Timeline: Minnesota Grandmother's Alleged Cross-Country Crime Spree
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – On Tuesday, 56-year-old Lois Riess listened in by phone from the Lee County Jail in Florida, where prosecutors laid out a timeline of the Minnesota grandmother's deadly crimes.
It all started in her hometown of Blooming Prairie in March.
Lois is suspected of shooting her husband, David Riess, in the bathroom of their home with a .22-caliber handgun, putting a blanket over him and then taking out $11,000 from his business account.
Authorities say Riess then took off, driving her white Cadillac Escalade from Blooming Prairie to Fort Meyers Beach, Florida, stopping at several casinos along the way.
The murder of David Riess is strikingly similar to what happened to Pamela Hutchinson.
According to court papers, on April 4 Riess was seen on surveillance video at the Village Marina resort.
Riess and Hutchinson could be seen talking as they walked back to Hutchinson's room together.
On April 5, the two women were seen together again at the Smoking Oyster Brewery. This was the last time Hutchinson was seen alive.
Later that night, Riess was seen walking outside Hutchinson's room alone, appearing distraught and crying.
She then went back into the room with a bag.
On April 6, an employee told police that Hutchinson, or someone that sounded like her, called to extend her stay by three days.
Later that day, Riess was captured on video using Hutchinson's information to withdraw $5,000 from her bank account.
"She may look like anyone's grandmother," said Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno, "but she's an absolutely cold-blooded murderer."
In the days after, while Riess was on the run, she was seen entering a hotel in Ocala, Florida.
Video also captured her pulling up to the hotel in Hutchinson's white Acura sedan.
On April 19, Riess was arrested after being spotted at a bar in South Padre Island, Texas.
Hutchinson's body was found in the hotel room's bathroom with gunshot wounds, bearing similar characteristics to a .22-caliber hand gun.
She was also draped with a towel, similar to David Riess being covered with a blanket.
Riess' first court appearance will be on May 29 in Florida.
Even though the murder of David Riess happened first, that case is still under investigation.
As such, prosecutors in Florida are moving forward with charges.
