A Minnesota woman being sought in connection to two killings was reportedly seen on hotel surveillance footage not long after her second victim was killed nearby.
According to the New York Post, the Lee County Sheriff’s office released surveillance footage appearing to show Lois Riess, 56, at a Hilton Hotel in Ocala, Florida. The footage also captured the woman driving her alleged victim’s car.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Riess is suspected of killing her husband David Riess in Minnesota before going on the run and killing a second victim with the same gun she used to fatally shoot her husband. The suspect was seen at a Florida bar chatting up the woman who is believed to have been her second victim. Investigators reportedly believe that Riess targeted Pamela Hutchinson, 59, because the two women look alike, making it easier for the suspect to steal her identity.
Hutchinson was found dead April 9 at a timeshare in Fort Meyers, four days after the two women were seen together at Smokin’ Oyster Brewery.
According to the Daily Mail, which obtained the hotel surveillance video from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the video footage is undated, but likely took place shortly after the killing, as Riess is believed to have traveled to Texas since then. Her last known sighting was in Corpus Christie.
The victim’s cousin told The News-Press that she recognized one of Hutchinson’s favorite hats on the video – on her suspected murderer’s head.
“When I saw the hat, I just broke down because this was one of Pam’s prized possessions,” the victim’s couisn Lohr Stoops told the news outlet. “This was one of her favorites, and she wore it many times.
“For me to see this vile woman wearing my cousin’s hat after she murdered her was heartbreaking.”
Authorities are reportedly concerned that Riess may be plotting to cross the border to Mexico, but noted that they have alerted border control to keep watch for Hutchinson’s identification.
“Mexican authorities are aware at the border,” Tony Schall, a spokesman for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, told The News-Press.
“She would have to show ID.”
[Feature image: Lois Riess/Lee County Sheriff’s Office]
