New evidence alleges Lois Riess befriended Texas woman shortly before capture

(KMSP) - New evidence released Monday by authorities in Florida and Texas provides a fresh look into the investigation of Lois Riess, who allegedly killed her husband in Minnesota before befriending and murdering a lookalike in Florida. 

The new documents reveal she also became friendly with another woman in Texas and had plans to see her on the night she was arrested at a restaurant in South Padre Island, just a short drive from the U.S.-Mexico border. Their interaction played out similarly to the way Riess met Pamela Hutchinson, her second victim, in Florida. 

Bernadette Mathis told investigators she was eating dinner alone at a local bar when Riess struck up a conversation, and the two became fast friends. They met up again, and though she only consumed one or two drinks she recalled that the bartender mentioned that she seemed "out of it."

Mathis couldn't explain why, but she invited Riess to spend the night in her condo's guest bedroom. In text messages to each other shortly after, the two made plans to meet up the night of Riess' arrest.

Evidence photos released as a part of the investigation also show the contents of her Cadillac Escalade and the Acura Riess stole from Hutchinson, including several knives, two guns and road maps--all little clues into a cross-country murder spree that riveted the nation.