TX - Longview, WhtFem (UP 9863), 41-50, Suicide - Assumed Identity, Dec'10

[fred&edna]

More about Sharon Marshall and Frank Floyd:

A Beautiful Child written by Matt Birkbeck - explores one of the most baffling cases in the annals of American law enforcement. A brilliant high school student in Forest Park, Georgia who lived alone with her father. Only no one knew the horrible truth.
An international bestseller, readers around the globe have tried to solve the mystery: Who was Sharon Marshall?

http://www.mattbirkbeck.com/a-beautiful-child.html

 

[Magnum P.E.]

With the estimated height and weight of 3'6" and 40 pounds at age 4, and with her mother's reported height of 5'7" and father's reported height of 5'8", the projected adult height for Sheri Lynn Johnson is....5'7". I used the online child height estimator on Web MD.

I thought I did that for Sheri Lynn before and it came out shorter but it may have been another child.

If LEK is Sheri Lynn Johnson she had good reason to hide and create a new identity and I would not like to even think of her life with HH between 1974 and 1988. He may even still be out there now, though I imagine he has been called in a half dozen times as the San Angelo Doe, the geezer with his prints sanded off. The age progressed sketch of HH looks remarkably like that Doe.
I am not convinced of the connection, but HH would be about the best identity forging teacher you could find.

I know there are over 40 pages in this thread, but I see a lot of new members due to the Seattle Times article and I wish you would sit down with a cup of coffee and read from the beginning. Many things have already been covered before. Welcome to all of you. You are cutting your teeth on a fascinating case.

 

[ClaireNC]

I found a couple of photos but I'm on my phone and can't link them.

They can be found by googling Lori Ruff + Texas Business Women.

Here is the link to those pictures. We found them really early on in the investigation of this case, but were not able to post them because her name was not released to main stream media. http://www.ntxe-news.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=39&num=62028&printer=1

 

[ashyboy16]

The Dailymail has picked up the story.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...an-stole-someones-identity-years-suicide.html

 

[Sulamith]

More media are picking up the story.

UK's Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...identity-years-suicide.html?ito=feeds-newsxml


Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/06/2...tery-three-years-after-suicide/#ixzz2XO3tUz2T


Less than mainstream blogs: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/soci...ntity-still-unknown-three-years-after-suicide

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/...le-times-asks-readers-to-help-with-a-mystery/

So, a bit more info from the foxnews article.

In a perfect world, I would like to hear more from from the man who briefly dated her. What were the problems that Jane Doe had that were "more problems that he could deal with"?

I find is rather sad that her husband chose his family over her. They had two wedding ceremonies. One outside of Dallas and the other in Las Vegas and they were married only 7 years? Two ceremonies and he left her for his family. Did he take his girl with him?

Where did Velling get the info that she had bulimia?

Who said that she was "very religious"? I live in East Texas...if you want to fit it..you better either be of the Christian religion or fake it and it is possible that Jane Doe faked it in order to be "presentable" to the Ruff family. IMO, that family grilled her regarding her background. I would probably go take a nap myself if that family were around me. MOO

Is there a police/forensics report so to leave no doubt that she killed herself?

 

[Beamie]

Exclusion added

Clara Giusti 1962 Washington
Michelle Giusti 1961 Washington
Parley Pate 1959 North Carolina

 

[astridxx]

I'm literally the only one who doesn't see the Sherri Lynn and/or her mom comparison... I mean, to me it's obvious the nose is so massively different there's just no way.

 

[nickynoodles]

I believe that SSA is working unusually hard on this one. LE generally hates to use familial/ancestry dna for whatever reason, though that seems to be slowly changing as they are dragged into the 21st century by a ring through their collective nose. We can infer that they have gone pretty far with that in this case, since they know she had the gene for coronary artery disease.

You're right, it seems likely that she isn't on any missing persons list or it would have been solved a couple of months after it was reported.

Have to wonder what someone's life can be like that they can disappear and no missing persons report is filed. For that to happen surely you'd:

• Need to be estranged from your family
• Not be in a relationship
• Have a small social circle of people who are adverse to going to the police for anything

Really only fits the profile of a drug addict, prostitute, criminal, or homeless person.

Once you're in those kinds of worlds and pick up a criminal record I guess creating a new identity is one way to break free, go to college and have a career.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

You're right, it seems likely that she isn't on any missing persons list or it would have been solved a couple of months after it was reported.

Have to wonder what someone's life can be like that they can disappear and no missing persons report is filed. For that to happen surely you'd:

• Need to be estranged from your family
• Not be in a relationship
• Have a small social circle of people who are adverse to going to the police for anything

Really only fits the profile of a drug addict, prostitute, criminal, or homeless person.

Once you're in those kinds of worlds and pick up a criminal record I guess creating a new identity is one way to break free, go to college and have a career.

In some cases family has believed that they filed a missing persons report but has found later that no one knows anything about it. Some investigators are thorough (like agent Velling) and others will pitch the report figuring the person will turn up soon anyway so why
bother. In the absence of a pool of blood left behind, don't count on a report actually being on file somewhere even if family thinks there is one.

 

[CindyTx]

I contacted Agent Joe Velling via email and he said he is going to request DNA testing of Lori Kennedy against the DNA of Sheri Lynn Johnson (Denmar family) and also San Angelo Doe (possible father - Henry Harbison). Here is what he wrote:

"Thanks Cindy, I am having NamUs check the DNA on both cases. Sheri Johnson is NamUs MP # 6233. Joe"

So I am guessing this has not been looked at before today.

 

[CindyTx]

Hi Neesaki! What do you think her real age was? And why do they think she was older?

 

[CindyTx]

Hi Magnum,

I may have read there is not any known DNA of Henry Harbison in the system. It would have to be a comparision between Lori Ruff's DNA and John Doe from San Angelo to see if they are related. I think I read that Henry Harbison was adopted...therefore...no known biological relatives.

Harbison was in the prison system in the 60's...obviously no DNA then.

Are you a detective? Cop?

 

[NCSleuth]

5/20/1988 is a Friday so 23rd would be Monday. Maybe printed on Friday and mailed Monday.

 

[Magnum P.E.]

Hi Magnum,

I may have read there is not any known DNA of Henry Harbison in the system. It would have to be a comparision between Lori Ruff's DNA and John Doe from San Angelo to see if they are related. I think I read that Henry Harbison was adopted...therefore...no known biological relatives.

Harbison was in the prison system in the 60's...obviously no DNA then.

Are you a detective? Cop?

Nope. Engineer, pilot, and some other stuff. I like checklists and logical thought. Just call me a talented amateur.

I guess LEK and the Johnson girl's relatives will be the important comparison then. If ol' no prints turned out to be related to LEK then he is HH, she is his daughter, and it will be like drawing to an inside straight or winning the lottery.

 

[NCSleuth]

Birth Certificate could have been mailed anywhere, right? Do we know it was mailed to the address on the ID? Could have been sent to PO Box, then she used it to get the ID. She could have used any address she wanted for the ID.

 

[MrsTigglesworth]

I would like to know the meaning of the abbreviations on the receipt.

BCOP= Birth certificate copy? Birth certificate original paper?
B. TRST= if a postal charge, what does it stand for?

My uneducated guess is :
Birth certificate original photocopy BCOP
And not sure on the 4$ charge.. Trust or transit maybe?

 

[NCSleuth]

I agree. Looks like they charged $7 for the copy and $4 to mail it.

 

[jenstar]

I know it wasn't easy back in those days, she was basically chasing paper trails. It must have lead to a million dead ends. I wonder how long it took her to plan her escape/disappearance.
I wonder if she was some sort of clerk at some point in time to have all these organizational skills. (Just trying to profile her unique personality in my head)

 

[T4Tide]

Since there are other women with the name Lori E. Kennedy, with birthdates around the same time, who live in PA and MS.... could those numbers to the library in PA and the circuit clerk in MS have been her attempt to get information or records of a real LEK to support her assumed LEK identity?

 

[theforgotten]

I'm sorry if this has been asked before, but does anyone think that there is any importance in the name she chose herself Lori Erica Kennedy?