Lori Ruff Identified as Kimberly McLean of PA

[T4Tide]

Some of those dates I found are wildly wrong though! The Devon one said 1987-1998 which we know can't be true since she was already LEK by 1998.

I saw those, too. Who's to say that someone wasn't using her identity to rent/get credit, etc? It's a possibility.

My stepfather and stepbrother are Sr./Jr. and for a while, my stepbrother tried to obtain credit in my dad's name by just leaving off the Jr.

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[Gardener1850]

You got me thinking on this one. I remember being 18. and no it was not pre civil war but close. but I got my first apt in college with two roommates. I was 18 and had some help from my parents and worked part time. How did she go from living with parents to living in what looks like a fairly nice apt complex if its the same one I found on mapquest? We know she was smart but she had to have a fairly good job, for a recent HS grad. I really hope someone does a future interview and explains all this. I bet there are friends who have long forgot her, who with a little prodding might remember everything. Unless she was an island in HS, I am sure there are a few friends who know more than her mother about what she did when she left. I am not saying they know about the name change but could probably explain some of it.

I want to know a lot of things too. Where did she work? Was she trying to go to college? It says she went to high school in the article but did she graduate? It doesn't say. Maybe she wasn't lying on the GED test record that she only finished 11th grade. It sounds like, just reading between the lines of the article, that Kim was a troubled girl with a chaotic home life. She could have gotten into a lot of things her family is not aware of or would prefer not to bring up. I'm conflicted. I want to know more but I don't want any of her family (the Ruffs and the Cassidy/McLeans) to get hurt in the digging. I'm hoping if more comes out it won't throw mud on either family. She may have made the decision to leave independent of anything her family did. The instability of her life (multiple moves/change of school and changing of the family structure) could have just made the decision to leave and not look back easier.

 

[SavetheQueen]

I wonder if we could get Tricia to invite Colleen Fitzpatrick on her show, I'm sure we could come up with some great scenarios and questions for her, and I'd love to hear more about how she has solved recent cases.

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. *

 

[jessr927]

King of Prussia does not appear to be a college town from what I've read, although a PA resident is obviously better qualified to answer this than I am. It's possible she was subletting from someone. My first apartment was at 19 and I was subletting.

I remember rent in 1986. LOL. I also remember min wage was low too. I looked and it was 3.35/hr. I was living in cali by then and my rent was quite high. $950 for a two bedroom. My point is, an 18 year old leaving mom's house for the first time might even have trouble getting an apartment complex to let them an apartment. Is this a college towns? College towns tend to have another set of rules.

 

[bears10]

King of Prussia does not appear to be a college town from what I've read, although a PA resident is obviously better qualified to answer this than I am. It's possible she was subletting from someone. My first apartment was at 19 and I was subletting.

Do we know for sure she lived by herself? If the King of Prussia address is the one I found, it's a one family house that IMO would be hard for an 18 year old to afford in the 80s, especially one who just went out on her own. I wonder if her dad or other family members lived in KOP and maybe she was staying with someone.

 

[SavetheQueen]

Do we know for sure she lived by herself? If the King of Prussia address is the one I found, it's a one family house that IMO would be hard for an 18 year old to afford in the 80s, especially one who just went out on her own. I wonder if her dad or other family members lived in KOP and maybe she was staying with someone.

Rented a room from someone maybe?

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

 

[bears10]

Rented a room from someone maybe?

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

that's along the lines I'm thinking. But that is based on the address I found which could be wrong. I never fully trust public record sites

 

[milkymama]

Apartments were fairly cheap in 1987. My mom and I had a one bedroom in a NYC suburb and it was something like $500 a month. So in PA I bet Kimberly could have waitressed or something and made enough to pay for a one bedroom, and it probably would not have cost more than $400 a month.

I had a 3 bedroom house in VA in 1990 for $325/month. Wages were lower, but that's still dirt cheap. The same exact house currently rents for $1000 and wages have not increased 300%.

 

[SavetheQueen]

What are some of the questions that everyone has now that you would like to have the answers to?

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

 

[grayley]

What are some of the questions that everyone has now that you would like to have the answers to?

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

402 months

 

[jessr927]

These Eyes, Laciner, and Kathleen Jeung. Laciner has always stuck with me, no idea why.

What are some of the questions that everyone has now that you would like to have the answers to?

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

 

[llywrch]

What are some of the questions that everyone has now that you would like to have the answers to?

What kind of student was KM? What do her classmates remember about her?

Of all of the cities in the US, why did she pick Dallas to settle in?

 

[Sherwood Park]

I'm happy to read that the original identity of FLEK has been discovered. I'm also glad that some of the theories on WS that were considered to be strong turned out to not be anywhere close to the true story of Kimberely's life.

Her identity has been discovered. I thought this would be the end of much speculation, however it seems that people continue to come up with new theories. Hopefully Kim's family won't be dragged through the mud the way the Ruff family was dragged through the mud by theories and speculations that also turned out to be untrue.

What I find odd about Kim is that she was not close to her family, yet she chose to marry a man who was incredibly close to his own family. Her actions could have driven a wedge between her husband and his family. Why would she have done that? Maybe she didn't know any better or any other way to live

 

[Vivette]

Why do you all call her Kimberly? She obviously didn't want us to do that. She's Lori.

 

[llywrch]

Why do you all call her Kimberly? She obviously didn't want us to do that. She's Lori.

That's a very good question. And I honestly don't have a good answer defending one name over the other.

 

[marinmarais]

What are some of the questions that everyone has now that you would like to have the answers to?

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

* Why her family (mom, dad, sister or an aunt or uncle) didn't make the least effort to find her?
* Did she suffer any kind of abuse from the stepfather? and that's why she ran away? (and not because of the divorce by itself or the new "rules")

I see everybody celebrating because we have a name (I'm celebrating too!) , but, I think that the actual background that made us spent so many months thinking hasn't been solved a 100%

 

[SavetheQueen]

Respectfully snipped:

I see everybody celebrating because we have a name (I'm celebrating too!) , but, I think that the actual background that made us spent so many months thinking hasn't been solved a 100%

I wholeheartedly agree. It's like the case just took a whole different turn. A spin-off from the main series.

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

 

[Gardener1850]

Why do you all call her Kimberly? She obviously didn't want us to do that. She's Lori.

I appreciate your point of view, but she will always be Kimberly to her family in PA. We have no way of knowing if she ever regretted changing her name or not. Once it was done and she had lived as Lori for years she could not just go back to being Kimberly. I think it's ok to call her either name or both names at this point. Kimberly was the name she was given and Lori was the name she chose. Either way, she WAS Kimberly in the years we are now most curious about--prior to 1988. In my mind, it makes sense to call her Kim when discussing her pre-Lori years. I may still call her as Lori after 1988 and especially when discussing her life with her husband. I have no strong feelings, however, if people want to pick one name and stick with it for discussing her entire life.

 

[SavetheQueen]

Why do you all call her Kimberly? She obviously didn't want us to do that. She's Lori.

You know, I agree with you. She CHOSE to be Lori. She left Kimberly behind for a reason.

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

 

[Gardener1850]

What are some of the questions that everyone has now that you would like to have the answers to?

Did she write the notes page? (I still think someone else wrote most of it and she only wrote "These Eyes")
Where did she pick up her love of Cuban food?
Why was she a vegetarian and was that the case when she was a child/teen?
Did she have an easy bake oven when she was a child or did she ever ask her parents for one?
Did she play basketball in high school? (she told Blake she did)
What was her high school job/the job she had when she moved out of the house?
Did she have a checking account/credit card in the name of Kim before changing Identities?
Did she use any other names before choosing Lori Erica Kennedy?
Was she really ever a hand model? (Now that we have her name someone could contact Visages and ask)
Did she ever actually travel to Scottsdale, AZ?
Why did she have a PO Box in Boulder City, NV? Did she live there or know someone there?
What books did she check out from the Tredyffrin Public Library? (Someone local MAY be able to go there and answer this one)
Do any of her teachers from school remember her? Classmates? Friends?
What was the religion she was raised in? (I'm just curious if she chose to become Southern Baptist after becoming LEK)