On the West Coast, we generally dont have a discernible accent, said Velling, a Seattle native. After she died, her ex-husband's family discovered a lockbox in a closet in her home. 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. Con Erica Peeples, Tiffany Black, Sean Patrick Thomas, Chris Sakyi. The woman told doctors in 2005 that she was 35 a claim Velling doubts. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. El Sorprendente Caso de Lori Erica Ruff -Documental - YouTube 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. 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. Others, including a private detective, tasked with finding out more about her, consider that an incident in her past concerned her sufficiently to create an entirely new identity. Lori definitely was not who she portrayed herself to be, so who was she? When contacted, however, Perkins stated that he had never heard of Becky Sue Turner or Lori Kennedy. The Strange Life and Death of Lori Erica Ruff On Monday though, Lori. In 2013, a nuclear-physicist-turned-forensic genealogist Collen Fitzpatrick worked on Ruffs case and new details emerged about her past. Shortly after marrying Ruff, Jane Doe tried repeatedly to conceive a child of her own with much difficulty, according to Velling. They believed she fled because she did not like her mothers new husband. When Lori Erica Kennedy took her own life, she left behind evidence that she'd stolen another's identity. [5], From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core, "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? After she died, her ex-husband's family discovered a lockbox in a closet in her home. RedHanded the podcast jumps head first into all manner of macabre madness. Before 1988, Lori Erica Kennedy simply did not exist. After her death, Lori's husband found a lockbox with papers inside that shed light on his wife's past. Her student loan applications listed three references, one of whom was a former classmate she had briefly dated. Yes! Lori began to complain to Blake about his parents whenever she was even mildly inconvenienced. In 1989, her new identity was completed with a Texas drivers license. McLean also asked them not to come after her. The woman received breast implants in 1991 and claimed to have suffered from bulimia in 1990. 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. Blake's mom, Nancy Ruff, described facing a stone wall. 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. 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. The harassment was so severe that the Ruffs were planning to file a cease and desist order just before Lori's death. Lori Ruffs handwritten notes. Unresolved is an investigative and immersive look at those stories, as host Micheal Whelan tries to determine why these stories - unsolved crimes and other unexplained phenomena - have no ending. Southern charm is attempted but southern sass is bountiful. Lori Erica Ruff. For two years, Social Security investigator Joseph Velling has been working to uncover the real identity of Lori Erica Ruff, who was Lori Erica Kennedy before marrying into an East Texas family in 2004. By the time Blake Ruff's wife died, he realized he didn't know her at all. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. But Blake was in love. This was very sophisticated, Velling said. 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. Lori refused to allow anyone else to babysit her child. After her death, her husband and his family found the evidence of her falsified identity in a lock box in her closet. Most of these discoveries came from talking to those that she had worked with previously. When given the chance for an extravagant and lavish wedding day to remember, Lori declined the offer. 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. Unfortunately, it looks like Lori took all of her secrets to the grave. [1], Fitzpatrick informed Joe Velling, who had in the meantime retired from the SSA. Lori Ruff & The Dark Secret She Hid From Everyone - YouTube Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number - a. Historic Mysteries provides captivating articles on archaeology, history, and unexplained mysteries. [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. DNA taken from the body might also help crack the case. Who Was Lori Ruff: DNA Evidence Sheds Light on Texas Mystery Woman Ruff had a first cousin named Cassidy on her list of matches; however, the name was very common and the cousin was not responsive. Included among theitems was a sealed lockbox buried deep in Loriscloset. After marrying, the couple moved away from the senior Ruffs, who lived in eastern Texas, settling in Leonard, Texas, in the southwestern region. The local police department began a routine investigation and quickly found a safe at the bottom of a closet. How had their marriage fallen apart? And when asked about her days in high school, she said she skipped it and went straight to college. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! There was a birth and death certificate in the box. Lori left behind two suicide notes, one of which was addressed to her husband and the other to her young daughter. Pic credit: Family pic. 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. 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. 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. With the help of investigator Joe Velling, he traced the DNA to a family in Pennsylvania. Lori Erica Ruff was the alias of an unidentified American woman and identity thief who committed suicide on December 24, 2010 in Longview, Texas. Lori Erica Ruff, a Texan who committed suicide in 2010 and left behind a series of puzzling documents hinting that she wasnt who her family thought she was, has now been identified. Both fingerprints and DNA testing turned up nothing to help get to the bottom of her true identity. 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. Lori Erica Ruff's true identity was Kimberly McLean. Among the various documents was a certificate indicating that Lori Kennedy had changed her name from Becky Sue Turner. Blake Ruff has admitted that he isn't completely sure what drew him to Lori. It had the instructions to open on her 18th birthday. When he returned to his parents, he filed for a divorce. Over time the pair grew closer and eventually, they eloped to Dallas. [1] After two years, Fitzpatrick finally identified Ruff when she discovered a third cousin match who was related to the Cassidys. She had brown hair and hazel eyes. In the days that followed, Blake tried to make sense of how things had gone so wrong. Blake had enough with her inability to get along with his family. I find her case fascinating, especially in a post-9/11 world where there are so many avenues for identifying individuals. Fitzpatrick found matching DNA records using saliva samples of Blake and Loris daughter. Investigators then began to search of hertrue identitya process that would take six years to complete. [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]. Loris husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. [1] She eventually gave birth to a baby girl via in-vitro fertilization in 2008. 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. 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. Hosted on Acast. They then discovered the lock box in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. Or, Becky Sue Turner? If you can never get enough true crime Congratulations, youve found your people. Buried deep in the back of Lori's closet, Blake pulled out a sealed lockbox. 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. Legal Statement. 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. To give you the best possible experience, this site uses cookies. But, it didn't happen easily and it took the hard work of a number of people and a little 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. But to a dogged federal investigator, she is "Jane Doe," a Texas mother who killed herself three years ago in her famil. It outlined work that Lori had done for him until 1988. However, over time he began to get the impression that he was the only one trying to make their marriage work. There were no dates and the letter itself was a little vague. [8] Other papers included the birth certificate of Becky Sue Turner and a judge's ruling granting a name change to Lori Erica Kennedy. 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. When Blake met Lori, she went by the name of "Lori Erica Kennedy." [7] The couple eloped in January 2004 after Nancy Ruff, Blake's mother, inquired about placing a wedding announcement in the local newspaper. Also found in the lock box was a paper with several seemingly random scribblings.[6]. Nothing. Join us for a good mix of lesser known cases as well as our take on what we call the "Big Timers". The Generation Why Podcast: Lori Erica Ruff on Apple Podcasts She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. She had told him she was from Arizona, that both her parents were dead, and that she had no siblings. The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. As far as the authorities were concerned, once Blake called them in, she was an identity thief now given the name "Jane Doe.". Many of these sessions tended to feature increasingly strange behavior on her part. This is a true crime podcast that spares none of the details and delves into what makes these killers tick. During all of this, Blake continued in his efforts to pry more details from the mother of his baby. Whomever she was, the woman Blake knew as Lori Ruff was not who she claimed to be. Also found in the lockbox was a paper with several seemingly random scribblings. He found a birth certificate for one person that wasn't her. Lori Erica Ruff: The Perplexing Mystery of the Woman - The Lineup In 1986, Kimberly McLean ran away from her home at the age of 18. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. And she may have even attempted to break into the family's home, according to the Seattle Times. Image: http://reallifeishorror.blogspot.co.uk/. [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. Given some of the comments she made or suggested, she didnt appear to realize why the marriage ended. Yes! Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff, was an American identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. This has led investigators to believe that Ruff was much older than she claimed to be. Marriage is a sacred act between two people that care deeply for one another. Accept Read More, Jeffrey Alan Lash: His Remarkable Mystery. "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 gradually acquired more documents in her new name, including a Social Security number. 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. Velling agreed to help identify her as a case of identify theft.