Blooming Prairie woman back in Minnesota to face 1st and 2nd degree murder charges

A Blooming Prairie woman accused of killing her husband and convicted of murder in Florida is back in Minnesota.

58-year old Lois Riess was booked into the Steele County jail in Owatonna on Friday. Online court records do not list any hearings scheduled in her case.

Riess is charged with 1st and 2nd degree murder for allegedly shooting her husband, 54-year old  David Riess to death in March 2018.

Authorities reported that Riess then led them on a cross-country manhunt until she was apprehended on South Padre Island, Texas in April of 2018.

While at large, Riess murdered 59-year old Pamela Hutchinson in Florida. Law enforcement indicated that Riess was looking to assume Hutchinson’s identity. In December, 2019, Riess pleaded guilty to a felony 1st degree murder charge for Hutchinson’s death and was sentenced to life in prison.

Authorities have stated that Riess would be prosecuted in Minnesota after her Florida case was resolved.