5 chilling details about Lois Riess' crimes
Lois Riess became an infamous figure in 2018 when she became the subject of a nationwide manhunt, following her involvement in two murders in Florida and Minnesota. This thrilling case, which was also covered widely and publicized at the time, is now going to be the subject of I Am Not a Monster: The Lois Riess Murders, which is set to premiere on HBO and Max on October 15, 2024.
The two-part docuseries will not only go over the entire case thoroughly but will also give an insight into the mind of Lois Riess, who will speak about the crimes herself from prison. The synopsis of the docuseries by Erin Lee Carr reads:
"In 2018, a small-town murder in Minnesota shocks a community when Lois Riess kills her husband David and goes on the run from the authorities; years later, Lois sits down with the filmmakers telling her story for the first time."
This case is riddled with small but significant details that shed a completely different light on the case. Here are five such details ahead of the premiere of I Am Not a Monster: The Lois Riess Murders.
5 chilling details about I Am Not a Monster: The Lois Riess Murders subject
1) David Riess and Lois Riess had a long history of abuse in their marriage
Though most did not know this, David and Lois had a troubled marriage, where the latter claimed to have been abused multiple times. Lois claimed that the regular abuse was not limited to verbal but often was also physical. She also claimed to have been intimidated by David.
She said in the new documentary:
"I didn't think I had a way out, or could defy him. Because he was a big man, and he was very very aggressive. Lots of verbal abuse, which I feel is worse than the physical abuse."
2) Lois had a gambling addiction that took her near killing herself
Before she killed her husband and fled, Lois had developed a dangerous gambling addiction while dealing with the trouble and abuse in her marriage. She ultimately attempted to commit suicide. Soon after, she murdered her husband after a particularly violent fight between the two on March 11, 2018. David was shot in the heart.
3) David Riess and Pamela Hutchinson were murdered in the same manner
Lois Riess fled after killing her husband and drove 1,500 miles south to Fort Myers, Florida. There she met Pamela Hutchinson and the two were seen together multiple times around their hotel and neighboring joints.
However, 59-year-old Pamela Hutchinson was found shot to death in the hotel room on April 9, 2018. After shooting her, Lois wrapped Pamela's body in a blanket just like she had done for her late husband.
4) Riess claimed she did not know why she killed Pamela Hutchinson
While authorities alleged, and continue to allege, that Lois killed Pamela to steal her identity as they looked quite similar, Lois claimed that she did not know why she had hurt Pamela. She said in the documentary that she never imagined hurting her and could have been her friend.
Riess said:
"Never. I had never anticipated hurting that woman...It truly is a puzzle, because I don't have all the memories and all the answers for that...It was shown to me that I took her life. I still don’t know the reason why it happened."
5) Lois Riess pleaded guilty to both the murders
She was arrested by the US Marshal’s Service while at a restaurant in South Padre Island, Texas, for Pamela Hutchinson's murder. She initially planned to go to trial but took a plea deal that sentenced her to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
She did the same when she was extradited to Minnesota to face the murder charges of David Riess. She pleaded guilty and received another life sentence. She continues to remain at the mixed-security Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee, Scott County.
I Am Not a Monster: The Lois Riess Murders will cover this case in more detail.
