The American dream is finding the love of your life, moving to your dream town, and having a family. That's exactly what Blake and Lori were trying to do, but things started spiraling out of control when Lori began to lose herself. Secrets began to come out in waves and Blake’s situation got extremely scary.
Love At First Sight
It all began in Texas back in 2003. A man by the name of Blake Ruff was going to his regular bible study classes when he met the love of his life. Lori Erica Kennedy was new to town and began going to bible study to meet like-minded individuals as she practiced her faith. It was love at first sight. They both knew that meeting one another within their faith was a sign that they were meant to be! It seemed like they were made for each other, but that couldn't have been further from the truth.
A Quiet Woman
At the time of their meeting, Lori just moved to Texas from Arizona. She never really gave up any other information other than that… Whenever Blake asked about her background or family, she would shy away from the topic and say that it was a rough subject. She would also shut him down and say that she had no family left, and to leave it at that. Blake respected her wishes and continued to pursue her, calling her the one. Blake had no doubt in his mind that she was the perfect woman for him, but his family was extremely suspicious about her so-called story, but they would never guess how right they were.
A Family in Texas
Blake could not shake the love that she had for Lori, despite his family’s protests. His parents and siblings had a bad feeling about her, but he refused to believe them. Their relationship caused tension within the family, but that didn’t stop Blake from being with the woman he loved. The two married in 2004 in a private ceremony. Just Blake, Lori, and their preacher were there. They moved two hours away from Longview to Leonard, Texas after the wedding to begin their lives together. Things began to spiral soon after.
Starting a Family
After their marriage, they immediately began trying for a baby. It took four years of struggles, miscarriages, and tears, but they finally went to in-vitro fertilization methods for help. With success, Lori became pregnant with their little girl. At this point, everything seemed perfect from the outside, but something was brewing inside of Lori that no one could imagine.
Setting Boundaries
Once she gave birth to her daughter in 2008, she became extremely overprotective of the baby. Despite the tension between Blake’s family, they still came to visit the newest addition to the family. Lori was quiet and distant during the visit. The most bizarre thing would be that she wouldn’t let anyone hold or touch the baby…
Red Flags
Outside of the family issues, Blake and Lori seemed like the perfect couple. Blake’s family was still not convinced.Now, they have a baby, and Lori was still practically a stranger. It was like she didn’t even exist before she moved to Texas. Then, the biggest red flag was raised. Lori became obsessed with Blake’s family history… His relatives, their deaths, illnesses, anything of the sort. It was extremely alarming for the family to hear that she wanted to know everything about Blake but let him know nothing about her…Â
Crossing a Line
When their daughter was just a few months old, Lori ended up banning Blake’s family from seeing her altogether. This was the boiling point for the tensions between the family members. Blake’s family was tired of his wife putting restrictions on their relationships and refused to speak with them any longer. Blake was torn between his loved ones, and Lori fell into a deep depression.
Being Torn Apart
The tensions between his wife and family put Blake in an extremely tough spot. Of course, he wanted the best case scenario and for everyone to become friends, but that didn’t seem to happen. Lori’s depression was making it hard to communicate, and Blake even began to feel pushed away from her. He loved his family, and he loved Lori, but what was he supposed to do in this situation? The last thing he wanted was to lose either of them…
Getting Help
In 2010, Blake and Lori finally tired out couples counseling. Their marriage was on its last legs, and if Blake was going to try and stay with her, they needed to hear each other out and get to the root of the problem… That meant delving into Lori’s past and her mental state. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t talk. She was already too far gone… She wasn’t the same person he married.
Separation and Downfall
Blake decided to leave. He moved back in with his family and left his daughter in Lori’s supervision. That was a mistake. Neighbors reported seeing Lori extremely gaunt and skinny, and her daughter was in much worse condition. Lori was also known for rambling incoherently about her problems, sending harassing emails to Blake, creating scenes during custody exchanges, and stealing the family’s house keys. She was completely manic up until she couldn’t take it anymore.
Devastating End
On Christmas Eve, Lori drove two hours to Blake’s family home in her black Tahoe and parked it out on the driveway. She brought with her two notes and a shotgun. She ended up shooting herself with the shotgun in the front seat of her car.
Suicide Notes
The next morning, Blake’s father found her out in the driveway. He found beside her the two suicide notes. One was an 11-page note addressed to “my wonderful husband” and the second was to her daughter for her to open on her 18th’s birthday. After the investigation was closed, they read the letter. It was complete nonsense… Incoherent rambling. There was nothing that offered why she did what she did.
What Happened?
Blake and his family were in shock. No, they didn’t like Lori but felt for her situation. They were sad that this was the end and that they couldn’t help her. Although she was in their lives for many years, she still felt like a mystery woman, even in death. Still in mourning, Blake had to go back to their home and clear her belongings. That’s where he was hit with the sudden realization that his family was right after all…
A Secret Box
While he was cleaning out a closet, he saw a black strongbox that he’d never seen before. He knew that it definitely was not his, so it had to have been Lori’s. The catch? It was sealed shut. This was already extremely suspicious, and he knew that he had to open it to see the mysteries that were sealed inside. Little did he know that this little box was going to change everything.
Her True Identity
Using a screwdriver, Blake pried it open. Inside, there were many different identification cards from Pennsylvania, Idaho, and then Texas. There was also a birth certificate with an unfamiliar name on it, and a document from 1988 for a legal name change. Who was Lori? Blake had to wonder whether that was the woman he married or an identity that she stole…
Name Change
Apparently, the name-change document said that a woman named Becky Sue Turner changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy in 1988. Lori would have only been 20 years old at the time. This led Blake to believe that this Becky woman was actually Lori, and Lori wasn’t even technically a real person. So, now that he’s got her real name, maybe he can actually dig a little bit into her past.
Still Not It!
After obtaining more information and documents about Becky, it turns out that Becky Sue Turner was actually a two-year-old girl that died in a house fire in 1971. As it turns out, she took the identity of the dead toddler. So, Becky Sue Turner isn’t her real name, either. Blake needed to know what in the world was going on. Who was the woman he married? He was literally living a lie for six years…
Still a Mystery Woman
This was a huge shock to the family. They were now afraid of the possibility of Lori being a more dangerous person than they were lead to think. With the help of a few investigative officers, they went to work on figuring out just how she took Becky’s identity and who Lori actually was.
Fraud
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. Â 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…
Her Past Life
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.
Cracking The Case
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 Man She Hated
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.