But who she really was is still a mystery. 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." By changing her name, she created a clean identity a person with no past.. True identity of Lori Ruff revealed six years after she committed In 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. 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.. They looked for signs of gambling addiction and sex trafficking. Additionally, she displayed many asocial behaviors, such as leaving social gatherings to take naps. She must now fight to clear her name and figure out who betrayed her husband. She was overly protective, and she refused to let other people hold their daughter. Such things have happened in other cases, and are often traumatic events. Eager to meet her, the family invited her to lunch. Ruff did his best to find out as much about his new partner as he could. A neighbor recalled that she and her daughter appeared to be very thin and that Lori would often ramble incoherently about her problems. [1] After two years, Fitzpatrick finally identified Ruff when she discovered a third cousin match who was related to the Cassidys. In 1986, Kimberly McLean ran away from her home at the age of 18. Hersuicide cameafter Blake had filed fordivorce and moved back in with his parents. Blake was caught in the middle, and eventually he couldn't take it anymore. Blake and Lori married in 2004the only witness to their marriage was the priest. [3], On Christmas Eve 2010, Ruff's body was discovered in her car in the Ruffs' driveway, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. One of television's most popular true-crime series adapted for your ears. 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. She didnt even allow the publication of the announcement of their nuptials in the local newspaper either. Watch 48 Hours Saturday 10/9c on CBS and Paramount+ and hear all new episodes every Sunday. [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. [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. Lori Erica Kennedy / Lori Ruff - Identified. Among the various documents was a certificate indicating that Lori Kennedy had changed her name from Becky Sue Turner. The harassment was so severe that the Ruffs were planning to file a cease and desist order just before Lori's death. Review our. Be the first to contribute! The Strange Life and Death of Lori Erica Ruff 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 2010, after she took her own life, secrets were revealed and the truth about her past began to unravel. Market data provided by Factset. 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. Or at least they should. The house belonged . There were no dates and the letter itself was a little vague. But, it didn't happen easily and it took the hard work of a number of people and a little Lori Erica Ruff - Wikipedia Days later, she applied for and received a Social Security number a move that effectively erased her past. Les currently resides in London and is a freelance writer with a long standing passion for the unexplained and paranormal. [3], Ruff was incredibly overprotective of her daughter, often refusing to let anyone else hold her, which angered her husband's family. IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. She and her young daughter had visibly lost weight. The two moved to Leonard, about 60 miles northeast of Dallas and roughly 125 miles from Ruffs parents in Longview. Blake admitted knowledge of the box. 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. It is generally believed that a new identity was already being considered either for herself or others. She became distressed due to her parents divorce. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Lori Erica Ruff was the alias of an unidentified American woman and identity thief who committed suicide on December 24, 2010 in Longview, Texas. Ruffs apparent identity theft pulled in former Social Security Administration investigator Joe Velling, who hoped that publicity from the Times piece would urge amateur sleuths to provide some leads. Sometime later, Blake's father left the house to pick up the paper. Yes! Ruff had a first cousin named Cassidy on her list of matches; however, the name was very common and the cousin was not responsive. 2021 Emash Digital & Mike Ferguson, Mike Morford. About a month afterward, the certificate was used to obtain legal identification in Idaho. When contacted, however, Perkins stated that he had never heard of Becky Sue Turner or Lori Kennedy. She left behind an 11-page suicide note but apparently no clue that she had lived a secret life. The only person in attendance at their wedding ceremony, held in a church outside Dallas, was the officiating preacher. 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. Shortly after marrying Ruff, Jane Doe tried repeatedly to conceive a child of her own with much difficulty, according to Velling. When he returned to his parents, he filed for a divorce. We cover everything from big time serial killers (and those you may never have heard of), to hauntings, possessions, disturbing mysteries, bizarre whodunits and basically anything that tickles our creepy fancy. It was in 2010 when events finally took their toll on her. As Blake began the daunting task of sorting through his wife's possessions, he knew that he would have to deal with one thing that Lori had always told him he was to never touch. About: Lori Erica Ruff - dbpedia.org The truth of Ruff's deception only came to light after she committed suicide, and some determined investigators began looking into . 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. Every day, stories unfold that have no resolution. The nature of these scribblings has led some 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 an attorney. It's clear that even at this time, Lori knew what she was doingBecky had been born in one state and died in another, making it far less likely that the fraudulent use of her identity would be discovered. Player FM is scanning the web for high-quality podcasts for you to enjoy right now. The suicide notes were quickly determined to be incoherent ramblings that offered no clues to Ruff's identity. And she was aggressive about it, Velling said. Related: A Killer Calls: The Unsolved Murder of Dorothy Jane Scott. After Lori Erica Ruff's death, Blake Ruff realized his wife was a complete stranger. Why had Lori begun behaving so erratically? She wasn't Lori Erica Ruffshe was a Pennsylvania woman named Kimberly McLean. Sign up for The Lineup's newsletter, and receive our eeriest cases delivered straight to your inbox. NY Daily News If you can never get enough true crime Congratulations, youve found your people. It took hard work on the part of investigators and some unique forensic genealogy for the truth to come out. Four years filled with miscarriages and disappointments passed. In the car were two suicide notes: an 11-page one addressed to "my wonderful husband" and another addressed to her daughter, to be opened on her 18th birthday. Due to her off-putting[opinion][clarification needed], secretive[citation needed] behavior, she clashed with her husband's family, and her marriage eventually collapsed. Interesting history topics are just a click away. Related: The Strange Case of the Isdal Woman. 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 . Lori Erica Ruff went by many names. She was very private and didn't open to people about her past. So, join us, plug in, sit back and prepare for scares. After her death, her husband and his family found the evidence of her falsified identity in a lock box in her closet. The woman received breast implants in 1991 and claimed to have suffered from bulimia in 1990. It outlined work that Lori had done for him until 1988. Who was she? I find her case fascinating, especially in a post-9/11 world where there are so many avenues for identifying individuals. Requires subscription and macOS 11.4 or higher. ", "Mystery of the woman with two names: Investigator tries to discover true identity of mother who committed suicide three years ago after husband finds evidence of a double life hidden in a lock box", List of unidentified decedents in the United States, List of unidentified decedents in California, List of unidentified murder victims in the United States, List of unidentified murder victims in California, List of unidentified murder victims in Texas, List of unidentified murder victims in New York, List of unidentified murder victims in Florida, List of unidentified murder victims in Michigan, List of unidentified murder victims in Pennsylvania, National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Lori_Erica_Ruff&oldid=718811075, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, About Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core. Trophy Wife (2022) - IMDb However, several weeks after getting the new identification, Becky legally changed her identity to Lori Erica Kennedy in Dallas. Find a Grave Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Plot Summary submission guide.