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Grandma is a 'cold-blooded murderer,' authorities say, as manhunt continues

Police allege Riess shot Hutchison and stole her identity. Hutchinson's purse was found in disarray and her keys were missing.
Credit: Lee County Sheriff's Office
The video released by the Lee County Sheriff's Office shows 56-year-old Lois Riess of Bloomberg Prairie, Minnesota, talking to 59-year-old Pamela Hutchinson April 5 at the Smokin' Oyster Brewery in Fort Myers Beach.

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. -- The Lee County Sheriff's Office has released a surveillance video that shows homicide suspect Lois Ann Riess at the Smokin’ Oyster Brewery on April 5, at about 5:40 p.m.

In the video, a smiling Riess is wearing a light blue shirt and has white/gray hair. The seven-second video clip was aired Monday morning on NBC's "Today" show.

Riess is wanted as a suspect in the death of Pamela Hutchinson, 59. The fatal gunshot victim was found on Monday night, but it’s likely she was dead for longer as family members began questioning here whereabouts on her Facebook page.

Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno said Riess, 56, targeted Hutchinson because she looked like her. Police allege Riess shot Hutchison and stole her identity. Hutchinson’s purse was found in disarray and her keys were missing.

Photos: Grandma is a 'cold-blooded murderer,' authorities say

Riess remains on the run and is armed and dangerous, Marceno said. She was spotted traveling through the Gulf states and was last seen in Corpus Christi, Texas.

In a CBS report, Marceno says that although Riess "may look like anyone's mother or grandmother, she's an absolute cold-blooded murderer."

On the "Today" broadcast, Marceno said that Riess will run out of money and could possibly kill again.

Authorities in Minnesota began looking for Riess after March 23 when they found her husband, David Riess, 54, dead with multiple gunshot wounds.

A business partner of David Riess asked for a welfare check after he was missing from work for more than two weeks. He was deceased for an undetermined amount of time.

In a report from CBS Minnesota, "Police went to the couple’s residence in Blooming Prairie and discovered (her husband) dead inside the home.”

Lois Riess had vanished, as had David Riess's car, CBS reported, adding that authorities believed that Lois Riess “forged signatures on $11,000 in her husband’s business account” and visited a casino in Iowa.

“The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office and Dodge County Attorney’s Office are preparing second-degree murder charges against Lois Riess for the March 2018 murder of her husband David Riess. Investigators believe Pamela Hutchinson may have been killed with the same firearm used to murder David Riess,” The Minnesota Bureau of Apprehension wrote.

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