Becky Sue Turner and related

[kdsmith21]

great catch!

i guess she wasn't too good of a liar all the time. i believe she graduated hs under her possible real name and since she didn't want the two connected, she just used her new fake identity to get her ged - then there's no hs transcripts or past connection.

Are all yearbooks available online? I am thinking that she must've attended high school, even if she didn't graduate I feel like she most certainly attended one. Are photos of freshmen-juniors in the yearbooks as well? In that case someone is bound to find her at some point.

How many sleuthers, active on this case, have accounts on sites where yearbooks are available? I imagine you have to pay something to access them. Although it's a lot of work, I'd suggest dividing work between you - start with the states which we know she has connections to on the westcoast and then expand.

Even if you only get through one yearbook per day we'll still get answers at some point!

Did anyone have any luck with finding out the origin of the death notice of BST in the news paper?

Ancestry website has many yearbooks on their site...you can browse page by page - but you need a name to start searching.. vicious circle..I started with Becky Sue's older sister who survived, who was 2 years older, her yearbook is online Ancestry. Yes Freshman, Juniors, and Sophomores are in there... I looked through 2 books, we need to narrow it down some more some how...

 

[hopeandglory]

Ancestry website has many yearbooks on their site...you can browse page by page - but you need a name to start searching.. vicious circle..I started with Becky Sue's older sister who survived, who was 2 years older, her yearbook is online Ancestry. Yes Freshman, Juniors, and Sophomores are in there... I looked through 2 books, we need to narrow it down some more some how...

Hrm... What about looking for high schools in areas of the states which has ties to LEK? The hollywood area in California, the Puyallup area in WA, Scottsdale area in Arizona, Boise area in Idaho etc.

Then when you have the names of the schools, you could always look if they have a FB page and then, if they do, you find someone who is a member/liked the page/has posted on it etc... and then you'll have a name to enter too.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

It still seems really risky to me to go in front of a judge for a name change. My mother was big into stolen identities (don't ask) and she'd never have gone into a court room unless absolutely necessary to avoid jail. Not only risky in that someone might do some looking, but that's a pretty easily traceable paper trail, so it's not exactly like "haha I've fooled them now by CHANGING my name! They'll never track this back!" ya know?

She didn't really steal an identity, she borrowed Becky Sue Turner just long enough to create a new one. If there is no reason for someone to examine a person's background, they won't. She kept a low profile and stayed out of legal trouble, so her identity held up.
It being Texas, I wonder if they ever even asked to see the BST birth certificate or the Idaho ID card.

 

[AngelaE8654]

Not all yearbooks are posted online, unfortunately. I found the ones for my sophomore and my junior year in PDF form (which is way cool) but I can't find my senior yearbook anywhere. It might be worth a look in mine, since I suspect she's close to my age and I am in the Pacific Northwest.

As far as handwriting goes, the Idaho ID does look like a younger writer, however there are two things:

1. Teenagers and women in their 20s have similar types of handwriting. I was 22 in 1988 and my handwriting that year had not drastically changed from when I was 16. Actually, it's still close now and I'm 47.

2. The "Becky Sue Turner" on the Idaho ID looks very stilted, as if she was writing that name for the very first time. Here are some examples of handwriting from teenaged girls that I found online and then I've included the Idaho ID. Notice how fluid the handwriting examples look and how stilted the signature on the ID card looks:

 

[bdobbs]

I think she changed her name later to avoid ever being tracked down because of the Becky Sue name. And most name change petitions are pretty routine, unlikely to be questioned unless she had a criminal record, which Becky Sue clearly couldn't have.

The purpose of the legal name change is so you don't run across someone familiar with the identity you assumed. If someone finds out you share the same name and birth date, it would be over. Or, Imagine it ending up in the paper or the billboard at a ball game.

The link between the two isn't for covert purposes, it is more of a defense measure against accidental exposure.

 

[bdobbs]

I agreed at first that she seemed significantly older than she claimed in the original photo that was released. The other ones seem closer to her declared age to me. She was supposedly around my age.

Her signature on her early drivers license seems like it was written by a teenager.

You would think if you were trolling for an identity, you'd choose one with a birthdate within a year or 2 of your own.

Thanks for reposting the timeline. I thought I was keeping up with this thread, but everything in my life seems to be done halfway lately, so I'm not surprised I haven't. :scared:

It still seems really risky to me to go in front of a judge for a name change. My mother was big into stolen identities (don't ask) and she'd never have gone into a court room unless absolutely necessary to avoid jail. Not only risky in that someone might do some looking, but that's a pretty easily traceable paper trail, so it's not exactly like "haha I've fooled them now by CHANGING my name! They'll never track this back!" ya know?

the hard part was over. She IS Becky Sue Turner. Changing to LEK is easy. It won't hide her from anyone, but it will protect her from every day accidental exposure.

 

[kdsmith21]

There was also another Lori Kennedy in Dallas TX that was arrested for several cases of forgery and passing bad checks in the years (80's) just before our Lori changed her name from Becky Sue, I would have to look again but the birth year I think was 1959... I wonder if there is any possibility it is the same Lori? Long shot I know... and I would think there would have been prints on file or in the system. But you never know, truth is stranger than fiction especially with this case... I found it by running the name Lori Kennedy on the Dallas TX clerk of court website.

 

[AngelaE8654]

There was also another Lori Kennedy in Dallas TX that was arrested for several cases of forgery and passing bad checks in the years (80's) just before our Lori changed her name from Becky Sue, I would have to look again but the birth year I think was 1959... I wonder if there is any possibility it is the same Lori? Long shot I know... and I would think there would have been prints on file or in the system. But you never know, truth is stranger than fiction especially with this case... I found it by running the name Lori Kennedy on the Dallas TX clerk of court website.

That's very curious. Would her fingerprints have been on file then? This "Lori" doesn't have any fingerprints in the system anywhere. They took them after death and checked. I'd wonder if someone was using an "assumed" identity and then changed their name legally to one that had a record but you never know.

 

[kdsmith21]

There was also another Lori Kennedy in Dallas TX that was arrested for several cases of forgery and passing bad checks in the years (80's) just before our Lori changed her name from Becky Sue, I would have to look again but the birth year I think was 1959... I wonder if there is any possibility it is the same Lori? Long shot I know... and I would think there would have been prints on file or in the system. But you never know, truth is stranger than fiction especially with this case... I found it by running the name Lori Kennedy on the Dallas TX clerk of court website.

Here is the info, the other Lori born 1960 but it is a Lori ... but maybe she only changed her middle name when she re-invented herself?? Our Lori had a speeding ticket, but I looked at it and didn't see anything valuable, not even on the Lori A info... addresses, attorney, etc...ok on the website it is not a middle initial, no middle initial is given for the Lori born in 1960

NAME ENTERED KENNEDY LORI NAME TYPE DF
LN ARC RS DOB CASE/BOND CT CHARGE DISP
01 KENNEDY LORI A WF 041160 MB9102001 MB THEFT CK 20 PGBC
02 KENNEDY LORI A WF 041160 MB9102002 MB THEFT CK 20 DISM
03 KENNEDY LORI A WF 041160 MB9102253 MB THEFT CK 20 PGBC
04 KENNEDY LORI A WF 041160 MB9104308 MF THEFT CK 20 PGBC
05 KENNEDY LORI E A UU 000000 MC92C4212 MD SPD 51/35 DISM

 

[lenac03]

There was also another Lori Kennedy in Dallas TX that was arrested for several cases of forgery and passing bad checks in the years (80's) just before our Lori changed her name from Becky Sue, I would have to look again but the birth year I think was 1959... I wonder if there is any possibility it is the same Lori? Long shot I know... and I would think there would have been prints on file or in the system. But you never know, truth is stranger than fiction especially with this case... I found it by running the name Lori Kennedy on the Dallas TX clerk of court website.

You got me curious, so I ventured over to the Dallas County court website and searched civil court cases on Lori Kennedy's name and came up with one hit. Lori Kennedy etal vs North American Restoratio [presumably Restoration, looks like the website truncated it] in 1992. Within Dallas, I come up with North American Restoration being a Fire & Water Damage Restoration Company. Not sure if it means anything, just so interested in this.

I've been following this thread but not registered, and not posting for a while now (hi, first time poster here!). What originally caught my eye was the Longview link, as I moved to Longview about 3 weeks before her suicide.

 

[Angie4b1g]

I think if I was searching yearbooks, I'd go back a year or 2 or 3 to when she said she was there. I'm not sure someone 25-30 would WANT to 'be' 18 again. But I could see her being 2-3 years older and thinking that Becky's DOB was close enough.

 

[ClaireNC]

Is there any way to search for others who lived at the addresses we know LEK to have lived at, and see if any of the dates overlap, so we could ID a roommate, boyfriend, or possibly another name she was using to receive mail at that residence? Chances are, she always had a PO box if there was any correspondence with anyone from her old life, but it couldn't hurt.
(snipped)

Here are locations she has been with some known addresses. At the bottom is the results of an address search on ancestry.com. Unfortunately it looks like a lot of the addresses are either PO boxes or mail drop places.

Locations and Addresses:
(Becky Sue was born in Bakersfield, California in 1969, Died in house fire in Fife, Washington in 1971, was living in Tacoma, Washington at time of death, buried in Puyallup, Washington.)

Late 1980’s, Had a PO Box in Boulder City, Nevada

June 1988, Idaho ID card, address listed as 7101 El Caballa, Boise, Idaho 83704, the correct spelling for the address is El Caballo Dr.

July 1988, Application for Lori Kennedy Social Security number. 6102 Mockingbird #191, Dallas, Texas 75214

March 1990, Passport application - 6266 Melody Lane Apt 3079, Dallas, Texas 75231 (Same address used on GED test)

Before 2003, Texas Driver’s License expiration date 7/18/07, 2436 Harwood Rd, 387, Bedford, TX 76021

2003? Resume - 1978 Oak Creek Lane #16, Bedford, Texas 76022, Home: 817-685-8401, Cell: 817-715-8578, email csengineer2002@yahoo.com

According to her resume she worked in Arlington (2002/2003), Irving (2000-2002), Dallas (1999-2000), Colleyville (1998), Grand Prairie (1998), and Fort Worth (1992-1998), Texas

Claimed she was from Scottsdale, AZ per obituary http://www.tributes.com/show/Lori-Erica-Ruff-90422740 and http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/news-journal/obituary.aspx?pid=147500643#fbLoggedOut


Ancestry.com shows the following addresses for Lori E. Kennedy with DOB 7/18/69:

3146 Hudnall St., Dallas, Texas 75235
14400 Statler Blvd, Fort Worth, Tx 76155
2436 Harwood Rd. Apt. 387, Bedford, Texas 76021

This one comes back as a business when googled:
Lori E. Kennedy (DOB July 1969)
1111 W. Airport #147, Irving, Texas 75062 (phone number 355-0747)

Then there are also:
200 Bear Creek Dr. Apt. 219, Euless, TX 76039 (1995)
P.O. Box 543344 #219, Dallas, TX 75354
3901 Oakridge Ct. Apt. 3815, Fort Worth, TX 76155 (1993)
P.O. Box 810, Euless, Texas 76039 (1995)

 

[neesaki]

I've been following this case since reading about it Sunday in the Seattle Times. Been researching and took part in the online chat on Tuesday. Mr. Velling answered a few of my questions. One question I tried to ask was if he had researched the yearbooks of the age and time frame of the school years and class of the real Becky Sue Turner if she had lived. Great to see others are doing that. Kudos!

I have a theory about this Jane Doe...

Her husband, his family, and neighbors saw her mentally spiral out of control, fast. She was always and constantly on the computer and worked from the computer. I think we can all agree that if you change your identity and run from your past, there is (especially with today's technology and social media) a little curiosity in researching your past online--whether be checking up on family, friends, old lovers, etc.

I think that's what happened. I think curiosity was killing her cat and I think she discovered something online and started to panic. The article stated she became obsessive and always had a particular issue on her mind, but they never knew what it was. It made her paranoid. Whatever it was, she found online... as if her real identity and past had been made known through someone, something, an event, photos, the law, or a real family member. Whatever it was, she knew the truth was just around the corner from her, and from the way she acted, it was coming fast. I truly feel that this case will be solved from within the online world.

I've been wondering about the photos of her in the women's business association, these were published in that local paper. Iirc she was named as the photographer. Maybe to try stay out of the pictures, but it didn't work? Someone else insisted on getting shots with her in them?

Idk, but IMO she looks ill at ease in those photos, her smile looks forced and her expression is kind of that deer in the headlight look. Almost panic stricken. my thoughts are, did these photos being published in the paper of her have something to do with what transpired afterwards, as this was just a couple months before everything started falling apart. I.e., increased fear and paranoia on her part that took its toll on her marriage.

 

[AngelaE8654]

I thought that as well but one article said she was released at 19?? That didn't make sense either because she and her brother went to high school after the shooting...so I don't know. But it seems though everything knows they got a name change-- so it was probably an above board legal name change rather than this crazy paper chase method. IDk.

Yeah that's probably true. She wouldn't have needed the "Becky Sue Turner" birth certificate to change her name in that case.

 

[dizzigirl1]

So, she was fairly young when she used the Becky Sue Id for that brief period of time & wouldn't have necessarily lost the habit of her writing from school. I think the way she has signed her name is significant. The capital E suggests to me that her first name really begins with an E as she is used to writing it that way. I am stuck on that Idaho ID card. My first name begins with an E & I remember trying to make it as fancy as possible when i was a teenager. Maybe i am silly but i really think that signature is important.

 

[ClaireNC]

So, she was fairly young when she used the Becky Sue Id for that brief period of time & wouldn't have necessarily lost the habit of her writing from school. I think the way she has signed her name is significant. The capital E suggests to me that her first name really begins with an E as she is used to writing it that way. I am stuck on that Idaho ID card. My first name begins with an E & I remember trying to make it as fancy as possible when i was a teenager. Maybe i am silly but i really think that signature is important.

Good thought! Can anybody do some side-by-side images of the signatures on the various ID's and applications shown on the Seattle Times article. Maybe with some examples from the "notes" page. I don't have the software on this computer to do it.

 

[Angie4b1g]

So, she was fairly young when she used the Becky Sue Id for that brief period of time & wouldn't have necessarily lost the habit of her writing from school. I think the way she has signed her name is significant. The capital E suggests to me that her first name really begins with an E as she is used to writing it that way. I am stuck on that Idaho ID card. My first name begins with an E & I remember trying to make it as fancy as possible when i was a teenager. Maybe i am silly but i really think that signature is important.

I make all my R's capital when I write and I don't even have an R in my name. So I'm not sure on THAT connection. But it IS a very 'high school' way to write. Circles instead of dots over the letter i, fancy lowercase a, etc. I remember doing all that stuff.

 

[PI_Baker]

Hello, Just wondering if Deborah Ann Hohenshilt has been mentioned as a possible match?
She seems to have gone missing around the time LEK first appeared (as Becky.) Deborah was also very tall....

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/hohenshilt_deborah.html

 

[True Crime Gal]

(snippy!)
And I noticed there seems to be 3 workings on the page. It kind of looks like there's a section working from (19)90-(19)69 (D for Dad?) on the left, and (19)89-(19)67 (M for Mum?) on the right. But in the middle she's written (19)90-(19)70. Could they be the dates/ages for another person?! It strikes me that if she realised she'd worked out something wrong for either parent and started again, she would have at the very least crossed it out, so as to prevent confusion later. Yet this paper with potentially 3 year/age workings was precious/important/secret enough to keep in a locked box!?

Have had a good long stare. Here's what I see:

First column and top of second is (to my eye) labeled "D", presumably for Dad (set A). This matches up with his listed age of 27 in July of 1969 on the birth certificate.

The other two sets of numbers (second column/top of third (set B), then the two short columns (set C, labeled "M" for Mom)) are weird in that they do not line up with Becky Sue's mother's listed age of 22 in July of 1969. (The second column also reveals a mistake: she's apparently skipped "38" in the list.) It's almost as if she was trying to figure two alternatives for the "Mom" list, one in which she is 22 in 1968, and another in which she is 22 in 1970. Obviously, I could be wrong. :blushing:

My guess is that this list was for her name change, to get her story straight on Becky Sue's parents' ages.

tcg

 

[ClaireNC]

Welcome to those joining the group! I would have posted some cute welcome sign, but for some reason Smilies are not working for me just now.

Seems like a good time to post the timeline and other related facts. First the timeline.

Main sources: Seattle Times http://seattletimes.com/html/localpages/2021235163_timelinejanedoe.html and http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021243552_janedoexml.html, Fox News article http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/06/2...tery-three-years-after-suicide/#ixzz2XO3tUz2T

• July 18, 1969 - Becky Sue Turner born in Bakersfield, Calif. (Becky Turner birth certificate)
• December 30, 1971 – Becky Sue dies in Fife, Washington house fire at age 2 (Becky Sue Turner death certificate, Becky's first name was misspelled )
• Late 1980’s – Had a PO Box in Boulder City, Nevada
• May 20, 1988 - Jane Doe gets a copy of Becky Sue’s birth certificate from Kern County, Calif.
• June 16, 1988 - Jane Doe obtains an Idaho ID card with her picture and Becky Sue’s name. She now has government ID “proving” she’s Becky Sue. (Idaho ID using Becky Sue Turner's name)
• July 5, 1988 - She gets her name legally changed in a Dallas court from Becky Sue to Lori Erica Kennedy. (Document showing name legally changed to Lori Erica Kennedy)
• July 12, 1988 - Applies for and receives a Social Security number as Lori Kennedy (Lori Kennedy's Soc. Sec. number application)
• July 13, 1988 - Obtains a Texas ID card
• April 18, 1989 - Obtains Texas driver’s license, stating she is 19 years old
• March 19, 1990 - Applies for a U.S. passport (Lori Kennedy's passport and passport application)
• April 1990 – Took GED tests in Dallas, Texas
• Fall 1990 - Enrolls at Dallas County Community College after obtaining GED (GED test results)
• 1990 - Claimed to have suffered from bulimia (per Fox News)
• 1991 - Received breast implants in 1991. Per Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/06/2...tery-three-years-after-suicide/#ixzz2XRBrpq2t
• 1990’s – Took out student loans to finance education
• February 21, 1997 - Files for Chapter 13 bankruptcy
• December 13, 1997 - Graduates from the University of Texas at Arlington with a degree in business administration
• January 5, 2004 - Marries Jon Blakely “Blake” Ruff in Denton County, Texas. Her name is now Lori Ruff.
• 2004? - Obtains Texas driver’s license using married name Lori Erica Ruff. (Texas drivers license)
• 2005 – “Told doctors in 2005 that she was 35 – a claim Velling doubts.”
• Fox News http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/06/2...tery-three-years-after-suicide/#ixzz2XRBSHfZm
• September 15, 2008 - Blake and Lori have a daughter
• May 2010 – Attended Texas Business Women Region 7 Conference Spring Awards banquet. http://www.ntxe-news.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=39&num=62028&printer=1
• May 2010 – Attended meeting of Texas Business Woman of Bonham and Fannin Counties http://www.ntxe-news.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=38&num=62394
• June 2010 – Attended meeting of Texas Business Woman of Bonham and Fannin Counties http://www.ntxe-news.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=39&num=62769
• August 2010 – Attended meeting of Texas Business Woman of Bonham and Fannin Counties http://www.ntxe-news.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=40&num=63743&printer=1
• December 24, 2010 - Lori commits suicide in Longview, Texas
• January 2011 - Ruff family finds strongbox showing Lori was not who she claimed (Notes found in lockbox)
• September 2011 - Social Security Administration opens investigation to identify Jane Doe (Identity-theft suspect flyer)
• February 09, 2012 - Information entered into NamUS https://identifyus.org/en/cases/9863
• March 11, 2012 – Websleuths thread started.
• June 22, 2013 – Seattle Times article http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021243552_janedoexml.html
• June 26, 2013 – Fox News article http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/06/2...tery-three-years-after-suicide/#ixzz2XO3tUz2T
• June 27, 2013 – Daily Mail (UK) article http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...an-stole-someones-identity-years-suicide.html
• June 27, 2013 – NY Daily News article http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...man-article-1.1383957?localLinksEnabled=false
• June 30, 2013 – Idaho Statesman article http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/06/30/2637321/she-stole-an-identity-and-took.html

Does anybody have a link to the NPR broadcast so I can add it to the list? Please let me know if there is other information that should be added.