Love At First Sight
Back in 2003, Blake Ruff was going to his regular bible study classes in Texas. There, he met the love of his life… Lori Erica Kennedy. He knew she would change his life forever, but he was wrong about in what way…
A Quiet Woman
Lori was new to town and went to bible study to meet new people. It was love at first sight! They both took their shared love of their faith as a sign that they were meant to be…
A Family in Texas
Lori had just moved to Texas from Arizona. Blake never learned too much about her life back in Arizona… She very reluctantly gave up any information so he never really pushed for any more info.
Still Perfect
He always assumed her family life had been a rough subject as she always shied away from his questions. He respected her wishes and didn’t push, but that didn’t stop him from falling madly in love with her. She was his perfect woman.
Not A Fan
Blake’s family, on the other hand, weren’t so sure of Lori. They didn’t like her reluctance to share her past… His parents and siblings had a bad feeling about her.
Red Flags
Their relationship ended up causing tension between his family, but that didn’t stop Blake from loving Lori. The two got married in 2004 for a private ceremony. Then, they moved two hours away from Longview to Leonard. Things began to spiral…
Getting Pregnant
Soon after they settled in their home, they tried having a baby. It wasn’t easy… It took four years of miscarriages before they decided to go in for in-vitro fertilization. Soon after, Lori was successfully pregnant.
It All Seemed Fine
Everything seemed to be going perfectly. They found out that they were having a baby girl and were thrilled. Everything seemed perfect on the outside…
Birth
She gave birth to her daughter in 2008. They were all ecstatic to bring a new member to the family, but this just caused more problems…
Overprotective
Lori was extremely overprotective of her daughter. His parents were worried about that. Her obsession with her kid exceeded what other mothers feel…
FamilyÂ
From the outside looking in, it looked like Blake and Lori had a perfect relationship. Blake’s family was not convinced. Now, there’s a baby in the mix and Lori was still a total stranger to them…
Blake’s History
Then, Lori went a little crazy. She was completely immersed in Blake’s family history… She wanted to know everything about Blake and his family, all the while giving up no information about herself. This was… odd.
Why Is This Happening
After their daughter was a few months old, Lori ended up banning Blake’s family from seeing her. Blake’s family was outraged at this news. They were close to cutting ties with Blake…
Too Much
He was torn. He loved his wife and daughter, and he loved his family as well. He wanted everyone to be at peace, but Lori was a huge issue… With all of this tension and fighting, Lori fell into a depression.
Pushed Away
Blake was in a very tough spot. He wished for everyone to just get along, but that was never going to happen. Lori’s depression was making it even harder to communicate. Blake began to feel pushed away…
He Can’t Choose
He had no idea what to do. He was in between his family and his wife and daughter… What was he supposed to do?
Trying To Save Their Marriage
In 2010, Blake and Lori tried couples counseling. Their marriage was falling apart, but Blake wanted to make things right. They needed to get to the root of the problem…
Talk It Out
The therapist wanted Lori to bring her out her past and her mental state. But… Lori wouldn’t talk. She was too far gone. Blake wasn’t sure who she even was anymore.
Decided To Leave
Blake made the decision to leave. He moved back in with his family but had to leave his daughter under Lori’s supervision. He thought he could trust Lori’s maternal instinct… He was completely wrong.
Not Doing Well
Neighbors reported seeing Lori gaunt and skinny. Her daughter was in much worse condition. Lori would ramble incoherently, send harassing emails to Blake, create scenes during custody exchanged, and even stealing his family’s house keys. She was completely manic.
Parking Up
On Christmas Eve, Lori drove the two hours to Blake’s family home in her black Tahoe. She pulled up to their driveway but stayed in the car. With her, she had two notes and a shotgun…
She Made A Decision
It’s unclear how long she stayed in the driveway. She ended up shooting herself with the shotgun in the driver’s seat of her car.
Christmas Day
Christmas morning, Blake’s father found Lori out in the driveway. Next, to her were the two suicide notes addressed to “my wonderful husband” and her daughter with instructions to open on her 18th birthday.
Nothing of Importance
After the investigation into her death was closed, the family was finally able to read the letter. It was an incoherent rambling. There was no insight as to what she did or why she did it…
Shocking News
Everyone who knew Lori were completely shocked. They were sad that this was the ending… The family did not want it to be like that. Blake had to go back to their home…
Cleaning Up
When he did, he was tasked with cleaning her belongings. That’s when he found something extremely incriminating… His family was right all along.
A Black Box
While he was cleaning out her closet, he saw a black strongbox. He had never seen it before… It had to have been hers. It was totally sealed shut…He Needed To See What Was Inside
Blake was suspicious. What was she hiding in here? There must have been some serious stuff that she was hiding…
Prying Open the Past
Blake used a screwdriver to pry it open. In the box, there were a bunch of different ID cards from Pennsylvania, Idaho, and Texas. There was also a birth certificate with a random name on it and a document from 1988 for a legal name change…
Very Sketchy
Blake was faced with a hard truth… He had no idea who Lori really was. Did she steal this identity? Was she a criminal? He had so many questions…
Not Her Birth Certificate
The name-change document claims that a woman named Becky Sue Turner changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy in 1988. Lori would have been 20 at the time. Why Did She Do This?
Blake was shocked. Why would she need to change her name? Now that he’s got her real name, he can look more into her past…
Becky’s True Identity
This is when things took a turn. Blake was able to find more documents about Becky, but it was not what he was expecting. Turns out, Becky Sue Turner was two-years-old when she died in a house fire back in 1971. Mystery Woman
So, who was the woman that he married? If her name wasn’t Lori or Becky then… What is her real name? He felt so betrayed…
Complete Shock
His family was in total shock. They had no idea how close to the truth they were… Now, they were afraid of Lori being a criminal. They needed to figure out her identity.
Investigators
The hired a few investigative officers to help get to the bottom of them. They went to work on figuring out how Lori pulled all of this off, starting with how she stole Becky’s identity. Illegal Means
As it turns out, Lori illegally obtained the birth certificate of Becky, took it to a judge and got an Idaho ID card for it. She committed ID fraud against a 2-year-old toddler who passed away years prior.  She then moved to Texas, and then “legally” changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. After that, she got a new Social Security number under that name, got a college degree, and got married all under this name. Blake couldn’t fathom why she would she running and what she could be running from…True Identity
The only thing that anyone could dig up about her past life was that she worked as a stripper in the early 1990s, only a few years after changing her name. The informant also said that she got breast implants and a rhinoplasty, making her slightly less recognizable. They ended up contacting the man who gave her the Social Security number, Joe Velling, in order to help. Joe Velling said that he knew he could help, but after years of trying and dead ends, he gave up. She was still a mystery… Until now.Her Real Name
In 2013, three years after Lori’s death, Blake was put in contact with a genealogist named Colleen Fitzpatrick. She was interested in the case and reached out to help. He took a DNA sample from Lori’s daughter in order to map out a connection. After two years, she was finally able to identify a third cousin match. The cousin put the team in contact with relatives to Lori. Joe Velling went out to Pennsylvania to meet with the family, who then identified her as Kimberly McLean. Now, they needed to know why she ran away…
The Truth
Apparently, “Lori” ran away from home at 17, which is when she took Becky’s birth certificate and stole her identity. She did not handle the news of her mother marrying a man that she reportedly “hated.” Other than that, there are no more answers. Any other parts were left completely blank. There were literally 20 years of her life completely unaccounted for. Sadly, these were the secrets that were taken to the grave.