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How Lois Riess Became the "Killer Grandma" · Murder Files Unsealed

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: All right, buckle up, because this one's a doozy. We're
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  diving deep into the case of Lois Reese, the so
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  called killer Grandma.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, this deep diver quest came in hot from
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  a listener, and I gotta say it's a wild one totally.
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  Speaker 1: We're talking about a seemingly ordinary gramma from Minnesota who
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  ends up at the center of a nationwide manhunt.
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  Speaker 2: And get this, there's way more to it than just
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  another true crime story. Your sources they really dig deep.
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  Speaker 1: Oh absolutely, We're about to unpack some serious layers here. Gambling,
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  alleged abuse, even a victim who looked eerily similar to
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  Lois herself.
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  Speaker 2: It's like, right off the bat, this case throws you
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  a curveball. You have this image of a grandma right
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  some when you picture bacon cookies, not committing crimes.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Right, total grandma vibes. And that's we're going to kick
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  things off. Lois's life before the murders back in Blooming Trairie, Minnesota.
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  Speaker 2: Small town life, everyone knows everyone, Imagine that. And Lois.
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  She was a regular community member, loved by her family.
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  Speaker 1: Totally the picture of normalcy. Except well, your sources paid
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  a bit of a different picture, you know, like maybe
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  things weren't so peachy under the surface.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's like a puzzle trying to piece together what
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  led to such drastic actions. And one piece we can
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  ignore is the whole gambling thing.
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  Speaker 1: And it wasn't just casual bingo nights either, right.
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  Speaker 2: Her own son Bryden, even talked about her struggles with gambling,
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  hinted that it cause some serious family drama. Not exactly
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  the picture perfect life she projected, so.
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  Speaker 1: Different from that doting grandma persona exactly.
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  Speaker 2: And remember that investigation back in twenty fifteen, the accusations
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  of her stealing a whole bunch of money from her
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  own disabled sister.
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  Speaker 1: Oh wow, Yeah, I always forgot about that. That's a
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  pretty big.
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  Speaker 2: Deal, huge, especially since she was running a daycare out
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  of her home at the time. You'd think someone entrusted
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  with kid would have a squeaky clean record.
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  Speaker 1: It really makes you wonder where she trying to keep
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  up appearances, over compensate for.
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  Speaker 2: Something maybe maybe, And then boom, March twenty eighteen, everything
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  changes the murder of her husband, David Reese, And.
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  Speaker 1: This is where the story takes a dark turn. My
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  friend Lois, she claims they had this huge fight that
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  David actually handed her the gun and told her to
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  kill herself. Heavy stuck, and that's when she admits to
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  shooting him, not once, but twice.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, So this is where your sources get really interesting
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  because on the surface, it might seem like an open
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  and shit case, right, like a woman pushed to her breaking.
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  Speaker 1: Point, right, But there's got to be more to it.
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  Speaker 2: Right exactly. See, when you dig deeper, things get a little.
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  Speaker 1: Murky, like what doesn't quite add up well?
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  Speaker 2: The prosecution argued premeditation. They pointed to all these financial
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  moves Lois made right after the shooting, like she had
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  a plan in place all along.
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  Speaker 1: Oh so was this a heat of the moment thing
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  fueled by years of alleged abuse like she said? Or
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  was it ice cold, calculated and made to look like
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  something it wasn't.
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  Speaker 2: Now those are the million dollar questions.
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  Speaker 1: It's like trying to solve a puzzle with half the pieces.
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  Speaker 2: Missing, exactly. It's a reminder that sometimes we can never
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  truly know what goes on inside someone's head, especially when
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  it comes to some thing as extreme as murders.
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  Speaker 1: So true, and what happens next just throws another log
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  on the fire, Lois. She doesn't just lay low, She
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  goes full on fugitive.
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  Speaker 2: Oh yeah, and not just hiding out either. This is
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  like straight out of Hollywood. She takes on a whole
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  new persona, starts hopping from state to state.
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  Speaker 1: It's kind of gutsy. You gotta admit forging her dead
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  husband's signature to get cash, showing her face on casino
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  cameras while everyone's looking for her.
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  Speaker 2: Bold move, for sure, and that trail leads her straight
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  to Florida, where she meets Pamela Hutchinson. This, I think
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  is where things get really unsettling.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, this is where those movie comparisons really start to
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  hit home. So Lois she befriends Pamela at this timeshare complex,
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  and all the sources point to this really eerie detail.
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  Speaker 2: They look alike, like really alike hair.
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  Speaker 1: Build, even their skin tone. It's almost like they could
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  be sisters or something.
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  Speaker 2: It's bizarre, and this isn't just a coincidence. A few
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  days later, Pamela's found dead, shot and killed. Cragic, and
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  the authorities they connect Lois to the crime. Pretty quickly.
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  It becomes clear she didn't just steal Pamela's identity. She
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  stole her.
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  Speaker 1: Life, chilling. The level of planning involved, the way she
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  supposedly wormed her way into Pamela's life, it.
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  Speaker 2: Makes you wonder what was the motivation. Was it all
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  about getting a new identity to escape the law. Was
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  there a financial angle or was there something darker going on,
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  something more sinister. It's really hard to say for sure.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, the sources leave that part open ended. But there's
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  one thing that always gets me about this case. It's
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  how Lois reacts or doesn't react to Pamela's murder. It's
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  like that crime doesn't weigh on her the same way.
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  Speaker 2: That's an interesting observation. You're right, she expresses remorse for
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  killing her husband, but when it comes to Pamela, there's
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  this coldness, this distance.
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  Speaker 1: It's eerie. Adds another layer to an already complex situation.
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  Speaker 2: Totally so, now I've got two murders, a fugitive on
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  the loose, and a whole bunch of unanswered questions.
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  Speaker 1: In the story's just getting started. Lois's run from the law, Well,
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  it's got a few more twists and turns. Last we
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  saw Lois the so called killer Grandma. She was on
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  the lamb, leaving a trail of questions and chaos in
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  her wake.
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  Speaker 2: It's amazing how this case grabbed everyone's attention. This seemingly
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  average grandma living a double life.
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  Speaker 1: Totally, and the media really ran with that killer grandma angle.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, can you blame them? It's not every day
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  you see a grandma on the FBI's Most Wanted list.
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  But it makes you think about how we profile.
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  Speaker 1: Criminals, right, because while everyone else saw sweet Grandma, she
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  was running from.
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  Speaker 2: Two murders exactly. And get this, the sources say Lois
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  actually used that to her advantage. What do you mean
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  she blended right in, acting like any other tourist.
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  Speaker 1: No way while on the run for murder.
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  Speaker 2: Yep, even stopped at more casinas along the way. Can
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  you imagine. It's like she was almost taunting the authorities.
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  Speaker 1: Bold move, Lois. But even the wildest rides have to
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  end eventually, and hers ends at a restaurant in Texas, Texas.
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  Can you believe it? Talk about plus right, like just
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  a stone's throw from Mexico. But that's it. Game over.
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  Speaker 2: Busted for a burger while.
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  Speaker 1: Seriously and in the end she pleads guilty. Both murders
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  David and Minnesota Pamela and Florida. Now she's serving two
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  life sentences, no parole.
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  Speaker 2: And while she did say she was sorry about killing
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  her husband, the Pamela thing that's still a head scratcher.
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  Speaker 1: It really is why the different reaction between the two murders.
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  It's like, where's the remorse for Pamela.
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  Speaker 2: It's the million dollar question. Was Pamela's collateral damage a
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  way to disp appear or was there something more to it?
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  Speaker 1: It's crazy to think about how two drastically different sides
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  can exist within one person, the loving grandma, the volunteer,
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  and then this.
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  Speaker 2: It's a stark reminder, isn't it. You never truly know
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  what's going on beneath the surface. Remember what the documentary
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  called her I'm Not a Monster?
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  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, makes you wonder are any of us capable
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  of something like that? It's a chilling thought.
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  Speaker 2: Definitely makes it. I think twice about that nice little neighbor.
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  But hey, that's why we love these deep dives, right,
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  They make you question.
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  Speaker 1: Everything truth And if you're looking for even more on
• 7:07
  Lois Russ, check out the HBO documentary I'm Not a Monster.
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  The logus rest murders. It's a wild ride until next time.
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  Keep those true crime minds sharp and stay curious because
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  you never know what dark corners will be exploring next