The writings on the paper found in the lock box included the scribblings "North Hollywood police," "402 months," and "Ben Perkins." Lori began to complain to Blake about his parents whenever she was even mildly inconvenienced. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. It is one thing to suspect Lori Erica Ruff of being a simple identity thief, but it is another thing to understand why. All rights reserved. [6], Ruff was "extremely protective" of her daughter, often refusing to let anyone else hold her and even taking the baby with her to use the bathroom. According to the Seattle Times, a crowd-sourced investigation into Ruffs background began after the paper ran a story on her in 2013. 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. Lori Erica Ruff The Generation Why Podcast. The other had dates and the letters D and M on it. Lori refused to allow anyone else to babysit her child. Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was 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). The tall and slender brunette met Ruff at a bible study group and introduced herself as Lori Kennedy. Related: The Strange Case of the Isdal Woman. 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.. Lori Erica Ruff's true identity was Kimberly McLean. Early on Christmas Eve, Lori drove over to the Ruff house. Lori Erica Ruff went by many names. Within the next two years, she . A week later, she obtained a Social Security number, removing traces of her true identity. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. 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." 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. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. It had the instructions to open on her 18th birthday. After her death, Lori's husband found a lockbox with papers inside that shed light on his wife's past. And, why had she changed her identity and hid her past from those closest to her? The woman told doctors in 2005 that she was 35 a claim Velling doubts. But nobody in the world knew Lori Erica Ruff. Using a DNA analysis from Ruffs daughter, investigators were able to trace Ruffs identity back to a family in Pennsylvania, whose daughter had disappeared in 1986, when she was 17. Within a few months of Blake moving out, Lori had completely deteriorated. Before she took her own life with a shotgun, Lori placed a pair of letters inside the car. This led investigators to believe that Ruff was older than she claimed, although the difference turned out to be less than a year. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. El Sorprendente Caso de Lori Erica Ruff -Documental - YouTube 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. [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]. However, several weeks after getting the new identification, Becky legally changed her identity to Lori Erica Kennedy in Dallas. [6], After getting married, the Ruffs moved to Leonard, Texas. Related: A Killer Calls: The Unsolved Murder of Dorothy Jane Scott. And she may have even attempted to break into the family's home, according to the Seattle Times. One of these had notes written and a collection of phone numbers and names. Sources Join Mike and Morf as they discuss the mysterious Lori Erica Ruff. After Lori Erica Ruff's death, Blake Ruff realized his wife was a complete stranger. The Strange Life and Death of Lori Erica Ruff 2009-2021 Historic Mysteries. 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. Henceforth, Lori would be known as Lori Erica Ruff. or redistributed. This is a true crime podcast that spares none of the details and delves into what makes these killers tick. 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. 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. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Image: http://reallifeishorror.blogspot.co.uk/. 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. [1] Velling approached a relative, who immediately identified the deceased Lori Ruff as Kimberly McLean.[1]. [3], After getting married, the Ruffs moved to Leonard, Texas. They tried several times to have a child, but had trouble conceiving and suffered multiple miscarriages. One of television's most popular true-crime series adapted for your ears. The house belonged . Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff, was an American identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. To her husband, she was Lori Kennedy. On Christmas Eve 2010, the body of 42-year-old Lori Erica Ruff was found in a car parked outside the Ruff family home in Longview, Texas. But to a dogged federal investigator, she is "Jane Doe," a Texas mother who killed herself three years ago in her famil. She was much older than that, he said. [1] She eventually graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1997, with a degree in Business Administration. 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. Blake admitted knowledge of the box. Although Blakes family was suspicious of Lori from the beginning, Blake himself was very much in love. She suffered a miscarriage before eventually giving birth to a baby girl in 2008. She wasnt Lori Erica Ruffshe was a Pennsylvania woman named Kimberly McLean. [7] The couple eloped in January 2004 after Nancy Ruff, Blake's mother, inquired about placing a wedding announcement in the local newspaper. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. The truth of Ruff's deception only came to light after she committed suicide, and some determined investigators began looking into . The harassment was so severe that the Ruffs were planning to file a cease and desist order just before Lori's death. Sometime later, Blake's father left the house to pick up the paper. In 2013, a nuclear-physicist-turned-forensic genealogist Collen Fitzpatrick worked on Ruffs case and new details emerged about her past. She told them her parents were dead and that she had no living siblings or extended family. We now need to revise that list to seven, since one of those mysteries has now been solved. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices. At the time of this application, Lori quoted her age as 19. The request was made in Bakersfield, California. 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. [7] She eventually gave birth to a baby girl via in vitro fertilisation in 2008. It took hard work on the part of investigators and some unique forensic genealogy for the truth to come out. When Blake met Lori, she went by the name of "Lori Erica Kennedy." Also found in the lock box was a paper with several seemingly random scribblings.[6]. 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. At the time, a request of this nature was hardly unusual. Where is the Body of the Legendary King Gorm of Denmark. His wifewas not who she claimed to be. The contents of this safe put into sharp focus everything that Blake thought he knew about 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. Or, maybe she was none of them. 2021 Wondery LLC. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. The Bizarre Truth About Lori Ruff, The Woman Without An Identity The house was in total shambles. RedHanded the podcast jumps head first into all manner of macabre madness. Most of these discoveries came from talking to those that she had worked with previously. 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 Criminology: Lori Erica Ruff on Apple Podcasts Legal Statement. Market data provided by Factset. Lori Erica Ruff and Her Various Identities - Historic Mysteries She was overly protective, and she refused to let other people hold their daughter. There were no dates and the letter itself was a little vague. True Crime. [8] Other papers included the birth certificate of Becky Sue Turner and a judge's ruling granting a name change to Lori Erica Kennedy. According to Deannes brother, Tom, Kimberly grew irate after her mother and father separated in the 1980s. 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. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. 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. 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. She didnt even allow the publication of the announcement of their nuptials in the local newspaper either. Then, in September 2016, the case of Lori Erica Ruff was finally solved: her real name wasKimberly McLean. Who was she? 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. In 2016, she was identified as. The news of Kimberlys death saddened her mother deeply. 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. On the West Coast, we generally dont have a discernible accent, said Velling, a Seattle native. Her father-in-law discovered her body inside Blakes car. Crimelines walks you through true crime events, pairing captivating tales with clear storytelling. 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. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies. Sign up for The Lineup's newsletter, and receive our eeriest cases delivered straight to your inbox. Blake's mom, Nancy Ruff, described facing a stone wall. Her student loan applications listed three references, one of whom was a former classmate she had briefly dated.