There were two other pieces of paper. In a matter of months, Lori completely deteriorated. She then moved to Idaho and procured a drivers license using the deceased girls birth certificate. We now need to revise that list to seven, since one of those mysteries has now been solved. 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. 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. 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. Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number a move that effectively erased her past. This has led investigators to believe that Ruff was much older than she claimed to be. The family tried everything to find her but she changed her name and location regularly, making it difficult for Kimberlys family to find her. [4] She also said her father was a failed stockbroker. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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. [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]. All rights reserved. Lori Erica Ruff went by many names. When asked about her background,Lori was guarded and evasive; she claimed her parents were dead and she had no siblings. Mother and child spent a lot of time together, which is normal for such a doting mother. I find her case fascinating, especially in a post-9/11 world where there are so many avenues for identifying individuals. A man who knew Ruff during this time has stated that she worked as a stripper in the early 1990s. She must now fight to clear her name and figure out who betrayed her husband. 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. The following people have been ruled out as possible identities for Ruff:[5], Ruff was a white female, who was approximately 41 to 50 years old when she committed suicide. When contacted, however, Perkins stated that he had never heard of Becky Sue Turner or Lori Kennedy. Market data provided by Factset. Prior to that, she was known as Becky Sue Turner, an identity forged with the birth certificate of a long-dead child. 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. 1,529 likes. RedHanded the podcast jumps head first into all manner of macabre madness. At the time, a request of this nature was hardly unusual. Her mothers remarriage didnt help either and she told her family she was going away. [1] After two years, Fitzpatrick finally identified Ruff when she discovered a third cousin match who was related to the Cassidys. 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. 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. There were no dates and the letter itself was a little vague. [5], From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core, "Three years after Texas woman's suicide, a question lingers: Who was she? 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. Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. This led investigators to believe that Ruff was older than she claimed, although the difference turned out to be less than a year. "My God, thats Kimberly! The family member confirmed Ruff was actually Kimberly McLean, daughter of Deanne Cassidy and James McLean, who had run away from home in Pennsylvania at the age of 18. However, it was written on hotel stationery from Bangkok, Thailand. It did. He found a birth certificate for one person that wasn't her. In the days following her death, he began the grim task of sorting . 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 Kennedy Ruff, was an American identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death. 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. She would regularly be seen with her in some of her favorite tea shops. Then, in September 2016, the case of Lori Erica Ruff was finally solved: her real name wasKimberly McLean. She began to lose weight and attended counseling sessions held at the local church. [3], On Christmas Eve 2010, Ruff's body was discovered in her car in the Ruffs' driveway, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. Lori Erica Kennedy / Lori Ruff - Identified. About a month afterward, the certificate was used to obtain legal identification in Idaho. [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. To give you the best possible experience, this site uses cookies. His wifewas not who she claimed to be. IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. 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 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. Nancy said it was like that all afternoon she asked questions, and Lori provided evasive answers. 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. The Minds of Madness - True Crime Stories. Or at least they should. Prior to marrying Blake, Loriwas known as Lori Erica Kennedy. When Blake met Lori, she went by the name of "Lori Erica Kennedy." 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. [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]. Most of these discoveries came from talking to those that she had worked with previously. She had told him she was from Arizona, that both her parents were dead, and that she had no siblings. The family members identified the picture of the mystery woman as Kimberly Mclean. Ruff had a first cousin named Cassidy on her list of matches; however, the name was very common and the cousin was not responsive. 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. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Blake Ruff thought he had found someone special. Marriage is a sacred act between two people that care deeply for one another. Lori Erica Ruff. They looked for signs of gambling addiction and sex trafficking. Blake was caught in the middle, and eventually he couldn't take it anymore. Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number - a. They tried several times to have a child, but she had trouble conceiving and suffered multiple miscarriages. [3], The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. Ruff's true origins remained a mystery until 2016, when her identity was confirmed using a combination of public records and direct-to-consumer autosomal SNP analysis of her husband's and daughter's DNA, leading back to the McLeanCassidy family on Philadelphia's Main Line. Want more real-life mysteries? Investigation Discovery's ' Where Murder Lies: The Girl in the Lockbox' chronicles the story behind Lori Ruff's past. 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. Early on Christmas Eve, Lori drove over to the Ruff house. Who was she? 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. 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. Among the various documents was a certificate indicating that Lori Kennedy had changed her name from Becky Sue Turner. He filed for divorce a short time later. 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. 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. It's a big Universe full of wonders. In July 1988, she moved to Dallas, where, according to court documents, she legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. I think she was born sometime between 1960 and 1968., Records gathered by Velling provide tantalizing clues. Lori kept to herself, rarely speaking Finally, in 2008, the pair had a daughter, conceived with in vitro fertilization. They married and had a daughter together. DNA taken from the body might also help crack the case. Lori Erica Ruff was a secretive person. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Eager to meet her, the family invited her to lunch. Velling, a seasoned government sleuth, has been stumped in figuring out the true name and background of this Jane Doe, who took on aliases with spy-like sophistication. You can help support the show at patreon.com/criminology, Learn more about your ad choices. 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 response? 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. She arrived at this identity by way of a girl named Becky Sue Turner. Ruff described her as being incredibly secretive, particularly regarding her past. [6], On December 24, 2010, Ruff's body was discovered in her car in the Ruffs' driveway, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. She enrolled at Dallas County Community College in the fall of 1990 and eventually graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a business administration degree in 1997. [1] Velling approached a relative, who immediately identified the deceased Lori Ruff as Kimberly McLean.[1]. Also found in the lock box was a paper with several seemingly random scribblings.[6]. She refused to let other people hold the child and was overly protective, even for a first-time mother. They then discovered the lock box in a closet, pried it open with a screwdriver, and discovered the documentation of Ruff's past. 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. After some failed marriage therapy meetings, Blake Ruff moved back to his parents' house in Longview and filed for divorce, leaving Lori with their daughter in Leonard. 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. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. So, it was granted without question. But, it didn't happen easily and it took the hard work of a number of people and a little Synopsis Join us for a good mix of lesser known cases as well as our take on what we call the "Big Timers". Knowing the identity of the third cousin led her to Ruff's identity. Review our. Lori would also spend time fidgeting and stare at the palms and back of her hands. But who she really was is still a mystery. In 2010, he moved back in with his parents and filed for divorce. This page was last modified on 5 May 2016, at 17:33. It is one thing to suspect Lori Erica Ruff of being a simple identity thief, but it is another thing to understand why. If you can never get enough true crime Congratulations, youve found your people. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices. Henceforth, Lori would be known as Lori Erica Ruff. She had ended her life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. When he returned to his parents, he filed for a divorce. 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. Before 1988, Lori Erica Kennedy simply did not exist. 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. Four years filled with miscarriages and disappointments passed. She wasnt Lori Erica Ruffshe was a Pennsylvania woman named Kimberly McLean. Lori Erica Ruff's true identity was Kimberly McLean. Lori left behind two suicide notes, one of which was addressed to her husband and the other to her young daughter. But this could have simply been a number picked for convenience purposes only. The writings on the paper found in the lock box included the scribblings "North Hollywood police," "402 months," and "Ben Perkins." We don't take ourselves too seriously but we take true crime very seriously. Velling agreed to help identify her as a case of identify theft. [3], Eventually, Ruff did not want her in-laws to have any contact with her daughter. In life, Lori hadwarnedhimto stay away from it. It's the best podcast app and works on Android, iPhone, and the web. "My God, that's Kimberly!," one Pennsylvania relative exclaimed, the Seattle Times reported. Lori Erica Ruff. 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. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Although she left notes for her husband and her daughter, they didn't provide any clues. She was overly protective, and she refused to let other people hold their daughter. The letter failed to mention crucial details such what was her role and responsibilities. Blake Ruff has admitted that he isn't completely sure what drew him to Lori. Many of these sessions tended to feature increasingly strange behavior on her part. After they married, Lori and Blake moved across the state from his parents, and they tried to have a child almost immediately. In July 1988, she moved to Dallas, where, according to court documents, she legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. Kimberly Maria McLean, a.k.a. Lori's behavior caused immense tensions between Lori and the Ruffs, even keeping the new grandparents from visiting their granddaughter. Lori Erica Kennedy Ruff (October 16, 1968-December 24, 2010), was an identity thief who remained unidentified for nearly six years after her death.