In the small town of Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, the quiet life of David Riess, a 54-year-old White male, came to a tragic and violent end in March of 2018. His body was discovered at his home on March 23, the victim of multiple gunshot wounds. The initial investigation quickly focused on a primary person of interest: his wife, Lois Ann Riess. In the days following her husband's death, Lois had vanished, setting off a nationwide manhunt that would captivate and alarm the public.
Authorities soon discovered that Lois had not only fled but had also withdrawn a significant amount of money from her husband's business account. Her movements were tracked through her visits to casinos, a known pastime of hers. The search for the fugitive grandmother, as she came to be known, took a sinister turn when investigators linked her to a second homicide in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. There, she had befriended a woman named Pamela Hutchinson, who bore a striking resemblance to her. Believing she could assume a new identity, Lois Riess allegedly shot and killed Hutchinson, stealing her car, identification, and money.
The nationwide search for Lois Riess intensified as law enforcement agencies across the country were put on high alert. The public was warned that she was considered armed and dangerous. The extensive media coverage of the case, complete with surveillance photos of the suspect, ultimately led to her capture. On April 19, 2018, a tip from a vigilant member of the public led U.S. Marshals to a restaurant on South Padre Island, Texas, where she was arrested without incident.
Following her apprehension, Lois Riess faced legal proceedings in both Florida and Minnesota. In December 2019, she pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of Pamela Hutchinson in Florida and was sentenced to life in prison. Subsequently, she was extradited to Minnesota to face charges for the murder of her husband. In August 2020, Lois Riess pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of David Riess and received another life sentence without the possibility of parole.
