Lois Riess arrives in Florida, faces murder charges
Photo courtesy Lee County Sheriff's Office
(KMSP) - Lois Riess has been extradited to Florida and is being held at the Lee County Jail awaiting trial, authorities announced Saturday.
Riess has been charged in Lee County with second-degree murder, criminal use of identification, larceny and grand theft auto. She was extradited to Florida from Texas. Her arraignment is scheduled for May 29.
Riess was on the run for nearly a month after the body of her husband, David Riess, was found on March 23. David was a 54-year-old Navy veteran who ran Prairie Worm Farms in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota.
Authorities say she drove her Cadillac Escalade from Blooming Prairie to Fort Myers Beach soon after her husband was found dead. She was seen on surveillance video befriending her Doppelganger, 59-year-old Pamela Hutchinson. Riess allegedly shot and killed her new friend on April 9, later stealing her license, credit cards and Acura TL.
A nationwide manhunt for Riess ended on April 19 when a tipster recognized her at a seafood restaurant on South Padre Island, Texas. She was taken into custody without incident. A search of her hotel room after her arrest also produced two handguns.
The Dodge County, Minn., Sheriff's Office intends to file second-degree murder charges against Riess for the alleged murder of her husband, 54-year-old David Riess, pending forensic results from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
If convicted in Florida, Riess faces life in prison--or the death penalty, if charges are upgraded.
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