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Where Is "Fugitive Granny" Lois Riess Now? What to Know About the 2-Time Killer
The grandmother of five was reportedly scouting her next victim when U.S. Marshals found "Losing Streak Lois" at a Texas bar.
Convicted killer Lois Riess made headlines soon after her husband’s 2018 murder before going on the lam, only to kill again.
It was a bizarre case that started on March 11, 2018, when Lois Riess, then 56, fatally shot her husband, worm farmer David Riess, 54, in their Blooming Prairie, Minnesota home, about 80 miles south of Minneapolis, as previously covered by Oxygen.com. The unassuming woman would later state that she and her husband of 26 years had gotten into a fight about leaving a grandson’s basketball game before the husband allegedly handed her a loaded gun and told her to kill herself and “get it right this time,” according to Fox Minneapolis affiliate KMSP-TV.
The daycare worker with three children and five grandchildren then shot her husband in the heart, as detailed in the Oxygen original series Injustice with Nancy Grace. His body was discovered nearly two weeks later, though Lois Riess was already gone.
She would eventually be dubbed “Fugitive Granny,” and investigators would cite her gambling addiction for why she reportedly stole a six-figure sum from her sister, and also $11,000 from her husband.
Pamela Hutchinson's Murder
Mrs. Riess wound up in Florida, where she befriended lookalike Bradenton woman Pamela Hutchinson. On April 9, 2018, Hutchinson, 59, was found shot to death in her Fort Myers Beach timeshare before Riess stole her identity and went on the run one last time, according to The News-Press. She was later indicted for stealing Hutchinson’s car and withdrawing $6,000 from the victim’s bank account.
The wanted murderess then headed to Texas, but not before stopping at a Louisiana casino and winning the jackpot, part of an uncontrollable addiction that also got her the moniker “Losing Streak Lois.” In Texas, according to authorities, she allegedly then set her sights on potential victim Bernadette Mathis, as featured on Injustice with Nancy Grace.
Following a 10-day manhunt, U.S. Marshals apprehended Lois Riess at a South Padre Island bar.
Did Lois Riess ever confess?
Yes, Lois Riess eventually copped to both murders.
Following her arrest in Texas, Lois Riess was extradited to Florida, and in December 2019, she pleaded guilty to killing her doppelgänger, Hutchinson. Her cooperation with prosecutors made it so the state would not seek the death penalty.
She admitted to killing the Florida woman because she looked like her, as seen in Injustice with Nancy Grace.
In July 2020, Lois Riess was transferred to Minneapolis’ Steele County Detention Center to face first-degree murder charges for the death of her husband. She initially pleaded not guilty before changing her plea to guilty one month later.
As part of the murder conviction, Mrs. Riess addressed the court with a statement obtained by KMSP-TV.
“My life without David is my sentence,” said the defendant. “My heart will always be his … I should have never taken him from his children and grandchildren.”
After the guilty plea, Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose released a statement on Facebook.
“Today’s guilty plea and life sentence is a turning point for our community, which can now begin to heal from David Riess’ death,” Rose stated. “For David and Lois’ family in particular, today’s life sentence closes a tragic chapter, and we will continue to offer the family our support through their healing process. We are grateful to our criminal justice partners from across the nation who brought a series of terrible crimes to an end and brought a killer to justice.”
For each murder, Lois Riess was handed a life sentence. Due to an agreement between Florida and Minnesota, officials settled on Lois Riess serving both sentences in Minnesota.
She is expected to speak publicly about the murders for the first time in the upcoming series I’m Not A Monster: The Lois Riess Murders.
Where is Lois Riess now?
Lois Riess, now 62, is serving life behind bars at the Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF) in Shakopee, about 30 miles southwest of Minneapolis and 80 miles north of Blooming Prairie, according to records from Minnesota's Department of Corrections reviewed by Oxygen.com. She is not eligible for parole.
MCF – Shakopee is the state’s sole woman-only prison, per the MinnPost.
Learn more about “Fugitive Granny” Lois Riess and her crimes in Season 2, Episode 7 of Injustice with Nancy Grace, now available to watch on Oxygen.
