‘Fugitive granny’ Lois Riess admits killing look-alike, gets life in prison
The so-called “fugitive granny” who killed her doppelganger in Florida to assume her identity will spend the rest of her life behind bars after copping to the slaying.
Lois Riess, 57, was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday for the April 2018 shooting death of Pamela Hutchinson, 59, whom prosecutors said Riess singled out because the two looked alike, the Fort Myers News-Press reported.
“Oh, my God, I’m so happy,” Hutchinson’s best friend, Judy Wilder, told the newspaper upon learning of Riess’ plea. “This will give the family some type of closure. I’m just glad she didn’t say she was crazy. I’m kinda disappointed, but [you] gotta trust our system. [I] would have liked to see the death penalty.”
Riess, of Blooming Prairie, also waived extradition to face charges in Minnesota, where her husband, David Leonard Riess, 54, was found fatally shot in March 2018. As part of a plea deal, prosecutors took the death penalty off the table.
“This was the way we thought we could resolve this case appropriately for the family to move on,” Chief Assistant State Attorney Rich Montecalvo said. “Now Ms. Riess can face her charges in Minnesota. The important thing to know is Ms. Riess will never see the light of day. A life sentence is a life sentence in Florida, so whatever happens in Minnesota is irrelevant to what happened here today.”
Prosecutors said Riess — who was dubbed the “fugitive granny” while on the lam — killed her husband at the couple’s worm farm and then forged checks to steal $11,000 from his account before traveling south to Florida, where she met Hutchinson, who was visiting a friend in Fort Myers.
Riess led investigators on a cross-country manhunt prior to her capture in April 2018 in Texas, where she was busted as she sipped cocktails at a South Padre Island waterfront restaurant.
She was later indicted on murder charges in both Florida and Minnesota.
If convicted of killing her husband, Riess may be imprisoned there or could be brought back to Florida, Montecalvo said.
Riess, who also stopped at a casino in Iowa while eluding authorities for weeks, testified during her trial that the last year of education she completed was 11th grade. She also said she takes medication for an undisclosed mental condition.
With Post wires