Lori Erica Ruff | Woman's Death Exposes Mystery That Required Years to Solve

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[00:01:02] This is True Crime Psychology and Personality, where we discuss the pathology behind some

[00:01:18] of the most horrific crimes and those who committed them from a scientifically informed

[00:01:23] perspective.

[00:01:24] I'm Dr. Todd Grande.

[00:01:27] I have a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision, and I'm a licensed professional counselor

[00:01:32] of mental health.

[00:01:33] Dr. Todd Grande, that's my YouTube channel.

[00:01:37] Today's question is, can I analyze the case of Lori Erica Ruff?

[00:01:41] First I'll look at the background of this case, including the timeline of the incident,

[00:01:46] then offer my analysis.

[00:01:48] In 2003, a woman who went by the name Lori Erica Kennedy lived in Carrollton, Texas,

[00:01:55] which is just north of Dallas.

[00:01:57] While attending a Bible study at the Northwest Bible Church in Dallas, she met a man named

[00:02:02] John Blakely Ruff.

[00:02:05] The couple became romantically involved.

[00:02:07] John, who went by the name Blake, was from a wealthy family, had a bachelor's degree,

[00:02:13] and worked for Verizon.

[00:02:15] Blake was described as socially awkward and honest.

[00:02:19] Lori told Blake that she was from Scottsdale, Arizona.

[00:02:23] Both her parents were dead, and she had no siblings.

[00:02:26] When her father was alive, he worked as a stockbroker.

[00:02:30] Her childhood was unhappy, and she didn't like to talk about it.

[00:02:34] The romantic relationship between Lori and Blake progressed.

[00:02:37] Blake's family wasn't too happy about this because Lori was standoffish, rude, and would

[00:02:42] not share anything about her past.

[00:02:45] She wouldn't even reveal where she graduated from high school.

[00:02:49] On January 5, 2004, Lori and Blake married in a very small wedding.

[00:02:54] Other than them, the only other person there was the church pastor who officiated.

[00:03:00] Lori changed her last name from Kennedy to Ruff.

[00:03:04] The newlywed couple moved to Leonard, Texas, which is about an hour northeast of Dallas.

[00:03:09] When asked about putting a wedding announcement in a local newspaper, Lori refused.

[00:03:14] The couple's neighbors in Leonard found Blake to be friendly, but Lori mostly kept to herself.

[00:03:20] On the few occasions when she went outside, she avoided eye contact.

[00:03:25] Lori called herself a marketing consultant and performed various work on the computer.

[00:03:30] At one point, she was some type of mystery shopper.

[00:03:33] As it turns out, Lori was a mystery shopper in more than one sense of the term.

[00:03:38] She might have been the most mysterious shopper of all.

[00:03:42] Lori and Blake tried to have children, but Lori had four miscarriages.

[00:03:47] After receiving fertility treatments, Lori had a daughter named Jessica Emily Ruff on

[00:03:52] September 5, 2008.

[00:03:55] People noticed that Lori did not seem comfortable being a mother as if she had no experience

[00:04:00] around children.

[00:04:02] She never left Jessica alone and was very protective.

[00:04:06] Blake's family members continued to find Lori difficult to deal with.

[00:04:09] There was a lot of tension.

[00:04:12] During family gatherings, Lori would walk away and take a nap.

[00:04:15] She never socialized.

[00:04:17] Furthermore, she was highly critical of Blake's family and would complain about them constantly.

[00:04:23] Eventually, Lori said she did not want Jessica spending any time with Blake's parents.

[00:04:29] This presented a serious threat to the marriage.

[00:04:33] Lori and Blake sought counseling, but ultimately they could not work things out.

[00:04:38] In June 2010, Blake moved in with his parents in Longview, Texas and filed for divorce.

[00:04:44] Longview is about two hours and 15 minutes from Leonard.

[00:04:47] After Blake's departure, neighbors noticed that Lori had various mental health symptoms.

[00:04:53] She seemed to be frantic, incoherent, and nervous.

[00:04:57] Normally, she wouldn't talk to neighbors, but now she wouldn't stop talking.

[00:05:01] She would ramble on about what was wrong with her.

[00:05:04] She desperately wanted to reunite with Blake, and on occasion, Lori repeated the same statements

[00:05:09] many times over the course of an hour.

[00:05:12] It was like she became fixated on one particular idea and could not let it go.

[00:05:18] Lori blamed Blake's parents for the separation.

[00:05:22] In the fall of 2010, she sent threatening emails to the Ruff family.

[00:05:26] On one occasion, she even entered their house in Longview, making demands.

[00:05:31] On December 24, 2010, just before 7 a.m., Blake's father walked outside his house to

[00:05:37] retrieve the newspaper.

[00:05:39] He noticed a black Chevrolet Tahoe idling in the driveway.

[00:05:44] Fearful about what was happening and wanting to avoid a confrontation, he went back inside

[00:05:49] his house and called the police.

[00:05:52] When the police arrived, they found Lori dead in the driver's seat of the vehicle with

[00:05:56] a gunshot wound to her right temple.

[00:05:59] A pistol was found in her right hand.

[00:06:02] It was clear that the only person involved in Lori's death was Lori.

[00:06:07] Two notes were found in the vehicle.

[00:06:09] One was addressed to My Wonderful Husband.

[00:06:12] The other was to Lori's daughter, Jessica, and was not supposed to be opened until her

[00:06:17] daughter turned 18.

[00:06:19] At the time Lori died, Jessica was with Blake in his parents' house.

[00:06:23] Not long after Lori's death, the Ruff family went to her house in Leonard, Texas.

[00:06:28] They were interested in finding information about who Lori really was.

[00:06:32] The house was a mess.

[00:06:34] There was laundry on the floor.

[00:06:36] Dishes were stacked up.

[00:06:37] Trash bags full of shredded documents were everywhere.

[00:06:40] The bed that Lori's daughter, Jessica, slept in was soiled.

[00:06:44] And there were papers all over the place containing Lori's handwriting.

[00:06:48] She had written what appeared to be random nonsense.

[00:06:52] On January 1, 2011, the Ruff family found a strong box in the closet bearing the label

[00:06:58] Crafts.

[00:07:00] They pried it open with a screwdriver and discovered a court document indicating that

[00:07:05] Lori had once been named Becky Sue Turner.

[00:07:08] She changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy in 1988.

[00:07:13] On September 1, 2011, the Social Security Administration started an investigation due

[00:07:19] to concerns that Lori had perpetrated identity theft.

[00:07:23] Here's what the investigation revealed.

[00:07:25] Lori had no criminal record and there was no record of her existing at all before 1988.

[00:07:31] On May 20 of that year, she obtained a copy of the birth certificate of a girl named Becky

[00:07:37] Sue Turner.

[00:07:39] Becky had been born on July 18, 1969 in Bakersfield, California.

[00:07:45] On December 30, 1971, when Becky was two years old, she died in a house fire in Fife,

[00:07:52] Washington.

[00:07:53] The fire also killed two of her sisters.

[00:07:56] Becky's brief and tragic journey through life had an unusual characteristic.

[00:08:02] She was born in one state but died in another.

[00:08:05] This meant that someone could steal her identity much more easily, especially back in the late

[00:08:10] 1980s when records dealing with identity were not often transmitted between states.

[00:08:16] On June 16, 1988, about a month after obtaining the birth certificate, Lori used it to obtain

[00:08:22] an Idaho identification card using her own photograph but Becky Sue Turner's name.

[00:08:29] After spending time in Idaho, Lori traveled to California, Las Vegas, and eventually

[00:08:34] to Texas.

[00:08:36] On July 5, 1988, she legally changed her name from Becky Sue Turner to Lori Erica Kennedy.

[00:08:44] Seven days later, she applied for a social security number.

[00:08:47] The next day, she obtained a Texas identification card.

[00:08:51] Less than a year later, she obtained her Texas driver's license.

[00:08:55] On March 19, 1990, Lori applied for a U.S. passport.

[00:09:00] She went on to earn her GED and enrolled in a community college.

[00:09:04] On February 21, 1997, Lori filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

[00:09:10] On December 13 of that same year, she graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington

[00:09:15] with a degree in business administration.

[00:09:18] By 2001, she was living in Bedford, Texas.

[00:09:21] By 2003, she was living in Carrollton.

[00:09:24] This is when she met Blake Ruff.

[00:09:28] Investigators had uncovered an interesting story but they still did not know who Lori

[00:09:32] was.

[00:09:33] There was no apparent connection between Lori and Becky Sue Turner.

[00:09:37] Why did Lori target Becky Sue for identity theft?

[00:09:40] There was no evidence that Lori ever profited from stealing her identity.

[00:09:44] She didn't do it to make money.

[00:09:46] Was Lori on the run from criminals?

[00:09:49] Was she involved in espionage?

[00:09:51] Could her behavior be explained by mental health factors?

[00:09:55] There were no answers in this case.

[00:09:57] Many people were frustrated and concerned that the mystery would never be solved.

[00:10:02] In 2013, the Seattle Times released an article about the case which greatly increased interest

[00:10:08] in finding Lori's real identity.

[00:10:12] In December of 2015, a forensic genealogist determined that Lori was somehow connected

[00:10:17] to the Cassidy family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

[00:10:21] In March of 2016, one of the Cassidys identified Lori as a woman named Kimberly McLean.

[00:10:29] It took years, but there was finally an answer in this case.

[00:10:33] Kimberly Maria McLean was born on October 16, 1968 and was raised in the Philadelphia

[00:10:39] suburb of Wynwood.

[00:10:41] Her father James was a carpenter.

[00:10:43] Her mother Deanne was a homemaker.

[00:10:45] Kimberly had a sister named Michelle.

[00:10:48] When Kimberly was a teenager, her parents divorced.

[00:10:50] Her mother married a man named Robert Becker and moved to another suburb of Philadelphia

[00:10:55] called Wyncoat.

[00:10:57] Kimberly attended Bishop McDevitt High School.

[00:11:00] In 1986, when Kimberly was 18 years old, she moved about 10 miles away to King of Prussia,

[00:11:07] Pennsylvania.

[00:11:08] She told her mother she was leaving for good and warned her not to come after her.

[00:11:12] Her family never reported her missing, and Kimberly was never heard from again.

[00:11:18] The mystery of Lori Erica Ruff's identity had been solved.

[00:11:22] She was Kimberly McLean.

[00:11:24] But this did not reveal her motive.

[00:11:26] Kimberly's behavior still remains a mystery.

[00:11:30] Now moving to my analysis.

[00:11:32] Here are my thoughts on a few areas that stood out to me in this case.

[00:11:35] Item number one.

[00:11:37] When Kimberly was young, she was described as a socially awkward loner who did not fit

[00:11:42] in very well at school.

[00:11:44] She was cold, distant, and forgettable.

[00:11:48] When she left home at the age of 18, none of her high school classmates realized she

[00:11:52] was missing.

[00:11:53] None of her family members contacted the police.

[00:11:56] Kimberly was an adult when she left and was free to make her own decisions.

[00:12:00] Perhaps this is why no one reported her missing.

[00:12:03] Item number two.

[00:12:05] On September 15, 1987, about a year after Kimberly moved to King of Prussia and lost

[00:12:10] contact with her family, her father died at the age of 52.

[00:12:15] His estate attempted to locate Kimberly because she had inherited $84,000.

[00:12:21] They discovered that she was in Utah, but she never responded and therefore never collected

[00:12:26] her inheritance.

[00:12:28] $84,000 in 1987 is equivalent to about $232,000 in 2024.

[00:12:35] This is a lot of money to forfeit.

[00:12:38] There was no real downside to collecting the money.

[00:12:41] Even if Kimberly left home because she was fearful of family members, she didn't need

[00:12:45] to meet them in person to get her inheritance.

[00:12:48] It made more sense to get the money either way because $84,000 would have gone a long

[00:12:53] way in helping Kimberly remain hidden if that's what she wanted to do.

[00:12:58] Item number three.

[00:12:59] When Kimberly McLean assumed the identity of Becky Sue Turner, she committed a serious

[00:13:05] crime.

[00:13:06] She was already away from her family.

[00:13:08] No one was looking for her.

[00:13:10] There was no need to engage in criminal behavior to stay hidden.

[00:13:13] This behavior introduced risks and complications which were unnecessary.

[00:13:19] After stealing the identity, Kimberly quickly changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy as

[00:13:24] if she wanted an extra layer of protection.

[00:13:28] She was trying to become more distant from family members or from someone.

[00:13:33] There is no indication that Kimberly ever used her fake identity for any type of material

[00:13:37] gain.

[00:13:38] Prior to marrying Blake, Kimberly mostly worked in secretarial-type jobs even after

[00:13:44] earning a bachelor's degree.

[00:13:47] A former love interest indicated that Kimberly worked as a clothing challenge dancer at one

[00:13:51] time which seems like a strange choice of occupation for someone so interested in concealment.

[00:13:58] Kimberly always had money problems and even filed for bankruptcy once, as I mentioned.

[00:14:04] Item number four.

[00:14:05] When Kimberly became romantically involved with Blake, she struggled to maintain peace

[00:14:09] with his family.

[00:14:11] This was an inferior tactic because it jeopardized her cover.

[00:14:15] She made them suspicious about her identity when there was no reason to.

[00:14:19] Kimberly could have easily avoided being evasive and impolite.

[00:14:23] For example, she could have obscured her past with some type of simple explanation like

[00:14:27] she was estranged from her family.

[00:14:30] This would have explained why she didn't want a wedding announcement in the local newspaper.

[00:14:35] She didn't want her family members to find her.

[00:14:37] Instead, Kimberly said that her family was dead.

[00:14:40] If this was true, why was she hiding?

[00:14:44] It's almost like she never contemplated how others would perceive her story or lack of

[00:14:49] a story.

[00:14:50] Kimberly had been diligent as far as stealing another person's identity but then became

[00:14:54] haphazard when protecting that new identity.

[00:14:58] Item number five.

[00:14:59] As I mentioned, Kimberly left two letters behind.

[00:15:02] In her letter to Blake, Kimberly repeatedly explained how she loved him and was grateful

[00:15:07] to have been his wife.

[00:15:09] She talked about how Blake gave her a family, a beautiful little girl, cousins, aunts, uncles,

[00:15:14] nieces, nephews, and in-laws.

[00:15:17] She wished that she had communicated her love to her husband more effectively.

[00:15:22] The reason she made her exit when she did was because she did not want to die being

[00:15:27] divorced.

[00:15:28] Kimberly explained how she had been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and felt as though

[00:15:33] Blake never bothered to learn about her conditions.

[00:15:36] He did not conduct any research, according to Kimberly.

[00:15:40] She blamed all her bad behavior on the mental health symptoms and said she never intended

[00:15:45] to hurt Blake.

[00:15:47] She felt misunderstood by him and his family and accused them of assuming many wrong things

[00:15:53] about her.

[00:15:54] Moving to my final item, number six.

[00:15:57] What do I think happened in this case?

[00:15:59] This is just a theory, my opinion.

[00:16:02] Kimberly McLean was antagonistic, distant, standoffish, evasive, hostile, paranoid, depressed,

[00:16:08] anxious, vindictive, erratic, and may have had some reality testing problems.

[00:16:13] When she was younger, she was a loner who did not have strong connections to her family

[00:16:18] or to anyone else.

[00:16:20] Many people think that she must have been mistreated and that's why she left Pennsylvania,

[00:16:25] but there isn't really much evidence to support that theory.

[00:16:28] The only person who committed a crime that we know of in this case was Kimberly.

[00:16:34] Mental health symptoms offer the most reasonable explanation for her mysterious behavior.

[00:16:39] She became paranoid and thought that people were out to get her, therefore she committed

[00:16:43] identity theft.

[00:16:45] During her marriage to Blake, Kimberly was difficult to live with and repeatedly aggravated

[00:16:49] Blake's family.

[00:16:52] The concerns the Ruff family had with her extended beyond Kimberly's evasiveness.

[00:16:56] She was trying to cut them off from Jessica.

[00:16:59] The reason Kimberly selected Christmas Eve and the driveway of the Ruff family house

[00:17:03] to make her exit from this world was to get revenge on Blake's parents.

[00:17:09] She planned this act carefully and even had notes ready.

[00:17:13] Kimberly deliberately did not dispose of the strong box containing documents that facilitated

[00:17:17] the investigation into her identity.

[00:17:21] A woman who spent her entire life trying to hide her identity used her last moments to

[00:17:26] make sure everyone in the world would know her name.

[00:17:37] This has been true crime psychology and personality from Ars Langa Media.

[00:17:42] This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only.

[00:17:47] Ars Langa, Vida Brevis.

[00:18:01] Did you guys hear about that couple that went on vacation and one spouse murdered the other?

[00:18:05] In fact, the entire vacation was planned just so that they could make the murder look like

[00:18:10] an accident.

[00:18:11] Ah, so like a slaycation.

[00:18:13] Oh boy!

[00:18:14] Sounds like a fun new true crime podcast to me!

[00:18:20] On every episode of Slaycation, we'll examine true cases of people who were killed while

[00:18:26] on vacation.

[00:18:27] Was it murder?

[00:18:28] Or just a horrible accident?

[00:18:32] That's up to you and the law to decide.

[00:18:35] But either way, if you leave for your vacation in the plane and come home under the plane,

[00:18:43] you've definitely gone on a slaycation.

[00:18:45] Join us every week for a fascinating new episode.

[00:18:50] But make sure to pack your body bags because getting away can be murder.

[00:18:55] This is Slaycation.