FORT MYERS, Fla. – A Minnesota woman accused of killing her husband at their home and another woman in Florida to apparently steal her identity was ordered Sunday to remain in a Florida county jail without bond.
Judge Zachary Gill granted Lois Riess, 56, a pretrial detention hearing, but the date hasn't been determined. The Fort Myers News-Press reported that Riess arrived in Fort Myers from Texas on Saturday to face charges including homicide and identity theft.
A national manhunt began for Riess after her husband's body was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the couple's home in Blooming Prairie, Minn., on March 23. She's accused of killing David Riess, 54, then forging checks to steal $11,000 from his account.
The search intensified after another woman, Pamela Hutchinson, 59, of Bradenton, Fla., was found dead in Fort Myers Beach on April 9. Authorities said at the time that Riess targeted Hutchinson because they looked alike, then killed her to assume her identity.
Riess was arrested April 19 in the South Texas beach resort town of South Padre Island after someone recognized her at a restaurant.
She will also stand trial in Minnesota.
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