In 2003, Lori Erica Kennedy met Blake Ruff at a Texas bible study, beginning a relationship that quickly led to marriage. Their union had an unusual start - Lori insisted on eloping quietly with only a pastor present, refusing any public announcement. This preference for secrecy aligned with her overall reluctance to discuss her past, offering only vague explanations about a difficult childhood with a failed stockbroker father and no siblings.

The couple's relationship deteriorated after they finally had a daughter through in vitro fertilization in 2008. Lori became increasingly paranoid, refusing to let her in-laws hold the baby while simultaneously researching every detail of the Ruff family history. Her mental health declined dramatically after Blake filed for divorce in 2010, leading to stalking behavior and threatening communications. On December 24, 2010, Lori drove to the Ruff family home where she took her own life, leaving behind mysterious notes and a lockbox that would eventually reveal she had stolen the identity of Becky Sue Turner, a child who died in a house fire, before legally changing her name to Lori Erica Kennedy in 1988.

Key Takeaways

A secretive woman known as Lori Erica Kennedy married Blake Ruff in 2003 while concealing her true identity and past.
Her mental health deteriorated after having a child, leading to paranoia, family conflict, and eventually divorce.
Following her tragic suicide in 2010, investigators discovered she had assumed a stolen identity in 1988, leaving her true background a mystery.

Hunt A Killer Sponsorship

This video is sponsored by Hunt A Killer, a monthly subscription service that delivers immersive mystery-solving experiences directly to your door. Each box contains various evidence items like documents, audio recordings, and clues that allow subscribers to unravel a complex crime story over time.

The service functions similar to a personal escape room experience but with the convenience of home delivery. Players can tackle these mysteries solo or collaborate with friends and family, making it an engaging alternative to screen time.

Boxes start at $25, offering excellent entertainment value compared to going out. A portion of all proceeds supports the Cold Case Foundation, connecting your gameplay to real-world impact.

Special offer for viewers: Visit huntakiller.com/sociable and use code "sociable" at checkout to receive 20% off your subscription.

Lori Erica Kennedy and Blake Ruff's Relationship

Meeting and Marriage

Lori Erica Kennedy and Blake Ruff first encountered each other at a Bible study group in eastern Texas in 2003. Their connection quickly developed into a romantic relationship, eventually leading to marriage. Notably, Lori insisted on an extremely private ceremony, declining both a traditional wedding and a newspaper announcement. Instead, the couple quietly eloped with only a pastor in attendance. While Blake found this preference somewhat unusual, he respected her wishes and proceeded with the marriage.

Private Past

Throughout their relationship, Lori maintained an air of mystery regarding her background. She provided only vague details about her history, claiming she had experienced a difficult childhood that prompted her to destroy all photographs from that period. When discussing her family, she mentioned having no siblings and described her father as an unsuccessful stockbroker. Blake, being straightforward and trusting by nature, accepted these limited explanations without pressing for more information. However, as time passed, Lori's secretiveness became increasingly problematic for their relationship.

Fertility Journey

After their marriage, the couple prioritized starting a family, but encountered significant challenges. Despite multiple attempts to conceive naturally, they struggled with fertility issues. Their persistence eventually paid off when Lori successfully conceived through in vitro fertilization, giving birth to their daughter in 2008. Unfortunately, this happy event coincided with what appeared to be a decline in Lori's mental wellbeing, creating new tensions in their marriage.

Family Tensions

Following the birth of their daughter, Lori exhibited extremely protective behavior, refusing to allow her in-laws to hold the baby. This created significant strain with Blake's family. Her approach to family relations showed striking contradictions - while she intensely researched the Ruff family history down to specific details like family recipes, she simultaneously avoided meaningful interaction with them at gatherings. Eventually, Lori completely severed contact between her daughter and the Ruffs. Her inability to integrate with Blake's family, combined with her continued secrecy about her past, placed tremendous pressure on their marriage.

Separation and Aftermath

The accumulated tensions ultimately led Blake to file for divorce in 2010, after which he returned to live with his parents. Lori retained full custody of their daughter during this period. Following the separation, Lori's behavior became increasingly erratic, including:

Harassing the Ruff family
Sending threatening emails
Stalking them
Stealing their house keys

A concerned neighbor observed Lori pacing outside her home, talking to herself, and noted that her daughter appeared underweight. When this neighbor offered church counseling, Lori's behavior was notably unusual - she brought notebooks containing disjointed writings about "what was wrong with her" and strategies to reconcile with Blake. The counselor noted her peculiar fixation with her unusually long hands, which she would frequently examine.

Despite counseling attempts involving Blake and his brother, the marriage could not be salvaged. The situation reached a tragic conclusion on December 24, 2010, when Lori drove 125 miles to the Ruffs' home in Longview, Texas, where she was found deceased in her idling car from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Lori's Mental Health Decline

Post-Divorce Harassment

Following the breakdown of her marriage to Blake Ruff in 2010, Lori's behavior became increasingly erratic. After Blake moved back to his family home, she began a campaign of harassment against the Ruff family. She sent threatening emails to her former in-laws and engaged in stalking behavior that alarmed them. In one particularly concerning incident, she stole a pair of house keys from the Ruff family residence

The Devastating Final Chapter of Lori Kennedy

Lori Erica Kennedy met Blake Ruff at a Texas bible study in 2003. Their relationship quickly developed into marriage, though Lori insisted on a private ceremony with only a pastor present—no announcements or celebrations. This early preference for privacy foreshadowed deeper issues that would emerge later.

Throughout their relationship, Lori remained secretive about her past. She claimed to have had a difficult childhood, mentioning a father who failed as a stockbroker and stating she had no siblings. Blake, being trusting by nature, accepted these vague explanations without question.

After struggling with fertility issues, the couple welcomed a daughter through in-vitro fertilization in 2008. Following the birth, Lori's mental health noticeably deteriorated. She became extremely protective of her child, refusing to let even Blake's parents hold the baby.

Strangely, while Lori showed little interest in engaging with her in-laws at family gatherings, she obsessively researched their family history, even collecting their recipes. This behavior, combined with her secretive nature, created significant strain in the marriage, eventually leading Blake to file for divorce in 2010.

The Christmas Eve Tragedy

On December 24, 2010, Lori's troubled life came to a tragic end. That morning, she drove 125 miles from her home in Leonard, Texas, to the Ruff family residence in Longview. Blake's father discovered her car idling in their garage, where she had apparently died by suicide.

Police found two notes at the scene—one 11-page letter addressed to Blake and another intended for her daughter to read upon turning 18. While authorities never released the contents publicly, they described the writings as clearly coming from someone in severe mental distress.

The incident followed months of escalating behavior after the separation. Lori had begun harassing the Ruff family, sending threatening emails, stalking them, and even stealing house keys. A neighbor reported seeing her rambling to herself and pacing outside her home.

This neighbor, a pastor named Denny, had attempted to help Lori through church counseling. During these sessions, he noticed her unusual fixation with her hands and her tendency to speak repetitively in circles, suggesting possible obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

Discovery of Final Notes

After Lori's funeral, the Ruff family visited her home, finding it in complete disarray—scattered papers, stacked trash, and dirty dishes everywhere. Hidden among the chaos was a lockbox containing shocking revelations about Lori's true identity.

Documents inside revealed she had operated under multiple names. Most disturbing was a birth certificate for Becky Sue Turner, a two-year-old who had died in a house fire. Investigators later determined that someone had requested this birth certificate in 1988, using it to obtain an Idaho state ID.

The lockbox contained other puzzling items:

Notes with calculations like "402 months" (possibly relating to a jail sentence)
Contact information for a disbarred California attorney
A fabricated recommendation letter on stationery from a Thai luxury hotel

Shortly after obtaining the ID as Becky Sue Turner, this person appeared before a Dallas judge and legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy—the identity she maintained until her death.

Despite efforts from the Social Security Administration and other investigators, most leads about Lori's true origins proved fruitless. The woman who had so carefully guarded her secrets in life continued to remain enigmatic even after her death.

Post-Death Revelations

Family's Discovery Process

After Lori Kennedy's tragic passing on Christmas Eve 2010, the Ruff family began piecing together the mysterious past of the woman who had married into their family. Blake's relatives, concerned about the secretive nature that had characterized Lori throughout her relationship with Blake, decided to investigate her home. What they found was deeply troubling. The house stood in complete disarray—papers scattered everywhere, stacked trash, piles of unwashed laundry, and dirty dishes covering surfaces. This chaotic scene reflected the troubled mental state Lori had exhibited in her final months.

The family's initial search was motivated by genuine curiosity about a woman who had kept her background hidden for years. Though Lori had been overly interested in learning every detail about the Ruff family—even researching their family recipes—she had consistently deflected questions about her own past.

Contents of the Hidden Lock Box

Within the disheveled home, the family discovered a locked box that would ultimately reveal Lori's elaborate deception. After prying it open with tools, they found shocking documents that contradicted everything they knew about her. The most startling item was a birth certificate for "Becky Sue Turner," a two-year-old who had died in a house fire.

Other concerning items included:

Cryptic notes with calculations such as "402 months" (possibly referring to a jail sentence length)
Contact information for Ben Perkins, a disbarred California attorney who later claimed no recollection of meeting Lori
A fabricated letter of recommendation from someone named Roger Steinbeck, printed on stationery from a luxury Thai hotel

These documents painted a picture of someone who had methodically constructed a false identity. The lock box essentially served as a repository for the foundation of her manufactured life.

The Puzzle of Multiple Personas

The investigation revealed that Lori had operated under several different identities throughout her life. The transition between these identities followed a clear timeline. Records showed that in 1988, someone had requested a copy of Becky Sue Turner's birth certificate. That same year, this certificate was used to obtain an Idaho state identification card.

Just three weeks later, "Becky Sue Turner" appeared before a judge in Dallas and legally changed her name to Lori Erica Kennedy. This systematic identity transformation explained why Lori had been so adamant about privacy—refusing a formal wedding announcement, burning photographs from her supposed childhood, and providing only vague details about her past.

Blake had accepted Lori's claims about having a difficult childhood with a failed stockbroker father and no siblings. Her elaborate story had successfully concealed her true background throughout their relationship.

Tracing Lori's Authentic Identity

The revelation about Lori's use of a deceased child's identity prompted a deeper search into who she really was. Investigators from various agencies began the complex task of determining her original identity before she became "Becky Sue Turner" and subsequently "Lori Erica Kennedy."

This search was complicated by several factors:

Lack of digital footprint: Few records existed before her 1988 identity change
No matching missing persons reports: No obvious cases matched her description or timeline
Conflicting information: The details Lori had shared about her past couldn't be verified

The quest to uncover Lori's true identity became increasingly important for the Ruff family, particularly as they now had custody of her daughter. Understanding her medical history and background would be crucial for the child's future.

Investigative Challenges and Resolution

The investigation into Lori's true identity hit numerous dead ends. A specialist from the Social Security Administration assisted but initially made little progress. Almost every lead the family pursued failed to produce concrete results.

However, investigators did establish a timeline of Lori's identity fraud:

In 1988 - Request for Becky Sue Turner's birth certificate
Same year - Idaho state ID obtained using this certificate
Three weeks later - Legal name change to Lori Erica Kennedy in Dallas
After this point - Creation of her new life, eventually meeting Blake at a Bible study in 2003

The complexity of Lori's deception demonstrated remarkable planning and determination to erase her previous identity. Her deteriorating mental health in later years—characterized by obsessive behaviors, incoherent speech patterns, and medication for conditions like ADHD or Tourette syndrome—suggested deep psychological struggles that may have been connected to her hidden past.

The Mysterious Identity Thief: How "Lori Kennedy" Vanished Into Texas And Left 75,000 Cold Cases Behind