After the couple struggled with fertility, including multiple miscarriages, they had a daughter through in vitro fertilization in September 2008. The daughter became the center of Lori’s life, but she was also the subject of the protectiveness that had already strained her relationships with her in-laws. The grandparents were kept at a distance they found increasingly difficult to accept.
The marriage deteriorated. Blake moved back into his parents’ home in Longview and filed for divorce. In the months that followed, Lori’s behavior, according to Blake’s family, became alarming. She sent emails they described as threatening. A custody exchange became a scene that required police attention. She attempted, the family alleged, to take the keys to the Ruff family home. A cease-and-desist order was filed against her shortly before her death.
Neighbors reported that in this period, Lori and her young daughter both appeared to have lost significant weight.
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## Christmas Eve 2010
On the night of December 24, 2010, Lori Ruff drove to the Ruff family home in Longview. She was found dead in her car in the driveway. She had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She was 42 years old, based on the birthdate on her documents — though investigators would later establish she was actually less than a year older than those documents stated.
Two letters were found in the car. One was an eleven-page document addressed to Blake. The other was addressed to their daughter, with a request that it be opened when the girl turned eighteen.
The family read both. Neither letter contained any information about Lori’s real identity. Neither mentioned the names she had used. Neither explained the documents that would be found when her home was searched. The letters were described by authorities as reflecting the state of mind of someone experiencing serious psychological distress, but they pointed nowhere.