Killer Grandma Lois Riess Breaks Her Silence in New HBO Documentary

The Unthinkable Double Murder That Shocked America

People in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, thought Lois Riess was a nice wife and grandmother who lavished her family with gifts, competed in a local bowling league, and was known for her cooking in the quiet city. But after police discovered her husband, David, shot to death inside the couple's home in March 2018, a cross-country manhunt proved the truth about Riess was much darker and deadlier. The media nicknamed her the "Killer Grandma" and "Losing Streak Lois."

After leaving Minnesota, Riess went to Florida, where she was accused of becoming friends with Pamela Hutchinson, a woman who resembled her physically. Riess killed Hutchinson to try to assume her identity in order to avoid the police as well. On April 5, 2018, she murdered 59-year-old Pamela Hutchinson in a rental condo located in Fort Myers Beach, Florida. Hutchinson was visiting the area to help a friend scatter her late husband's ashes and on vacation when she encountered Riess. Riess shot and killed Hutchinson in the victim's condo, where her body was later discovered with bullets in her back and chest a week later by maintenance staff.

On the night of April 19, 2018, Riess was arrested and taken into custody by U.S. Marshals and local law enforcement at a local restaurant called Sea Ranch in South Padre Island, Texas, a coastal town situated about 27 miles from the Mexican border. She was sitting alone at a restaurant having a drink when authorities approached her. Her capture followed a tip from an individual who recognized her from news reports while she was at a local restaurant.

Breaking Her Silence After Six Years

The convicted "Killer Grandma" gave her first interview for a new HBO documentary that begins airing Tuesday. However, the new documentary marks the first interview with Riess since her imprisonment. In 2024, Riess was featured in a documentary directed and produced by Erin Lee Carr, I Am Not a Monster: The Lois Riess Murders, American Murderers on HBO.

Years later, Lois sits down with the filmmakers telling her story for the first time. Lois herself attempts to explain her reprehensible actions which reveals a disturbing family history and an addiction to gambling. In a revealing first-person account, Lois admits to killing David, pointing to alleged emotional abuse in the relationship, but is unable to justify her methodical, well-planned crime spree that followed, which included embezzling funds, a second murder of a stranger, identity theft, and a callous, detailed coverup of her crimes.

Their son Braden Riess told CBS' Inside Edition his mother battled a gambling addiction. Elsewhere, documents showed that authorities investigated Lois for felony theft in 2015 after finding evidence she stole money from her disabled sister. She was never charged criminally, but a 2017 civil judgement determined Riess owed her sister $100,000.

The Calculated Nature of Her Crimes

Authorities determined that Lois Riess had forged David's signature on checks and withdrawn $11,000 from his account before fleeing the state. Evidence collected at the scene suggested the crime was premeditated, with Lois allegedly planning to use the stolen funds to finance her escape. After the murder, Riess stole several of Hutchinson's belongings, including her identification, credit cards, and vehicle, which she used to aid her escape. Investigators believed that Riess meticulously planned the crime to assume Hutchinson's identity as part of her effort to avoid detection following the murder of her husband in Minnesota.

Riess was convicted of both counts of murder and was sentenced to 2 life terms in prison (one for killing her husband, and one for killing Pamela Hutchinson) with no parole. Now 62 years old, Riess is in prison for life for both the murder of her husband and a Florida woman whose identity she tried to steal. Due to an agreement between Florida and Minnesota, officials settled on Lois Riess serving both sentences in Minnesota.

A Documentary That Challenges Perceptions

Anchored by a candid, yet conflicted interview with Lois, I'M NOT A MONSTER: THE LOIS RIESS MURDERS is an examination of an unorthodox killer and a chronicle of the enduring effects of familial dysfunction and mental health strains on a person's psyche. The series explores criminality and accountability through the mystery of a middle-aged woman who couldn't be further from the typical image of a cold-blooded, multiple murderer.