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

[Gardener1850]

I should have written "best I can remember". I do remember one of these cases, but the one I was thinking of was in Ohio: where a machinist committed suicide, & upon settling his estate it was discovered he took the identity of a boy who died in the late 1940s. I don't remember the man's name, but I know it will be familiar to at least one person here since I learned of that case from a post here.

As for discovery in divorce... IANAL, but I figure divorce cases drag out as much stuff as either side is motivated to drag out & can afford to find out. I know Blake's BIL was eager to find out anything about her past, & a divorce case would be enough motivation to go looking. Who knows what he might have found asking people in 2010, when memories were a little more fresh than now? Or maybe he couldn't get any further than Velling had, who did have a lot more resources than one of the Ruffs, or a private investigator they hired.

Of course, we've since discovered the Ruffs don't have as much money as we thought, so maybe they would have been content with doing just enough to secure the divorce & get custody of the daughter.

They don't seem to have as much money as we thought but the BIL is a lawyer. He probably would have represented Blake for free or very cheap since he was family. I think Lori was about to lose it all--the house, custody of her daughter and any financial stability she had while married to Blake. And she had to be worried about what her in-laws could dig up on her when taking her to court. I wonder if she even told Blake about the bankruptcy she had in 1997?

 

[SavetheQueen]

I should have written "best I can remember". I do remember one of these cases, but the one I was thinking of was in Ohio: where a machinist committed suicide, & upon settling his estate it was discovered he took the identity of a boy who died in the late 1940s. I don't remember the man's name, but I know it will be familiar to at least one person here since I learned of that case from a post here.

As for discovery in divorce... IANAL, but I figure divorce cases drag out as much stuff as either side is motivated to drag out & can afford to find out. I know Blake's BIL was eager to find out anything about her past, & a divorce case would be enough motivation to go looking. Who knows what he might have found asking people in 2010, when memories were a little more fresh than now? Or maybe he couldn't get any further than Velling had, who did have a lot more resources than one of the Ruffs, or a private investigator they hired.

Of course, we've since discovered the Ruffs don't have as much money as we thought, so maybe they would have been content with doing just enough to secure the divorce & get custody of the daughter.

A note on the private investigator:
It's my understanding that the private investigator was merely a neighbor of Lori and Blake's in Leonard who did a bit of checking around. I read that in something over the past few days while searching things on Blake. The impression that I took was that he didn't do any really deep digging.

My point is that it's another strike in the column against the Ruffs not bursting at the seams with cash, and being known by everyone in East Texas. The private investigator situation was more of a neighbor doing a favor for the poor guy who's wife committed suicide in the parents' driveway.

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

 

[Gardener1850]

A note on the private investigator:
It's my understanding that the private investigator was merely a neighbor of Lori and Blake's in Leonard who did a bit of checking around. I read that in something over the past few days while searching things on Blake. The impression that I took was that he didn't do any really deep digging.

My point is that it's another strike in the column against the Ruffs not bursting at the seams with cash, and being known by everyone in East Texas. The private investigator situation was more of a neighbor doing a favor for the poor guy who's wife committed suicide in the parents' driveway.

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

Yes! The PI was the pastor/neighbor who gave them marriage counseling IIRC. He knew Lori's issues because he saw her behavior first hand. He probably felt so bad for Blake. I'm guessing he did it as a favor and out of a feeling of obligation--since he was attempting to counsel Lori when she killed herself.

ETA: Nevermind, the article doesn't explicitly say the PI was the pastor.

 

[SavetheQueen]

And on the Ruffs' money/community status, I personally mean no disrespect on that. I don't know if the media propped them up, they propped themselves up, or the public just got a few ideas and ran with them, and they grew from there. To me, they look like a typical upper middle class family that probably worked hard, and made wise financial choices. JMHO.

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

 

[SavetheQueen]

Yes! The PI was the pastor/neighbor who gave them marriage counseling IIRC. He knew Lori's issues because he saw her behavior first hand. He probably felt so bad for Blake. I'm guessing he did it as a favor and out of a feeling of obligation--since he was attempting to counsel Lori when she killed herself.

Were they the same person? Or two separate people? The pastor from the media interview???

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

 

[Gardener1850]

[h=2]Lori Kennedy's bankruptcy, some details[/h]

I decided to follow my own advice, & Thursday night used Pacer (www.pacer.gov) to see what I could find about LEK's bankruptcy. Unfortunately, all Pacer had was a list of the documents & hearings in the bankruptcy case, & two short documents: notice of her bankrputcy & a mailing list of the parties involved. Like far too much about her life, what I learned was an incomplete skeletal account which raised more questions than it answered. I'm hoping that someone who can visit the court archives in Ft. Worth could access the court records & provide the missing information.

My report will be in two parts. This one will present the facts, while the next will present most of my speculations.

On 21 Februrary 1997, LEK filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy. The point of this filing would be to reorganize her personal debt so she can pay them off in 3-7 years -- not to liquidate everything she owns & use it to discharge all of her debts. (To do this she would need to file for chapter 7.)

The case was filed in the Northern Federal bankruptcy district of Texas, & assigned a case number of 97-41011-bjh13 Lori Kennedy. The presiding judge was Barbara J. Houser. Her lawyer was Richard L. Venable, of Venable & Vida, LLP in Bedford, TX. The bankruptcy trustee appointed in this case was Tim Truman in Ft. Worth.

There was a meeting of her creditors & an examination of the debtor 9 April 1997. This is the event that would tell us the most about her: how much she owed, & to whom, & how much money she made & how she made it. Again, if I could have records of any one event in her bankruptcy, this is the one I would most want; sadly, Pacer didn't have a copy.

At a hearing on 29 September, a plan for repayment of LEK's debts was presented, & LEK filed an objection to this plan. Apparently LEK had some substantial objections, for there was a second hearing on the plan 3 December. Again LEK objected to the plan, butthe judge approved that version of the plan. If I read the details of the docket correctly, she was to replay her debts over a period of 51 months.

BTW, her bankruptcy lawyer Venable was awarded a total of $3482 for his services.

LEK was discharged from her bankruptcy on 17 July 2001. The case was formally closed 18 October 2001. To anchor these events in her timeline, LEK graduated from UT at Arlington 13 December 1997, & married Blake Ruff 5 January 2004.

From the mailing list, these appear to be the creditors involved in her bankruptcy:
* American Honda Finance
* Charles Crane, MD
* Citibank (South Dakota)
* Copper Canyon Apts. (The address for this apartment house is the same one LEK gave when she filed for bankruptcy: 2436 Harwood Rd. #387 Bedford TX 76021.)
* Internal Revenue Service
* Marine Midland Bank
* National Credit Group / MasterCharge
* Tarrant County. (This is the county where Bedford -- the town she was living in -- is located. However, Tarrant County withdrew their claims 3 November for reasons not clear from the docket.)

The interesting thing about Dr. Charles Crane is that he was a physiatrist, a doctor who specializes in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation. Sadly, Crane died 25 October 2013 so there's no point in trying to reach him. FWIW, this address is 7920 Belt Line Rd #935 Dallas, TX 75054

From this point, all that can be said further is speculation. Which I'm saving for my next post.
​

Bringing this over from the other thread so we can discuss it again. This is great work and it shouldn't be buried. It should be at the start of a separate thread, IMO.

 

[Gardener1850]

[h=2]Lori Kennedy's bankruptcy, some thoughts[/h]

I separated my speculations about LEK's bankruptcy from the facts simply because I felt it would be a mistake to enshrine my random thoughts as gospel. I'm not sure that what I'm about to write aren't ideas that have already been expressed much better before now.

Anyway, her bankruptcy. Let's start with some definite facts. One definite fact that comes out of this is that we know where LEK lived on 21 February 1997: at 2436 Harwood Rd. #387 Bedford. It is likely she lived there for several months before this date, & since she still used this address on her 2003 driver's license, she lived there for a long while afterwards. This is a surprising contrast to the previous evidence that led many people to believe she moved all over the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

Another is her debt to Dr Charles Crane, who specialized in the field of Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation, & Pain Management. Something happened to LEK that required her to see a specialist for pain. Maybe she was in an auto accident. Maybe she was assaulted or mugged. Maybe she had a work-related injury: as a dancer, long hours of physical activity in high heels would play hell with her feet; or doing graphic design on a computer with a mouse can cause many kinds of repetitive stress injuries such as carpal tunnel. That LEK suffered some kind of injury came as a surprise to me; somehow, as I read her story, I never pictured her in danger. Struggling to make a living, yes, but never in harm.

The list of her creditors at first glance suggest a far too common story: LEK lived beyond her means. Two of the creditors are credit card issuers -- Citibank & National Credit Group / MasterCard -- & the appearance of American Honda Finance implies that LEK purchased a new car. I doubt AHF would finance a used car, no matter how new. The IRS obviously appears because she owed back taxes somehow; normally people have their taxes withheld from their paychecks, so this implies LEK frequently worked as an independent contractor, who are expected to remit their taxes themselves. (A friend of mine who worked on contract as a graphic artist had to do this, & often found himself struggling to make his quarterly tax payments until he hired a bookkeeper to handle this.)

Marine Midland Bank appears here, I'm guessing, because they held her student loans. In those years, it was possible to discharge or renegotiate student loans thru bankruptcy; the laws were changed in 2005, which made bankruptcy laws much more draconian.

The appearance of her landlord is a surprise: normal practice is to start eviction proceedings soon as possible. Back when I was an apartment manager, we were always prompt on delivering notice if the tenant hadn't paid the rent -- or made arrangements -- by the tenth of the month, & wouldn't let the rent slide more than a month. Maybe LEK was able to sweet-talk the apartment manager into letting the rent slide several months -- an interpersonal skill I would never imagine her to have.

I can't explain how she'd be in debt to Tarrant County. Maybe someone who lives in Texas can explain how LEK could owe money to the county.

But one item suggests a different explanation, that she owed money to Dr Charles Crane, the specialist in the Physical Medicine, Rehabilitation, & Pain Management. It is not unreasonable to conclude that something happened to LEK that put her out of work & led to her falling behind in her bills. So there are two possible interpretations here: either LEK was a spendthrift with her money, or she was making a good living -- but perhaps not saving enough money -- when misfortune struck her & she fell too far behind in her bills. It would help to know the amounts of money involved here.

In either case, from December 1997 LEK lived for the next four & a quarter years with the weight of this debt over her head, but it appears she managed to pay it off ahead of time: 51 months from December 1997 would be March 2002 & her debt was discharged in July 2001. It is interesting to contrast these years with 1996, immediately before she filed bankruptcy, the year she received the certificate for the Buckeye Pilot solo flight. It had to have been a much happier, optimistic time. It appears that LEK was uncomfortable with the contrast; in her resume she papers over the period before January 1998, much as she papered over the period before she came to Dallas in her Letter of Reference with a fabricated story of working for a hotel in Thailand.​

Your thoughts are great and I thought they should be over here too next to the facts post

 

[Gardener1850]

Were they the same person? Or two separate people? The pastor from the media interview???

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

I think so but I'll double check....

ETA: Okay I might be wrong. I don't know why I thought it was the pastor but it doesn't say who the PI was--just that he lived next door.

"It just so happened that a private investigator lived next door, so Miles asked him to do a little digging, as well. He came back with more: the real Becky Sue was long dead."

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

And it doesn't really even say who the PI lived next door to--Lori and Blake? The Ruffs? The BIL? Very vague on that detail.

 

[eekasaur]

It's hard to go into detail about this topic IRL. Most people I've shared the story with have basically just told me she was batcrap so this is the only place where my needs to discuss Lori are properly catered!

Thank you for being here and posting! At the end of the day, Lori was a person...no matter who she was, she was a human being who deserves respect. I don't believe she was crazy...I believe she was dealt a difficult hand and had to escape her life somehow.

 

[Gardener1850]

So about that Dr. Cr@ne from the Bankruptcy filing--I took a look at his obituary. The guestbook comments there are interesting. Two different lawyers commented on it that they knew him as "an expert witness". This makes me wonder if Lori did not have a debt to the Dr for his medical services but actually hired him to try to testify on her behalf for some reason. Perhaps she was trying to reduce her bankruptcy amount by claiming disability? Or could there be another court case we don't know about where she hired him to testify but she didn't pay him so that became included in her debts?

 

[Linda9681]

Your thoughts are great and I thought they should be over here too next to the facts post

Maybe 402 months is not 402. Is 4 yrs 2 months or 40 in 2 months. I just woke up so... But wouldn't that be interesting. If you notice the has marks below the numbers, four of them. She was " doing the math" and I bet it wasn't in the hundreds.
(Regarding he payback time for the bankruptcy)

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[Linda9681]

I think so but I'll double check....

ETA: Okay I might be wrong. I don't know why I thought it was the pastor but it doesn't say who the PI was--just that he lived next door.

"It just so happened that a private investigator lived next door, so Miles asked him to do a little digging, as well. He came back with more: the real Becky Sue was long dead."

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

And it doesn't really even say who the PI lived next door to--Lori and Blake? The Ruffs? The BIL? Very vague on that detail.

The PI was a neighbor of Blake and Lori. He is a member here. I spoke to him and he has no additional info. He was present when the lockbox was opened.
He is NOT the pastor, but they know each other.


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[Gardener1850]

The PI was a neighbor of Blake and Lori. He is a member here. I spoke to him and he has no additional info. He was present when the lockbox was opened.
He is NOT the pastor, but they know each other.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you, Linda! Somehow I missed that he posted here.

 

[SavetheQueen]

So about that Dr. Cr@ne from the Bankruptcy filing--I took a look at his obituary. The guestbook comments there are interesting. Two different lawyers commented on it that they knew him as "an expert witness". This makes me wonder if Lori did not have a debt to the Dr for his medical services but actually hired him to try to testify on her behalf for some reason. Perhaps she was trying to reduce her bankruptcy amount by claiming disability? Or could there be another court case we don't know about where she hired him to testify but she didn't pay him so that became included in her debts?

I'm wondering then if maybe she had been involved in an auto accident that was her fault, and she was injured. And uninsured. Her car is totalled, but she's still responsible for the balance of the note and maybe Honda has obtained a civil judgment against her. The doctor, she hired for her pain management, and expert testimony as to how badly she was injured. The objection was that she needed longer terms to pay back her debts maybe. The doctor could have provided testimony that stated she wasn't ready to return to work, yet. The second time she objected, the judge said nope.

Also, on the IRS debt, which was brought up in the other thread: most of the jobs on her resume say "contract". She probably didn't pay her taxes.

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

 

[Gardener1850]

I'm wondering then if maybe she had been involved in an auto accident that was her fault, and she was injured. And uninsured. Her car is totalled, but she's still responsible for the balance of the note and maybe Honda has obtained a civil judgment against her. The doctor, she hired for her pain management, and expert testimony as to how badly she was injured. The objection was that she needed longer terms to pay back her debts maybe. The doctor could have provided testimony that stated she wasn't ready to return to work, yet. The second time she objected, the judge said nope.

Also, on the IRS debt, which was brought up in the other thread: most of the jobs on her resume say "contract". She probably didn't pay her taxes.

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

It looks like the Dr always lived in Dallas but one of the lawyers who posted about him giving expert testimony is from Corpus Christi, TX. The Dr could have traveled all over Texas to give medical testimony. This makes me think we should check court records for all the surrounding counties where Lori lived (or maybe all the counties the Dr testified in if we could find such a list). If she DID have a car wreck maybe it was outside of her currently known locations. It could give a hint to where she was going and what she was doing back then. I'm not good at finding court records but I know many of you are. Can anyone provide some hints/tips for a newbie? How do you find out where records are located to search for them? I want to help. Here is a map of the counties surrounding Dallas: https://www.maptechnica.com/county-map/Dallas/TX/48113

 

[SavetheQueen]

It looks like the Dr always lived in Dallas but one of the lawyers who posted about him giving expert testimony is from Corpus Christi, TX. The Dr could have traveled all over Texas to give medical testimony. This makes me think we should check court records for all the surrounding counties where Lori lived (or maybe all the counties the Dr testified in if we could find such a list). If she DID have a car wreck maybe it was outside of her currently known locations. It could give a hint to where she was going and what she was doing back then. I'm not good at finding court records but I know many of you are. Can anyone provide some hints/tips for a newbie? How do you find out where records are located to search for them? I want to help. Here is a map of the counties surrounding Dallas: https://www.maptechnica.com/county-map/Dallas/TX/48113

Basically, go to the respective county websites, and see if they have public access. I know that Tarrant County does. Some sites you have to register for, some you just enter the info. I would do this with no problem, but I woke up dealing with a health issue, and my bed is calling my name. [emoji40]

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

 

[Gardener1850]

Basically, go to the respective county websites, and see if they have public access. I know that Tarrant County does. Some sites you have to register for, some you just enter the info. I would do this with no problem, but I woke up dealing with a health issue, and my bed is calling my name. [emoji40]

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

Sorry you're not feeling well! Rest up STQ. I'll see what I can find but hopefully our experts here can search more court records too.

 

[ALadInsane]

This possibility for FLEK was not discussed here yet and I want to bring it up:
Elizabeth Eisel missing from Bellevue, Washington since 1985. Her timeline has a lot of coincidences with FLEK timeline. Elizabeth had reasons to be running away from someone in her past and at the same time had reasons to maintain multiple mail boxes to try to keep in touch with persons from her past. She likely had knowledge of Beckie Sue Turner death. And she probably knew how to steal an identity. Her past story is a very shameful one that for sure she would not confide in anyone. She is 7 years older than BST.

Eisel, born in 1962, was adopted and grew up in Bellevue, Washington ( about 30 miles from BST death location Fife). Her adoptive mother and brother died somewhere in 1977-1981 ( different sites have different dates) in an accident. After that she lived with an unnamed relative in Orange County, California. There she got in touch with a biological half-brother with a criminal record, Steven. She took off with the half-brother and they lived together as a couple under assumed names. In 1983 she gave birth to the couples baby. By now they were back in Bellevue. In 1985 she disappeared leaving the baby and all belongings behind. Steven was a suspect but never charged. The child was put under state care. The half- brother is currently serving 6 life sentences for raping an 8 year old girl. The girl was the daughter of a woman with whom he had a relationship after Eisel. She also vanished in 1999 and is still missing. The half-brother lived in Idaho between 1985 and mid 90's ( couldn't find info if it was in Boise).

Eisel is in Namus (https://www.findthemissing.org/en/cases/11854), Charlie (http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/e/eisel_elizabeth.html) and DOE network (http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/344dfwa.html). Her adoptive father L. H. Eisel (has been living in Texas, Dallas area for some years, couldn't find how many) took 13 years to report her disappearance.

The available photos of Eisel are not particular good for comparison with FLEKs photos. Eisel looks quite chubby in the existent photos and hair covers part of her face. At first I would say she is not FLEK, but the black and white photo available shows similarities with photos from FLEK we have. It called my attention that Eisel clothes in the photos looks matronly and one of the photos shows long hands. Eisel height is reported as 5'3 - 5'4 ( much shorter than FLEK).

 

[Gardener1850]

I think I found a court record for Lori in Rockwall County, TX for writing a bad check in 1990. Have we discussed this one before?
https://portal.rockwallcountytexas.com/Portal/Home/WorkspaceMode?p=0#PartyInformation

Case # HC-91-336
Court: JP3
File Date: 06/12/1992
Case type: Criminal Non-Traffic
Case status: Filed

State of Texas vs Lori Kennedy

1	ISSUANCE OF BAD CHECK	32.41	Class C Misdemeanor	12/17/1990

[TH="class: k-header"][/TH]
[TH="class: k-header"]Description[/TH]
[TH="class: k-header"]Statute[/TH]
[TH="class: k-header"]Level[/TH]
[TH="class: k-header"]Date[/TH]

[TD="class: k-hierarchy-cell"][/TD]

There is an address in Garland I have never seen before, but I'm holding off on posting it in case this is not our Lori.
Anyone want to check it out and let me know if I'm missing anything?

 

[llywrch]

The PI was a neighbor of Blake and Lori. He is a member here. I spoke to him and he has no additional info. He was present when the lockbox was opened.
He is NOT the pastor, but they know each other.

Well, he might have the answer to a couple more questions that have been asked here:

1) What exactly was in the strongbox? At the moment, it appears to have been BST's birth certificate, the "notes page", that dodgy "Letter of Recommendation", some pages from the Arizona phone book, & maybe the court order changing her name. That's what the Seattle Times article leads one to believe. And it's possible that under the pressure of a deadline that the reporter omitted something, or accidentally included something. (When the reporter told the story, such a detail was not important, & no one would bother to check that she got that detail right; now that we've gone over all of the evidence at least twice, the exact contents of the lockbox become important, & I expect someone will base a theory on what was in the box.)

2) What kind of strongbox was it? While I gather that it was an inexpensive, metal lockable box (& maybe the lock was a cheap one), a bit of detail there might offer a clue about her. For example, if it was a fairly expensive one that required some effort to open, it would be odd that only the few documents they found would be in it.

Yes, these details might normally not be of much importance, but we reached the point of scraping the bottom of the barrel long ago. :-/