Lori Ruff Identified as Kimberly McLean of PA

[Froglady]

I also wondered about the tea parties, easy bake oven and love of cuban foods. All things I thought might lead somewhere but ended up nowhere lol. Also did she have marfans? What really was her height because in photos with the church group things she looks to me to be at least 6ft tall :/

 

[fred&edna]

Amazing that this has been solved, and the "way" it was solved. 'Wealth of info to be learned from Colleen Fitzpatrick! Or maybe just more labs with funding to do this type of dna testing?!

 

[FrankieB]

I also wondered about the tea parties, easy bake oven and love of cuban foods. All things I thought might lead somewhere but ended up nowhere lol. Also did she have marfans? What really was her height because in photos with the church group things she looks to me to be at least 6ft tall :/

Agreed, and the picture with the dream catcher suggests a few other health issues.

I too, am very interested in the easy bake oven, cuban food, s/s88, etc.

If I could ask questions...what was she really like? Do any family videos survive? To hear her voice.

Did everybody notice the new foot notes added to the pictures in the original article? The Lori and Blake picture was from a cook book and the Tea pink hat picture from a calendar Lori made herself

 

[Fairy1]

Amazing! Been following this one from afar & really never thought to see a resolution. RIP Lori/Kimberly.

 

[SavetheQueen]

I was thinking about why she would recognize the more recent photos first and I wonder if it has to do with the size and quality of the photos. The ones from 1988/1990 and all her Texas license photos would be tiny in real life. An older lady with bad eyes may have trouble seeing them. The newer photo like the tea shop photo could be blown up to an 8 x 10.

I was also thinking that maybe she closely resembled a close relative in the older pictures???

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

 

[SavetheQueen]

When someone finds her yearbook they better flip to the P's and check for Jennifer, LOL. What if JP was a classmate who moved to Dallas and let Kim stay with her while she became Lori?

Good one!!!

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

 

[SavetheQueen]

I have thought this as well!

This, along wiittth ..
Perhaps she started out wanting to reinvent herself, and did. She loved her new life, her new identity and freedom, UNTIL.. some where along the line ( if she did indeed suffer from " some " kind of mental issue ) she broke down as BST thinking " what have I done? " Maybe it clicked with her the repercussions of STEALING a dead CHILDS identity, hence LEK was born. By then, in her mind, it was too late. Maybe she was so paranoid/scared about LE or anyone being " on to her " about what she had done ( prison time, being humiliated, etc. ) she felt as though even if she wanted to phone home, there was just NO way she ever could.

Just another opinion on the case

I'm wondering if this is where Ben Perkins fits. Perhaps she wanted to go back home, so she consulted an attorney (Perkins) to see what the ramifications were. Identity theft, depending on what all has transpired during said stolen identity, can be prosecuted several different ways: Tax fraud, mail fraud, etc. The US Code and state penal codes can be gone through rigorously by a zealous prosecutor and investigator, hence the 420 months. Just speculation, of course.

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

 

[BigCityAccountant]

I'm wondering if this is where Ben Perkins fits. Perhaps she wanted to go back home, so she consulted an attorney (Perkins) to see what the ramifications were. Identity theft, depending on what all has transpired during said stolen identity, can be prosecuted several different ways: Tax fraud, mail fraud, etc. The US Code and state penal codes can be gone through rigorously by a zealous prosecutor and investigator, hence the 420 months. Just speculation, of course.

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

Wow~~~thanks~~~never thought that could possibly be the link...but..no, I don't think so..what was preventing her from just dropping the BST/LEK identity and just resuming her real identity...why would she need a lawyer to resume her identity? Unless, of course there is some type of criminal element or job that would have her fingerprints~~but then again~~I think we would have heard about it already...

 

[SavetheQueen]

Wow~~~thanks~~~never thought that could possibly be the link...but..no, I don't think so..what was preventing her from just dropping the BST/LEK identity and just resuming her real identity...why would she need a lawyer to resume her identity? Unless, of course there is some type of criminal element or job that would have her fingerprints~~but then again~~I think we would have heard about it already...

To see how much trouble she may would be in for stealing the identity of BST, etc. She already had a trail as BST/LEK. What if she went back to being KMM and then her stolen ID was discovered? She would be looking over her shoulder either way. She was in the end, anyway.

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

 

[EmiLove832]

Here's my theory...

I think she had some kind of traumatic event, possibly her parents divorcing and her Mom remarrying or something more serious.

People respond to life events very strangely. I have friends that have had awful things happen in their lives but they carry on. Others have events that I feel are bumps in the road, yet they are destroyed forever.

Any how, after the trauma she decides she is going to separate herself from family and in the missing two years I think she met someone that led an adventurous, wild life that appealed to her. Maybe she moved around with this person. I have this idea of the type of friend that always has a new plan but nothing really ever pans out. One week they are modeling, the next working at a strip club and living here for a bit, there for a bit.

I think this friend knew or knew someone who knew Ben Perkins and he helped her get a new identity. People have found some of his shady dealings so it wouldn't surprise me if he was involved in helping people get new identities.

If my theory is correct the notes page could be a combination of her notes and the friends notes.

Hopefully someone who knew her between 1986-1988 comes forward. Or if she had a close friend from before she left her family, we might get some details.

 

[HerStory]

I think that S/S's recollection of a 'mother' may have been a mother figure whom Lori gravitated towards and gave her the familial sort of feelings. I also think this woman had something to do with guiding 'Kim' in her identity transition. Then when the woman passed, or moved on, it was sink-or-swim time. I would be interested to hear what else S/S can remember of the mother because I think she may be our key to the identity change and lifestyle and process financing.

PS. Thank you for all the wishes on my mom. It has been hard and will be continue to be challenging for some time..... but keep the mind distractions coming.

 

[HerStory]

Here's my theory...

I think she had some kind of traumatic event, possibly her parents divorcing and her Mom remarrying or something more serious.

People respond to life events very strangely. I have friends that have had awful things happen in their lives but they carry on. Others have events that I feel are bumps in the road, yet they are destroyed forever.

Any how, after the trauma she decides she is going to separate herself from family and in the missing two years I think she met someone that led an adventurous, wild life that appealed to her. Maybe she moved around with this person. I have this idea of the type of friend that always has a new plan but nothing really ever pans out. One week they are modeling, the next working at a strip club and living here for a bit, there for a bit.

I think this friend knew or knew someone who knew Ben Perkins and he helped her get a new identity. People have found some of his shady dealings so it wouldn't surprise me if he was involved in helping people get new identities.

If my theory is correct the notes page could be a combination of her notes and the friends notes.

Hopefully someone who knew her between 1986-1988 comes forward. Or if she had a close friend from before she left her family, we might get some details.

I was typing almost the same thing at the same time. lol

 

[beccaraeee]

Great questions!
Sure, the paper work part of things seemed quite simple back then, however, to have concocted a " scheme " such as this?
WOW.

Right! Since I have no idea how any of it works, and I've always just been plain Jane follow the rules and mind my business. IF I did this I would have just stayed BST, I wouldn't even think to change my name further.. I'd also be a nervous wreck going to an ID with a totally different name!

I was also thinking about it, and I would also like to know why so many P.O boxes, and if she actually used them.. Or just had them for no reason to one day throw people off the track of who she really was.

IMO, I don't think she cared if one day it was found out tho. If she did care, she would have burned everything in the lock box. Which is scary to think because the lock box paperwork was the starting point of finding out who she was..So how would anyone started the search without it, since I've learned with this case finding paper trails from the 80s/90s is a pain.


End rant. [emoji16]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[HerStory]

And I am beginning to think the Notes page was written from PA.
"Mountain Bell 3 hours less"

 

[llywrch]

About the note page: it indicates that the writer planned at one point to go to Los Angeles. Most likely this writer was KM/LEK.

I have assumed from the note page that the writer actually was in L.A. Parts of it make sense if she had been in that city. And if a young person decides to leave home to find her fame & fortune, Hollywood would be one of places to go. (The other would be New York City.) Of course a lot of people go there, don't succeed in the least, & either go home or find something else to do.

So Kim McLean sought fame & fortune in Tinseltown, failed, & ended up making herself into Lori Erica Kennedy.

The only problem with this theory is why did KM/LEK save this one page out of all of those she shredded? She doesn't strike me as a person who saves mementos of her failures.

 

[HerStory]

Could this have something to do with it? 1986.... Life sentence? Could KM have been associated to Henry?
Edited to add..... Maybe she was a victim of his? Hence her hyper vigilance, monitoring of 402 months, and the desire to suddenly escape.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Jeanne_Clery

A 33.5 year sentence!!!!!
http://articles.mcall.com/1988-07-23/news/2654695_1_death-sentence-franciosa-additional-sentences

 

[ArtsyOwl]

Anyone notice how similar sounding the two last names are?

C-A-S-S-I-D-Y and K-E-N-N-E-D-Y

Say it to yourself a few times.

They are both Irish names, plus she lived in Texas which is where Pres. Kennedy was shot-a coincidence, perhaps?
I had a feeling for a while, that she may have had Irish ancestry because she chose the name Kennedy, and even in Ireland Pres. Kennedy is someone that
revered over here. I am now wondering did she research her ancestry, and found that her family came from Wexford or New Ross and that is what gave her the idea to pick Kennedy as a surname? So many questions?

Another clue, was the fact that she liked High afternoon tea, and people from Ireland and Britain love afternoon tea. So I had a suspicion that Lori may have had some Irish ancestry somewhere along the line. I mentioned this before on reddit and was shouted down, so I kept my mouth shut afterwards.

 

[HerStory]

Or this event....
http://www.mcall.com/news/all-a1_4appeljun04-story.html

 

[EmiLove832]

About the note page: it indicates that the writer planned at one point to go to Los Angeles. Most likely this writer was KM/LEK.

I have assumed from the note page that the writer actually was in L.A. Parts of it make sense if she had been in that city. And if a young person decides to leave home to find her fame & fortune, Hollywood would be one of places to go. (The other would be New York City.) Of course a lot of people go there, don't succeed in the least, & either go home or find something else to do.

So Kim McLean sought fame & fortune in Tinseltown, failed, & ended up making herself into Lori Erica Kennedy.

The only problem with this theory is why did KM/LEK save this one page out of all of those she shredded? She doesn't strike me as a person who saves mementos of her failures.

My theory is so opposite than yours, I don't think she wanted fame at all. In my opinion, what we knew of her doesn't match wanting fame. That's why I think she had a friend and the friend did want those things so Kim/Lori went along for the ride. When she was over it she settled in Texas and changed her name a final time.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

I would LOVE for us to have a Q&A with Colleen and Velling for follow up. I wonder if they would do that?

*All statements are that of my own opinion unless otherwise specified. *

I am in a Facebook group online with Colleen. I don't really know her and I had no idea she was working on this case, but when I saw the name in the article I instantly recognized who it was. Others in the same group have solved other cases. I think it was Cee Cee Moore that solved Benjamin Kyle's case, right? It's kind of amazing, there have been several foundlings, babies left on doorsteps or in phone booths where there were no clues to start with, and genetic genealogists were able to use the same tactics they used to solve Kimberly's case to help these foundlings confirm their birth identities.


NOTE: **Ancestry and like databases test a different set of markers than does CODIS. On purpose, I think, because of issues like privacy concerns. So a list of CODIS markers like "TPOX 9, 9" or whatever means nothing to Ancestry. So it isn't a great tool for solving UID cases generally. It may well be worth it for a family who suspects their long-term missing child was a runaway to test as perhaps someday they may have future grandchildren to connect with, as happened in this case.

Two takeaways from my participation in this group that I will pass on because I know y'all are a caring, socially conscious bunch:

1) Think about testing. So many times I have seen long-searching birthmothers and adoptees reunited because a third party - someone who was a first or second or even third cousin - decided to test just for fun. They had no idea that they held the key to making another family whole.

2) Support state laws to open birth records to adult adoptees. My state, Ohio, has been one of the pioneers in this process. Here, adoptees don't need to pay money to Ancestry or to genetic genealogists to solve their cases. They can now simply request their original birth certificates and have the right to know their identities and those of their birth parents. There was an option written into the law where birth mothers could refuse to have their information released but very few chose to do so. Many happy reunions have resulted from this change, but adoptees in many other states are still trying to get their legislatures to follow suit.