TX - 'Lori Ruff', Longview, WhtFem UP9863, *General Discussion and Theories* #5

[llywrch]

The exact quote from the Seattle TImes Article: "He tracked down a few friends and colleagues from years ago. One said she had been working as a dancer at a “gentleman’s club” in the early 1990s, according to Velling. A clue, perhaps. But no one he found knew anything about Lori before 1988."

http://old.seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021243552_janedoexml.html

This is even more interesting if the guy on Youtube is telling the truth because he claims she was coming into the teashop between 1991-95. So, she was a stripper who liked to go to a tea shop where little girls dress up? Doesn't add up...unless...What are the chances that the tea shop sold things she could have used in her act? Maybe she bought costume jewelry and things like that there? IDK. Is the Youtube guy still answering questions? Someone should ask him if he remembers how she dressed back then and if she ever bought clothing or jewelry from the tea shop.

The Fox News article provides a bit more information:

[FONT=&amp]Her student loan applications listed three references, one of whom was a former classmate she had briefly dated. According to the man, whom Velling did not name, Jane Doe had “more problems than he could deal with.”

[/FONT][FONT=&amp]“His recollection was that she was a dancer at a Dallas-area nightclub at the time [she was attending school],” Velling said.[/FONT]

 

[Bombshell]

Maybe by the boyfriend saying she was a stripper he thought he would knock her character down enough to take the interest off of finding out who she really was. It's that whole idea that "no one really cares about a stripper".

I have no doubt FLEK was a stripper. She could wear wigs, a pound of makeup, totally change her look and story and no one would question it. Strippers are almost always independent contractors and can easily lie about their income on taxes (or not file at all and stay off radar). I wouldn't be surprised if FLEK had a generous customer helping her through her identity transition because men do very dumb things for a half naked fantasy girl.

I am an exotic dancer. I am also a PTA mom. I live a very quiet, boring, mundane life. I do not walk around my home in 8 inch platform stilettos nor am I a drug user. Dancers come from all walks of life.

 

[llywrch]

Thanks, I was never clear on exactly when the divorce was enacted. So she committed suicide 4 days after she received the divorce papers. 10 days after JBR filed in court. That really puts things in perspective.

Glad to help.

BTW, I haven't been able to identify when JBR moved out of their house. Could have been months before the police were called to their house, could have been shortly afterwards. Knowing that would make events & her frame of mind more clear.

And no one has learned where the daughter was that fateful Christmas Eve; I hope she was with one of her relatives, & not abandoned at the house.

 

[annemc2]

So, if I'm reading that correctly, that tea room was ALWAYS a dress up place for little girls. It would be very strange for a college student to hang out there. I'm not sure what reason she would even have for going in there. If this guy commenting on YT is on the level, that is strange behavior. Could he have meant that she worked there? More importantly, do the same owners still run Chelsea's? Any locals want to go there and ask about Lori?

To me it looks like it started out as a children's clothing store, then she added the tearoom part later? So yeah, no reason for Lori to be hanging out at the kids' "clothing boutique" unless maybe she was an employee. Asked my mom if the associated names JB or CB sounded familiar. She said no but that she'd ask around. Too bad this place wasn't around a few years earlier when my sister and I were into all that sparkly dress-up stuff. There were some social/activity circles that were very close to the tearoom that we were pretty involved in and would have definitely checked this place out.

 

[llywrch]

Some excellent posts, this thread has me on the edge. I was also hoping somebody could reach out to the Texas businesswomen but I get the impression now they don't wish to talk about her? If the detective had only asked one friend or one acquientance we could have a better picture of what Lori was really like. Instead he chose to ignore them and tried to hunt down anyone pre 1988. The stripper comment? I don't buy it, as it has been mentioned before she fits more the waitress category. And even then I find it hard to believe she would feel at ease in such enviornment, wasn't she deeply religious? As for the naps, yes there could be multiple explanations for that, it doesn't really raise a huge red flag. Now here is something that puzzles me: what evidence did the police have at hand to claim she originally intended to murder the ruffs? The threatening emails? I ask this because it doesn't sound logical to write an 11 page note in the car, sounds like she arrived with the notes ready. So was the plan to murder the ruffs and then kill herself? And have Blake witness everything? I don't understand this plan. Why didn't the ruffs answer? Were they away or did the not hear her? I just don't get it, there are HUGE holes in this part of the story.

Someone filed a FOIA request for the police reports on her suicide. (Sorry, but I am bad with names. And another thanks for spending the money for this.) Since it took a couple of years for the FOIA on Velling's investigation to be completed, it may be a long time before we see the police reports. & possibly answer some of these questions.

But it's obvious that whatever her mental state when she met Blake, LEK was definitely not thinking clearly during the last months of her life. Losing Blake pushed her over the edge, & whatever was her original intention when she drove to her in-law's house, in the end she killed herself there in a prima facie act of revenge. (I say "prima facie" because there is some possible ambiguity in her last acts. Maybe her stalking around their house was more of an act of a "little match girl" who found herself outside looking in on a family that she never had. Maybe her notes were intended as demands, but as she sat there in the driveway decided that it was all pointless & instead took her life, too absorbed in her pain to sense how it would affect the others.)

Hopefully investigating the existing records of her life, & maybe a few more people coming forward with their memories of LEK, will answer some of these questions.

 

[Gardener1850]

Yes, the impression we all have was that the Ruffs were/are an affluent, well known family. If not in Longview, definitely in some part of East Texas. So no one has heard of this family in their home town?

This would suggest that we've all been part of an odd hoax. However, we know a congressman initiated the report -- we have the FOIA materials to verify that. And we know the house LEK live in with her husband child exists -- there are pictures of it in the thread "Sticky: Photos Only *NO DISCUSSION*".

Every time I think I know something definite & solid about this case, something is uncovered that leaves me wondering just how much is truth & how much is just rumor. :-(

I have always tried to give the Ruffs a certain amount of privacy with the idea that they were victims of Lori's identity theft. For that reason, I never looked too deeply into the family. That said, I just looked up the value of their homes. From the records I found, JBR's parents never had an address that topped $160,000 in value on Zillow. There is also an apartment associated with their names (which may be Blake's) that goes for under $900 a month. I know housing is cheap in some parts of Texas but this seems very cheap to me. The house is not a house of a wealthy family, IMO. I think we have all been bamboozled. It's not a hoax that they exist but if they exaggerated their importance in the community and their wealth when talking to reporters it makes me wonder what else they exaggerated. How did we get the idea the Ruffs were wealthy to begin with?!? Was it all a creation of the reporter to add sensation to the story or was it their answers to questions that gave that impression?

 

[llywrch]

Again--the family is trying awfully hard to make her sound clinically insane, and I'm not so sure she wasn't simply having a breakdown that, under these circumstances, seems at least understandable. Rather that her paranoia decreasing over time, the rapid evolution of the internet almost certainly ramped up the amount of stress she was under--if the right person ever made the right Google search, her whole scheme could have been exposed without her realizing it until somebody from the SSA came knocking.

I'm of the opposite opinion. I wonder if she wasn't hoping that someone from her past would contact her; that would explain the several mailboxes she had. Only no one from her past ever contacted her. So when she lost Blake, & by extension her daughter, she had no one left in her life, & this isolation led to her breakdown.

But I think we agree that she was, for the most part, functional & able to handle most things in her life from 1988 until those last, painful months.

 

[Gardener1850]

I have no doubt FLEK was a stripper. She could wear wigs, a pound of makeup, totally change her look and story and no one would question it. Strippers are almost always independent contractors and can easily lie about their income on taxes (or not file at all and stay off radar). I wouldn't be surprised if FLEK had a generous customer helping her through her identity transition because men do very dumb things for a half naked fantasy girl.

I am an exotic dancer. I am also a PTA mom. I live a very quiet, boring, mundane life. I do not walk around my home in 8 inch platform stilettos nor am I a drug user. Dancers come from all walks of life.

Thanks. I meant no offense against your profession just a random theory based on what perception is. Perception is not always reality. There was another dancer on these boards who examined Lori's story in detail and didn't think Lori was likely to be a stripper. Search for posts by AstroKitty. You can read some of her thoughts about Lori in the Occupations thread here: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?215829-Lori-s-Occupations&p=9693317#post9693317

 

[SavetheQueen]

So, if I'm reading that correctly, that tea room was ALWAYS a dress up place for little girls. It would be very strange for a college student to hang out there. I'm not sure what reason she would even have for going in there. If this guy commenting on YT is on the level, that is strange behavior. Could he have meant that she worked there? More importantly, do the same owners still run Chelsea's? Any locals want to go there and ask about Lori?

Did she maybe work there part time and help out because she enjoyed the tea party scene and wanted to be part of it?

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

 

[FrankieB]

Is the Youtube guy still answering questions? Someone should ask him if he remembers how she dressed back then and if she ever bought clothing or jewelry from the tea shop.

He hasn't replied to the last batch of questions.

 

[FrankieB]

* September 18 2010 – JBR called police to report harassment by LEK When they arrive, LEK had bruises so he was charged for misdemeanor assault of LEK (Case CR10-0144JP2)

What, I had never heard this before, can you please elaborate? Thanks!

 

[llywrch]

What, I had never heard this before, can you please elaborate? Thanks!

Not too much to it. The police were called to their house by the husband, JBR. When they arrived, the couple was outside, & they treated it as a typical marital dispute. Although JBR complained that LEK was the cause of the problem & had attacked him, LEK showed bruises & claimed JBR had attacked her. With no other evidence to go on, they arrested JBR for misdemeanor assault. The case was dismissed after LEK committed suicide.

My guess is that LEK was the aggressor, but when the police arrived she did a better job of presenting her side of the argument & the police had to arrest JBR. (What little we know of JBR, he doesn't come across as someone who would hit a woman -- unless she struck first, & then to defend himself.) One of the reasons the Ruffs were intimidated by LEK. Yes, their marriage was in serious trouble by that point.

Please check my account against the records, because I may have misremembered details; you can find it on the county webpage under the case number.

 

[FrankieB]

Thank you, that incident is never mentioned anywhere. I also don't get the impression Blake is a hitter. I wonder if the cuase of dispute was her usual criticism of his parents but this time it escalated. Was Lori aggressive if provoked after all? I guess this incident answers my hypothetical question about Blake going through her stuff, it would have been a very bad idea. By the time they attended marriage counceling shortly afterwards I guess she really regretted what she had done. It's a bit odd if you think ahout it, 4 days after the divorce papers she committs suicide, a clear indication Blake and her daughter were the last train, the last hope for a normal, happy life. Losing them was devastating, but if this marriage was so important to her, why ruin it being extremely difficult with the Ruffs? Well, that's what the info at hand points to, we'll never know her side of things....

 

[MrsMole]

Losing them was devastating, but if this marriage was so important to her, why ruin it being extremely difficult with the Ruffs?

Although I think we all agree that it's hard to determine how 'difficult' she actually was with only one set of opinions, I think the above is a good question. Part of me wonders if maybe she wasn't trying to be difficult but had to be difficult. For example, we don't know every conversation she had with the Ruff family. Maybe the Ruffs pried more than we think about her past, her family, etc. It's obvious they wondered, or they wouldn't have broken into the house and claimed she was a spy. Maybe she was trying hard to distance herself from them (literally and figuratively) and had to keep the relationship strained for fear that they would figure out her whole story.
This is the kind of thing that could tear up a marriage, especially with a partner who isn't very intuitive. Something along the lines of "I can't tell you WHY I don't ever want to see your parents again, we just CAN'T!" She knows she has a good reason, he doesn't understand nor does he really try to... you get the idea. Once she realized that trying to maintain her cover and distance from the Ruffs meant she had lost Blake, it could have been enough to set the events that followed into motion..

 

[FrankieB]

Something along the lines of "I can't tell you WHY I don't ever want to see your parents again, we just CAN'T!" She knows she has a good reason, he doesn't understand nor does he really try to... you get the idea. Once she realized that trying to maintain her cover and distance from the Ruffs meant she had lost Blake, it could have been enough to set the events that followed into motion..

Which is why I get the feeling the ruffs knew/know more than they lead on.

Regarding the Lori time line, she really wanted to go to Las Vegas with Blake, they had some kind of special event there , I read about that in one of the 5 threads but it's impossible to find it again, or did I just dream it?

 

[Gardener1850]

Which is why I get the feeling the ruffs knew/know more than they lead on.

Regarding the Lori time line, she really wanted to go to Las Vegas with Blake, they had some kind of special event there , I read about that in one of the 5 threads but it's impossible to find it again, or did I just dream it?

The had a second wedding in Las Vegas. It has never made sense to me unless she had ties to Vegas and wanted to return for some reason. I wonder if the first wedding they had on a Monday was actually kept secret from the rest of the family and they ran off to marry again in Vegas to make it "official" to the family?

 

[FrankieB]

How long after the first wedding did they go to Vegas? Do you think somebody she knew attended ?

 

[Linda9681]

The had a second wedding in Las Vegas. It has never made sense to me unless she had ties to Vegas and wanted to return for some reason. I wonder if the first wedding they had on a Monday was actually kept secret from the rest of the family and they ran off to marry again in Vegas to make it "official" to the family?

I have always speculated the Vegas wedding was so a family member or friend could " secretly " be there


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Gardener1850]

How long after the first wedding did they go to Vegas? Do you think somebody she knew attended ?

I have always speculated the Vegas wedding was so a family member or friend could " secretly " be there


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Linda, do you know when the second wedding happened? I thought I had seen the Vegas wedding record but I went to look and I can't find it now. I only found discussion of the second wedding in the threads here. How do we know about it?

 

[OBrunhilde!]

Linda, do you know when the second wedding happened? I thought I had seen the Vegas wedding record but I went to look and I can't find it now. I only found discussion of the second wedding in the threads here. How do we know about it?

http://live.seattletimes.com/Event/Live_chat_with_investigator_reporter_about_Jane_Doe_case?Page=1

"The Nevada question: We do not know if she ever spent time in Nevada but some time after her marriage to Jon Blakely Ruff they went to visit Las Vegas. They went through a second ceremony in Las Vegas and returned home. I had our agents in Las Vegas see if the police in Las Vegas could run JANE Doe's photo past their photo database but if she ever worked in Las Vegas it would have been before digital photos."

The quote is from the article linked above. That is the only evidence that I have ever seen that the second wedding took place.