Whatever the motivation behind one man entering wedlock to one woman, both parties usually do know each other intimately. And she was aggressive about it, Velling said. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. By continuing to browse, you accept the use of cookies and other technologies. 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. She had brown hair and hazel eyes. 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. 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. [citation needed], After Lori's funeral, some of the Ruffs drove to Leonard to see if they could find out more about her in her house. [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]. Historic Mysteries is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. [7] The couple eloped in January 2004 after Nancy Ruff, Blake's mother, inquired about placing a wedding announcement in the local newspaper. 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. In 2010, he moved back across the state to live with his parents. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Plot Summary submission guide. [6], After getting married, the Ruffs moved to Leonard, Texas. 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. Lori Erica Ruff The Generation Why Podcast. Before she took her own life with a shotgun, Lori placed a pair of letters inside the car. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. By changing her name, she created a clean identity a person with no past.. Velling traveled to the city and approached a member of the Cassidy family, who saw Loris drivers license photo. Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Les currently resides in London and is a freelance writer with a long standing passion for the unexplained and paranormal. These secrets Lori Ruff had kept from even her husband, Blake Ruff, and his family. Pic credit: Family pic. It was either she or his family, and he chose his family, Velling said. She must now fight to clear her name and figure out who betrayed her husband. Fitzpatrick found matching DNA records using saliva samples of Blake and Loris daughter. 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. 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. Market data provided by Factset. Signup to sync subscriptions across devices. 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. Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number - a. Related: Girl in the Green Mac: The Baffling, Unsolved Disappearance of Sheila Fox. I find her case fascinating, especially in a post-9/11 world where there are so many avenues for identifying individuals. [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. Lori Erica Ruff (Podcast Episode 2021) - Plot Summary - IMDb 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. 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. Lori definitely was not who she portrayed herself to be, so who was she? 2010 42- , . McLean also asked them not to come after her. El Sorprendente Caso de Lori Erica Ruff -Documental - YouTube The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. When asked about her background,Lori was guarded and evasive; she claimed her parents were dead and she had no siblings. Lori's husband, Blake Ruff, was devastated. A friend of the family verified that Becky Sue Turner had died in a house fire at the age of 2. 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. "Criminology" Lori Erica Ruff (Podcast Episode 2021) - IMDb 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Synopsis 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. She arrived at this identity by way of a girl named Becky Sue Turner. He filed for divorce a short time later. Lori acquired Becky Turners birth certificate in 1988. Prior to marrying Blake, Loriwas known as Lori Erica Kennedy. 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. McLean requested the birth certificate in Bakersfield, California, Becky Sue Turner's birthplace. This was very sophisticated, Velling said. She was overly protective, and she refused to let other people hold their daughter. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff, was an American identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. Within the next two years, she . She told them her parents were dead and that she had no living siblings or extended family. His recollection was that she was a dancer at a Dallas-area nightclub at the time [she was attending school], Velling said. Lori Erica Kennedy / Lori Ruff - Identified - Facebook Mother and child spent a lot of time together, which is normal for such a doting mother. The grieving husbandrecognized the box. Lori Erica Ruff Suicide Is 3 Years Later Still A Mystery In Texas Marriage is a sacred act between two people that care deeply for one another. She obtained this identity via a girl named Becky Sue Turner, who died in 1971 in a house fire near Seattle, Washington. It is generally believed that a new identity was already being considered either for herself or others. This is a true crime podcast that spares none of the details and delves into what makes these killers tick. [6], On December 24, 2010, Ruff's body was discovered in her car in the Ruffs' driveway, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. For the next couple of years, Blake worked on all aspects of the marriage. She parked her car, left it running, and shot herself. Both fingerprints and DNA testing turned up nothing to help get to the bottom of her true identity. She was much older than that, he said. Lori began to complain to Blake about his parents whenever she was even mildly inconvenienced. The local police department began a routine investigation and quickly found a safe at the bottom of a closet. The family members identified the picture of the mystery woman as Kimberly Mclean. She wasn't Lori Erica Ruffshe was a Pennsylvania woman named Kimberly McLean. She wasnt Lori Erica Ruffshe was a Pennsylvania woman named Kimberly McLean. When given the chance for an extravagant and lavish wedding day to remember, Lori declined the offer. While the hotel was genuine and a favored haunt of numerous celebrities, there was no trace of the author. You can help support the show at patreon.com/criminology, Learn more about your ad choices. However, it was written on hotel stationery from Bangkok, Thailand. 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. 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. In the box, which she told her husband never to touch, were all the documents exposing her elaborate ruse the paperwork showing the name change and the application for a Social Security number, among other receipts. To her husband, she was Lori Kennedy. 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. They then discovered the lockbox in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. 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. The Bizarre Truth About Lori Ruff, The Woman Without An Identity Hersuicide cameafter Blake had filed fordivorce and moved back in with his parents. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Blake admitted knowledge of the box. The writings on the paper found in the lock box included the scribblings "North Hollywood police," "402 months," and "Ben Perkins." Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Blake's parents were suspicious of Lori right from the beginning. Lori Erica Ruff and Her Various Identities - Historic Mysteries Erica Kelley is a native Tennessean exploring historical and contemporary true crime in the South. As far as the police officers could tell, Lori never traveled abroad before 1990, as there is no passport with that name. 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. Sources Lori Erica Ruff Criminology podcast She and her young daughter had visibly lost weight. At the time, a request of this nature was hardly unusual. She died by suicide in the driveway of her former in-laws' home in Longview, Texas, on Christmas Eve 2010. 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. DNA taken from the body might also help crack the case. Market data provided by Factset. After Lori Erica Ruff's death, Blake Ruff realized his wife was a complete stranger. [1][10] Fitzpatrick had Ruff's husband and daughter tested by a direct-to-consumer testing company, through which she was able to obtain Ruff's DNA results using genetic genealogy phasing techniques, which essentially subtracted Blake Ruff's DNA from Lori's. Host Charlie brings in appropriate historic and cultural context to look beyond what happened and consider why it happened. In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. It was signed by a man called Roger Steinbeck. Or at least they should. Sign up for The Lineup's newsletter, and receive our eeriest cases delivered straight to your inbox. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff (October 16, 1968-December 24, 2010), was an identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. 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. [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. 2021 Wondery LLC. But Lori tragically died by suicide just before Christmas in 2010. After the birth of their daughter, Lori's behavior became increasingly strange. Or, Lori Erika Kennedy? Ruff described her as being incredibly secretive, particularly regarding her past. We don't take ourselves too seriously but we take true crime very seriously. She wanted to live in her little cocoon.. Henceforth, Lori would be known as Lori Erica Ruff. Perhaps because of these miscarriages, Lori was ultra-protective of her daughter. Strange life of identity thief Lori Ruff, aka Kimberly McLean Lori Ruff & The Dark Secret She Hid From Everyone - YouTube 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. [1] After two years, Fitzpatrick finally identified Ruff when she discovered a third cousin match who was related to the Cassidys. Before 1988, Lori Erica Kennedy simply did not exist. They believed she fled because she did not like her mothers new husband. The other was for Blake. The tension between the Ruffs continued to grow as the new grandparents were rebuffed from visits. If Lori was trying to escape her past, then it could explain her reluctance for publicity. Dismayed by having to move and attend a new school, she told Deanne shed be leaving for good. Knowing the identity of the third cousin led her to Ruff's identity. She left behind an 11-page suicide note but apparently no clue that she had lived a secret life. In the days following her death, he began the grim task of sorting . This led investigators to believe that Ruff was older than she claimed, although the difference turned out to be less than a year. Blake and Lori married in 2004the only witness to their marriage was the priest. 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. It did. Blake was caught in the middle, and eventually he couldn't take it anymore. Ruff did his best to find out as much about his new partner as he could. About: Lori Erica Ruff - dbpedia.org It was under this new assumed name that sheeventually moved to the Dallas area, where she met andmarried Blake Ruff. I also want to get the Early Bird Books newsletter featuring great deals on ebooks. They looked for signs of gambling addiction and sex trafficking. Related: Lady of the Dunes: Was the Unidentified Cape Cod Murder Victim an Extra in Jaws? I think she was born sometime between 1960 and 1968., Records gathered by Velling provide tantalizing clues. Lori met her future husband, Blake, in 2003. 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 - Top podcast episodes After earning a GED and a college degree, she married into a wealthy East Texas family and gave birth to a daughter. But to a dogged federal investigator, she is "Jane Doe," a Texas mother who killed herself three years ago in her famil. [2], In the months between the separation and Lori's suicide, she behaved very erratically. She refused to let other people hold the child and was overly protective, even for a first-time mother. In 2013, a nuclear-physicist-turned-forensic genealogist Collen Fitzpatrick worked on Ruffs case and new details emerged about her past. Anyone with credible tips on this case is urged to email this reporter at cristina.corbin@foxnews.com. Nothing. When a woman known as Lori Erica Ruff died in Texas three years ago, she left behind a mystery that has investigators baffled. She would regularly be seen with her in some of her favorite tea shops. A neighbor recalled that she and her daughter appeared to be very thin and that Lori would often ramble incoherently about her problems. In addition, there were no matches for the woman in any existing fingerprint and facial recognition databases. 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. [1] She then traveled to Idaho, where she obtained a state ID card on June 16 using the girl's birth certificate.[2]. The two moved to Leonard, about 60 miles northeast of Dallas and roughly 125 miles from Ruffs parents in Longview. 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. After marrying, the couple moved away from the senior Ruffs, who lived in eastern Texas, settling in Leonard, Texas, in the southwestern region. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. [1] He flew to Pennsylvania to meet the potential family. Legal Statement. 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. In July 1988, she moved to Dallas, where, according to court documents, she legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. ", "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? 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. The Bat Bombs of WWII: Presidentially Approved, Totally Anna Anderson: Imposter of Duchess Anastasia, End of the World Predictions that Never Happened. To give you the best possible experience, this site uses cookies. The Bizarre Truth About Lori Ruff, The Woman Without An Identity. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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. Find a Grave Velling agreed to help identify her as a case of identify theft. But this could have simply been a number picked for convenience purposes only. 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. Lori Erica Ruff - identity SOLVED? 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. 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. For years, it was nothing but a series of dead ends. However, over time he began to get the impression that he was the only one trying to make their marriage work. After her death, Lori's husband found a lockbox with papers inside that shed light on his wife's past. They married and had a daughter together. She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. Shortly after marrying Ruff, Jane Doe tried repeatedly to conceive a child of her own with much difficulty, according to Velling. 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 . All rights reserved. Ruff had a first cousin named Cassidy on her list of matches; however, the name was very common and the cousin was not responsive.

Premier Services Cmcf, St Paul's Grammar School Term Dates 2022, Articles L