Deidre Ruth, a 47-year-old conservative activist known for her appearances on TV and at public meetings advocating for parental rights in South Florida, has resigned from the Broward County School District's Parents Community Involvement Task Force. Her departure followed an expose by the Daily Mail revealing her 1997 conviction for the third-degree murder of 16-year-old Christa Lewis in 1996.
Ruth, then known as Deidre Frazer, failed to disclose her conviction when she joined the task force two years ago. The revelation led school board member Adam Cervera to demand her resignation. "My thoughts are this is something that should have been caught at some point by the district," Cervera told the Sun Sentinel, adding that background checks should have prevented such an individual from serving. Cervera noted Ruth was appointed by his predecessor and he had no involvement in her selection.
The ouster has drawn a harsh reaction from the victim's family. Joann Lewis, Christa Lewis's mother, told the Daily Mail that Ruth was a "wolf in sheep's clothing" and expressed joy at her public disgrace. Christa's brother, Bud Lewis, echoed these sentiments, stating he was glad Ruth was facing "karma" and that his family had waited 30 years for an apology. He also questioned Ruth's newfound piety, suggesting that true repentance would involve acknowledging the harm she caused.
Ruth's past activism also came under scrutiny. Four years prior, she had publicly condemned Rod Velez, a newly elected school board member, over a 1995 aggravated battery conviction. Ruth had argued on social media that a violent criminal conviction should disqualify him from serving, a stance now seen as hypocritical given her own history. Velez was ultimately barred from taking office.
The scandal has prompted the Broward County School District to implement level one background checks for prospective appointees. The Daily Mail reported that when confronted about her past, Ruth initially denied any knowledge of the crime, appearing shocked and visibly taken aback.
Further controversy surrounds the name Ruth gave her son, Evan, which is the same name as Christa Lewis's youngest brother. Both Joann and Bud Lewis described this as "creepy" and unsettling, dismissing the possibility of coincidence given Ruth's past association with their family. Ruth, who lives in Hollywood, Florida, with her husband Steven and son, had publicly featured her son at meetings and on television while promoting her conservative agenda, which included opposing mask mandates, certain sex education topics, and LGBTQIA-related books in schools. Her online group, Broward Concerned Citizens Uncensored, has since gone private.
Ruth was convicted of third-degree murder after an altercation at a carnival in suburban Philadelphia. She had claimed self-defense, alleging that Lewis had accidentally fallen onto her knife. She was sentenced to 11 years in prison. After her release, she married Steven Ruth in 2010 and built a public profile as a conservative activist and "family of faith" advocate before her criminal past was exposed.