Riess returns to Lee County for murder charges
The suspect of two homicides in two states has returned to Lee County to face charges.
Lois Riess was extradited from South Padre Island, Texas, to Lee County this weekend and is in custody with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
Riess, 56, was arrested in Texas April 19 for the alleged murders of her husband in Minnesota in March and Pamela Hutchinson at Snug Harbour at Marina Village on Fort Myers Beach in April.
After killing her husband, Riess fled to Florida and befriended Hutchinson before killing her, stealing her identity and her car, and moving on Ocala and then Texas.
A citizen who recognized Riess at a restaurant in South Padre Island tipped off authorities, and members of the U.S. Marshal Service and the South Padre Island Police Department arrested Riess without incident.
Riess waved her right to an extradition hearing, and is now awaiting trial in the Lee County Jail.
“I know that I speak on behalf of Sheriff Scott when I say that we are relieved to have Lois Riess in our custody,” said Undersheriff Carmine Marceno in a press release. “Her arrest is the result of excellent teamwork between state and federal law enforcement agencies, our media partners and the entire community.”