Nationwide search underway for ‘cold-blooded killer’ grandmother

April 16 (UPI) — A nationwide search is underway for a 56-year-old mother and grandmother accused of murder in two states.

Lois Riess, 56, is accused of killing her husband, David, in Minnesota last month, then going on the run. Police say Riess ended up in Ft. Myers, Fla., where she befriended 59-year-old Pamela Huchinson — a woman who looked like her.

Police believe Riess plotted to kill Huchinson to steal her identity as she stole her credit cards, her driver’s license and her white Acura.

“This is the first time in my career that I’ve seen someone steal someone’s identity and target them for the way they look, in order to murder them,” Lee County Undersheriff Carmine Marceno told NBC.

“This stone-cold killer was smiling like anyone’s mother or grandmother when she approached our victim. And yet she’s calculated, she’s targeted and an absolute cold-blooded killer.”

Riess was caught on a surveillance video from the Smokin’ Oyster Brewery in Ft. Myers Beach on April 5, smiling while wearing a light blue shirt.

Riess, who is known to have had a history of gambling problems, is being considered armed and dangerous.

Police say her killing spree may not be over.

“The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office and Dodge County Attorney’s Office are preparing second-degree murder charges against Lois Riess for the March 2018 murder of her husband David Riess,” the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension wrote in a Facebook post.

“Investigators believe Pamela Hutchinson may have been killed with the same firearm used to murder David Riess. Investigators are not aware of any connection between Lois Riess and Hutchinson.”