscarriages. However, the Mclean family now has a granddaughter who offers a glimpse of their beloved Kimberly. This is a true crime podcast that spares none of the details and delves into what makes these killers tick. 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. The pair set up a home together and tried to start a family. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. His wifewas not who she claimed to be. 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. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. A neighbor recalled that she and her daughter appeared to be very thin and that Lori would often ramble incoherently about her problems. Velling traveled to the city and approached a member of the Cassidy family, who saw Loris drivers license photo. 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. The house was in total shambles. Lori Erica Ruff went by many names. [4] She also said her father was a failed stockbroker. 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. She was overly protective, and she refused to let other people hold their daughter. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Lori Erica Ruff Criminology podcast