However, over time he began to get the impression that he was the only one trying to make their marriage work. All rights reserved. Yes! 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. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. True identity of Lori Ruff revealed six years after she committed In his spare time he enjoys astronomy and Xboxing. 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 other had dates and the letters D and M on it. She was above average height at 5feet 10inches (1.78m) tall, and weighed 160 pounds (73kg). Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. I think she was born sometime between 1960 and 1968., Records gathered by Velling provide tantalizing clues. ", "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? 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. The Varangians: Viking Conquerors turned Byzantium Honor Guard, The Secret Necropolis of Ancient Varna and the First Goldsmiths. In 2010, he moved back across the state to live with his parents. This led investigators to believe that Ruff was older than she claimed, although the difference turned out to be less than a year. Within the next two years, she . But nobody in the world knew Lori Erica Ruff. The only person in attendance at their wedding ceremony, held in a church outside Dallas, was the officiating preacher. The tension between the Ruffs continued to grow as the new grandparents were rebuffed from visits. Lori Erica Ruff (Podcast Episode 2021) - Plot Summary - IMDb [3], The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. And she was aggressive about it, Velling said. It's a big Universe full of wonders. [2] She would also obsessively track the Ruffs' family history and try to find out their family recipes, but still refused to talk about her past. Les currently resides in London and is a freelance writer with a long standing passion for the unexplained and paranormal. The only person in attendance was the preacher. Lori would also spend time fidgeting and stare at the palms and back of her hands. Legal Statement. She then moved to Idaho and procured a drivers license using the deceased girls birth certificate. 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. Loris husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. So, it was granted without question. Blake admitted knowledge of the box. Crimelines walks you through true crime events, pairing captivating tales with clear storytelling. 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. 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. The news of Kimberlys death saddened her mother deeply. [1] Despite the questions Blake's family had about Lori, the couple married in January 2004. A week later, she obtained a Social Security number, removing traces of her true identity. At the time of this application, Lori quoted her age as 19. El Sorprendente Caso de Lori Erica Ruff -Documental - YouTube [6], On December 24, 2010, Ruff's body was discovered in her car in the Ruffs' driveway, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. Many of these sessions tended to feature increasingly strange behavior on her part. About a month afterward, the certificate was used to obtain legal identification in Idaho. She was sending deranged emails to the Ruffs. It was in 2010 when events finally took their toll on her. Police also found a curious letter within the safe. However, Perkins has no memory of the woman, and there were no matches for the woman in fingerprint and facial recognition databases. On Monday though, Lori. Perhaps because of these miscarriages, Lori was ultra-protective of her daughter. When Blake met Lori, she went by the name of "Lori Erica Kennedy." To give you the best possible experience, this site uses cookies. In 2013, a nuclear-physicist-turned-forensic genealogist Collen Fitzpatrick worked on Ruffs case and new details emerged about her past. [1], Fitzpatrick informed Joe Velling, who had in the meantime retired from the SSA. 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. Con Erica Peeples, Tiffany Black, Sean Patrick Thomas, Chris Sakyi. Early on Christmas Eve, Lori drove over to the Ruff house. While the hotel was genuine and a favored haunt of numerous celebrities, there was no trace of the author. However, several weeks after getting the new identification, Becky legally changed her identity to Lori Erica Kennedy in Dallas. NY Daily News 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. 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. [7] She eventually gave birth to a baby girl via in vitro fertilisation in 2008. When contacted, however, Perkins stated that he had never heard of Becky Sue Turner or Lori Kennedy. 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 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. 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. 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. When asked about her background,Lori was guarded and evasive; she claimed her parents were dead and she had no siblings. 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. 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. It took hard work on the part of investigators and some unique forensic genealogy for the truth to come out. Legal Statement. Among the various documents was a certificate indicating that Lori Kennedy had changed her name from Becky Sue Turner. Lori Erica Ruff - Wikipedia Related: A Killer Calls: The Unsolved Murder of Dorothy Jane Scott. A neighbor recalled that she and her daughter appeared to be undernourished and that Lori would often ramble incoherently to herself while pacing back and forth outside. All rights reserved. Lori Ruff & The Dark Secret She Hid From Everyone - YouTube It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. [3], In 2003, she met Blake Ruff, the son of a well-established family in East Texas,[2][3] in a Bible study class. 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. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Shortly after marrying Ruff, Jane Doe tried repeatedly to conceive a child of her own with much difficulty, according to Velling. Lori acquired Becky Turners birth certificate in 1988. [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]. ", "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. [1] After two years, Fitzpatrick finally identified Ruff when she discovered a third cousin match who was related to the Cassidys. Upon opening the container, Blakediscovered why: Inside was a birth certificate and IDs belonging to several different people. 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. Southern charm is attempted but southern sass is bountiful. One was for her daughter. DNA taken from the body might also help crack the case. The local police department began a routine investigation and quickly found a safe at the bottom of a closet. 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. Investigation Discovery's ' Where Murder Lies: The Girl in the Lockbox' chronicles the story behind Lori Ruff's past. Whomever she was, the woman Blake knew as Lori Ruff was not who she claimed to be. 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. 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. 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. Related: Lady of the Dunes: Was the Unidentified Cape Cod Murder Victim an Extra in Jaws? After her death, Lori's husband found a lockbox with papers inside that shed light on his wife's past. 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. When a woman known as Lori Erica Ruff died in Texas three years ago, she left behind a mystery that has investigators baffled. Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the mysterious Lori Erica Ruff. To her husband, she was Lori Kennedy. 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. I find her case fascinating, especially in a post-9/11 world where there are so many avenues for identifying individuals. Velling traveled to the city and approached a member of the Cassidy family, who saw Loris drivers license photo. [3], On Christmas Eve 2010, Ruff's body was discovered in her car in the Ruffs' driveway, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. Pic credit: Family pic. Blake's parents were suspicious of Lori right from the beginning. Blake Ruff married the woman he had known asLori in2004. 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. I also want to get Early Bird Books newsletter featuring book deals, recommendations, and giveaways. (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.) When given the chance for an extravagant and lavish wedding day to remember, Lori declined the offer. And, why had she changed her identity and hid her past from those closest to her? He noticed the car and called the police. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Blake's mom, Nancy Ruff, described facing a stone wall. 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. 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. And when asked about her days in high school, she said she skipped it and went straight to college. According to Deannes brother, Tom, Kimberly grew irate after her mother and father separated in the 1980s. Her mothers remarriage didnt help either and she told her family she was going away. or redistributed. This has led investigators to believe that Ruff was much older than she claimed to be. Lori Erica Ruff and Her Various Identities - Historic Mysteries Want more real-life mysteries?