Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

Beloved Christian Mom’s Double Life Exposed After She Freezes When Confronted About Dark Childhood Secret
Woman wearing glasses and floral shirt outside a building, appearing tense and reflecting a dark childhood secret.

Beloved Christian Mom’s Double Life Exposed After She Freezes When Confronted About Dark Childhood Secret

25

ADVERTISEMENT

A major revelation has put a Florida activist under scrutiny after a secret from her past resurfaced in a shocking way.

Deidre Ruth built a public image as a conservative Christian mom and parental rights advocate, often speaking about at school board meetings and campaigning on issues involving children and education.

But reports recently revealed a disturbing chapter from her teenage years that many people around her allegedly never knew about.

Highlights
  • A prominent Florida parental rights advocate and conservative Christian activist was revealed to have a hidden criminal past under a different name.
  • Public records show she was convicted of third-degree m*rder in 1997.
  • When recently confronted about the 30-year-old case outside a restaurant, she denied knowledge of the incident.

“This is always the way with these people. They all have some dark thing hidden away,” one user wrote.

RELATED:

    Deidre Ruth built a public image around faith, family, and activism before her shocking past resurfaced

    Image credits: Dee Lee/Facebook

    For years, Ruth presented herself publicly as a devoted Christian mother and activist in South Florida.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    She helped run the Broward Concerned Citizens Uncensored Facebook group and became a familiar face at school board meetings and local debates.

    She frequently spoke against mask mandates, s*x education changes, and LGBT-related books in schools.

    Image credits: WSVN

    In 2021, during a Broward County School Board meeting, Ruth argued against requiring children to wear masks.

    “These children are suffering social and emotional distress,” she said during one discussion, per WSVN.

    At another meeting tied to Florida’s book debates, she argued, “If a book is removed at school, nothing’s stopping you from buying them on Amazon,” per 6 South Florida.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: Find a Grave

    She later appeared at multiple public meetings in 2023 opposing revised s*x education curriculum proposals and books she said conflicted with religious values.

    To many people around her, Ruth appeared to be a conservative mother focused on family and community issues.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    But according to reports, there was one part of her life she had never spoken publicly about.

    Reports further revealed she had been convicted in a shocking case dating back nearly 30 years

    Image credits: Natasha Gonell/Facebook

    According to public records and court details, Ruth was previously known as Deidre Frazer and was convicted in connection with the 1996 passing of 16-year-old Christa Lewis in Philadelphia.

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Lewis, described as an honor student at St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls, had been attending a local carnival with friends when the encounter happened.

    Reports said two groups of teenagers initially exchanged insults and gestures before separating.

    Later that night, they crossed paths again. Witnesses shared tensions escalated and a fight broke out.

    Lewis reportedly ended up shoved into Frazer during the confrontation before a knife struck her in the chest.

    During her trial, Frazer admitted she held the knife but claimed she pulled it out only to scare people and that Lewis accidentally fell into it after being pushed by others.

    ADVERTISEMENT
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Image credits: Natasha Gonell/Facebook

    Her legal team argued she acted in self-defense and described the incident as a “tragic accident.”

    Prosecutors disagreed and argued she acted with malice.

    In June 1997, a jury convicted her of third-degree m*rder.

    Image credits: Google Maps

    As the verdict was read, she reportedly cried out, “I’ll d*e in jail!” while her mother shouted, “Oh, my baby! No, that’s my baby!”

    She later received a sentence of up to 20 years and was released before serving the full term.

    Public records later showed she married Steven Ruth in 2010 and eventually settled in Florida with their son.

    Ruth was recently approached outside a restaurant and asked directly about the case

    Image credits: Natasha Gonell/Facebook

    Reports revealed Ruth was asked directly about the case after being approached outside a restaurant.

    Her reaction immediately caught attention.

    “I do not know what you’re talking about,” she reportedly said while appearing visibly stunned.

    When asked additional questions, she again repeated, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

    Reports alleged she avoided eye contact and appeared shocked that her past had resurfaced publicly. She also allegedly asked how she had been found.

    Image credits: FLVoiceNews/X

    Meanwhile, her mother Dorothy Gravlin still defended her daughter and insisted the conviction was unfair.

    “That was 30 years ago. Leave us alone,” she said. “She was attacked. It was self defense.”

    Gravlin continued defending her daughter despite the conviction, adding, “Everything my daughter does is to help kids, not hurt them.”

    Back in Philadelphia, Christa Lewis had not been forgotten. A playground was named in her honor and a scholarship was established in her memory.

    Poll Question

    Total votes ·

    Thanks! Check out the results:

    Total votes ·
    Share on Facebook

    Explore more of these tags

    Samridhi Goel

    Samridhi Goel

    Writer, News Writer

    Read more »

    This lazy panda forgot to write something about itself.

    Read less »
    Samridhi Goel

    Samridhi Goel

    Writer, News Writer

    This lazy panda forgot to write something about itself.

    What do you think ?
    Tamra
    Community Member
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As an aside, I wish religious people would abstain from trying to influence public school policy. If you don't like how public schools are run, put your kid into a religious school. Let our public schools offer fact based education without the tendrils of Christianity creeping in to dilute it.

    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ironically, it's the public schools that carry out Christ's mission - serving the poor, the disabled, the disadvantaged, ...

    Load More Replies...
    A girl
    Community Member
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    People have pasts. Not being up front about it is the problem I have here. She actually might have got more support for her moral causes if she'd come clean as a sinner who repented.

    Peter Bear
    Community Member
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This, precisely. I believe in redemption. I believe people can, and do, change. But you have to want to change, you have to ACTIVELY repent for what you did, and you can't do that if you try to hide it. Her past wouldn't be relevant if she hadn't chosen to lie about it.

    Load More Replies...
    Barbara Hill
    Community Member
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She denies the crime, then asked, how did they find her,

    Kate Johnson
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Of course she lied. If she was a decent person, she'd own her past, but instead is just a con and a liar who should not be trusted. No surprise. These rabid conservatives usually have some dark s**t in their closets.

    Partypants
    Community Member
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think she's like Pinocchio and that nose is only going to get bigger and bigger.

    Earonn -
    Community Member
    6 days ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Happens when instead of truly accepting and acknowledging their misdeed, people instead over-compensate and become holier-than-thou.

    Marno C.
    Community Member
    6 days ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So, wearing a mask to prevent virus spreading or seeing a book with a gay character in it is sooooo harmful to kids, but shanking a girl during an argument is an 'accident' and ought to be forgotten about? Make it make sense. Folks like her are full of bad takes on how they want other people to live, but are full of excuses for their own, far more egregious issues. Why bring a knife to that event and why brandish it? I'd be far more sympathetic if she'd taken accountability and shown remorse and then used that to inform some advocacy around redemption, peer relationships, and compassionate change.

    fly on the wall
    Community Member
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Supposedly, in a civilized world, prison has a goal of rehabilitation. One of our responsibilities as a society is to let a person get on with their life after rehabilitation.

    Tamra
    Community Member
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    As an aside, I wish religious people would abstain from trying to influence public school policy. If you don't like how public schools are run, put your kid into a religious school. Let our public schools offer fact based education without the tendrils of Christianity creeping in to dilute it.

    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ironically, it's the public schools that carry out Christ's mission - serving the poor, the disabled, the disadvantaged, ...

    Load More Replies...
    A girl
    Community Member
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    People have pasts. Not being up front about it is the problem I have here. She actually might have got more support for her moral causes if she'd come clean as a sinner who repented.

    Peter Bear
    Community Member
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This, precisely. I believe in redemption. I believe people can, and do, change. But you have to want to change, you have to ACTIVELY repent for what you did, and you can't do that if you try to hide it. Her past wouldn't be relevant if she hadn't chosen to lie about it.

    Load More Replies...
    ADVERTISEMENT
    Barbara Hill
    Community Member
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    She denies the crime, then asked, how did they find her,

    Kate Johnson
    Community Member
    Premium
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Of course she lied. If she was a decent person, she'd own her past, but instead is just a con and a liar who should not be trusted. No surprise. These rabid conservatives usually have some dark s**t in their closets.

    Partypants
    Community Member
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think she's like Pinocchio and that nose is only going to get bigger and bigger.

    Earonn -
    Community Member
    6 days ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Happens when instead of truly accepting and acknowledging their misdeed, people instead over-compensate and become holier-than-thou.

    Marno C.
    Community Member
    6 days ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    So, wearing a mask to prevent virus spreading or seeing a book with a gay character in it is sooooo harmful to kids, but shanking a girl during an argument is an 'accident' and ought to be forgotten about? Make it make sense. Folks like her are full of bad takes on how they want other people to live, but are full of excuses for their own, far more egregious issues. Why bring a knife to that event and why brandish it? I'd be far more sympathetic if she'd taken accountability and shown remorse and then used that to inform some advocacy around redemption, peer relationships, and compassionate change.

    fly on the wall
    Community Member
    1 week ago Created by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Supposedly, in a civilized world, prison has a goal of rehabilitation. One of our responsibilities as a society is to let a person get on with their life after rehabilitation.

    Related on Bored Panda
    Popular on Bored Panda
    Trending on Bored Panda
    Also on Bored Panda
    Go to:
    Back to Top
    Homepage
    Trending
    ADVERTISEMENT