A Minnesota woman who led authorities on a cross-country manhunt in 2018 pleaded guilty Tuesday to fatally shooting a Florida woman who prosecutors said was targeted because she looked like her killer.
»FROM 2018: Minnesota grandma sought in deaths of husband, Florida 'lookalike'
After admitting to Pamela Hutchinson's slaying, Lois Riess, 57, was sentenced to life in prison.
The silver-haired Riess singled out Hutchinson because they shared similar features, and Riess wanted to assume Hutchinson’s identity while on the run, said officials from the Lee County State Attorney's office.
Riess garnered national attention as the “fugitive grandma” before she was captured in April 2018 in Texas.
»PREVIOUS COVERAGE: New footage released of 'killer grandma' suspected in 2 homicides
“It was certainly one of the more unusual cases in my 25-year career as a prosecutor,” said Rich Montecalvo, chief assistant state attorney.
Husband found dead
Riess’ saga began in March 2018, when her husband, 54-year-old David Riess, was found dead at the couple’s Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, home.
Credit: David Joles
Credit: David Joles
Lois Riess forged checks to steal $11,000 from her husband’s account, traveled south to Florida and landed in Fort Myers, prosecutors said.
Investigators said surveillance footage showed the two women near Hutchinson’s Fort Myers condo-hotel room on April 4 and April 5.
For the next two days, Riess was recorded on surveillance video — at times carrying garbage bags to the parking lot — but Hutchinson wasn’t seen at all.
After killing Hutchinson, Riess made her way to Texas while using Hutchinson’s credit cards and vehicle, police said.
Arrested drinking cocktails
On April 19, 2018, Riess was drinking cocktails at a South Padre Island, Texas, waterfront restaurant when she was arrested by two federal deputy marshals. An employee recognized her from surveillance video broadcast on television.
On Tuesday, Riess pleaded guilty to first-degree murder with a firearm, grand theft of a motor vehicle, grand theft, and criminal use of personal identification information of a deceased individual. Prosecutors withdrew the possibility of the death penalty on the murder charge as part of the plea deal.
‘Will never get out of prison’
Samantha Syoen, the spokeswoman for the State Attorney's Office, wrote in a news release that Hutchinson's family was supportive of the plea agreement because they wanted Riess to be incarcerated for the rest of her days.
“This defendant will never get out of prison,” State Attorney Amira Fox said. “This life sentence also alleviates any appellate issues that could arise and guarantees she will never be free again. It also allows the family of the victim to not have to go through the details of this crime at a trial."
Minnesota charges pending
Riess waived extradition Tuesday to face charges in Minnesota in connection with her husband's slaying.
Messages left with authorities in Minnesota were not immediately returned Tuesday.
Montecalvo said if she stands trial and is convicted in Minnesota, corrections departments in both states will determine where she's incarcerated.
“Frankly I don’t care,” he said. “We believe that justice is done for the victim's family. They just wanted to make sure she was never ever released from prison.”
Her son, Braden Riess, said in 2018 that she was a “good lady” but had her “own demons.”
»RELATED: Son: Mom accused in Minnesota, Florida deaths 'a good lady'
“Something happened in her brain that made her snap,” he told “Inside Edition” in 2018.
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