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00:00Pam was murdered it just made me sick the victim is captured on camera with a
00:06suspect that looks just like her it showed her with like a female companion
00:11or a female friend they're walking through the parking lot together going
00:16up the elevator walking down the hallway into the unit together and from that
00:20point forward I never saw the victim on surveillance footage again
00:26I never would have thought that this is who my suspect was in this case we
00:33believe that she was on the run our grandmas are the people that you can go
00:38to and be comforted when bad things happen she was that for her
00:43grandchildren her grandchildren and my children were the same age and we took
00:48them everywhere together you would never in a million years think that she could
00:51commit a crime like that my biggest fear was I don't want her to do this again
00:59I managed the building and there's a dead body in one of the units Lee County investigators rush
01:28to the condo complex to respond to the incident initially when I made entrance
01:35into the unit I did smell something that was foul I also noticed that the air in
01:41the unit was turned down like it was cold in there I noticed then at the door
01:47that separates the bedroom from the master bathroom was closed but at the base of
01:52the door there appeared to be towels jammed at the bottom of it that may be to
01:56keep a smell in or out or to muffle the sound of something and once we go in we
02:02find that that's where the body was
02:09the decedent was on the floor feet towards the door a towel was draped over
02:15the decedent's arms and head area we're unable to see any wounds on her it was
02:22hard to see if there was any kind of struggle I was still up in the air with it when the medical
02:28examiner arrives they start lifting the sheets and towels off you could tell that it was a female
02:34there is a pillow near in the body with what appears to be a gunshot hole through it there's
02:40some soot on the outside of it that was possibly used to muffle the sound of a gun being shot at
02:46close range the female was older I would say 60s we saw a probable bullet wound we then realized that
02:57it turned into a full-blown homicide that she had been killed at that point we did not locate a weapon
03:05there was no indication of a struggle there was no defensive marks as far as we could tell on the
03:13decedent it looked as if she had just been taken by surprise marina village at snug harbors the
03:19apartment condo complex it's used as timeshare so it does kind of have a transient occupancy a little
03:27bit we got the name from the complainant of hey this lady is the one who checked in we checked her
03:35driver's license she had checked in as Pamela Hutchinson but no one felt comfortable enough at
03:41that time at least to make a positive identification because of the decomp to the face and the bloating and
03:47everything I knew I had an elderly female she was supposedly there by herself I'm thinking to myself
03:54maybe someone followed her home tried to rob her it turned bad I just didn't know at that point with
04:01their investigation stretching through the night detectives hope an autopsy can give them some new
04:07information they decide to wait to tell the family until they can be sure that the body is Pam Hutchinson
04:15it was a small caliber round that killed our victim possibly a 22 caliber we were able to identify her
04:24through dental records the victim in the bathroom was identified as Pamela Hutchinson so we start making
04:32phone calls to next of kin
04:42I was at a local bar restaurant when Pam's cousin-in-law called me to inform me that Pam had been murdered
04:50I was devastated I mean you hear about things like that happening every day to somebody else but you don't think that
05:02can ever happen to somebody you know I live in Bradenton Florida and I met Pam Hutchinson in late 2015 she was somebody that would strike up a conversation with anybody
05:21Pam kind of had the southern hospitality I felt like he knew her all my life she was raised down south and her family used to have a peanut stand where they'd sell peanuts along the road she was from Virginia Beach her father died when she was real young but she was really close to her mother then the mother passed away not too long
05:49before she came down here seeking a new life after she broke up with her husband
05:56while I was searching for a place to purchase I ran into Pam and she said why don't you move in with me for a while from the start we just clicked we like the same things we like to bake we both believed in God we both jabbered a lot
06:11the detectives reach out to Pam's family and friends to pick up the details about Pam's trip to Fort Myers Beach so I was living with Pam at the time she decided that she was going to go to Sanibel Island at Fort Myers Beach
06:18she had come down to the area to be with a friend whose husband had passed and they were going to scatter his ashes on Sanibel Island which is an island in the area
06:25we did text when she arrived at Fort Myers Beach we did text when she arrived at Fort Myers Beach yeah I made it okay good go have a good time just relax life is short
06:32and then I didn't hear from her after that
06:39I owned a time share at Marina Village for many years
06:47speech. Yeah, I made it. Okay, good. Go. Have a good time. Just relax. Life is short. And then
06:56I didn't hear from her after that. I owned a timeshare at Marina Village for many years.
07:10So I called Marina Village at Snug Harbor and I said, what's going on? The girl I know there
07:16said, my God, Barb, didn't you know Pam was murdered? And I'm just like, what? It just
07:25made me sick. I never recalled Pam having any enemies that would ever consider doing her harm.
07:37She was actually what I considered my best friend at the time. It's still hard to get over, you know?
07:57Word of Pam's death gets around fast, but her poor family doesn't have any idea who might have done
08:03it. The Fort Myers detectives keep digging, hoping they can find anything that'll point to who's
08:09behind this awful crime. The Lee County Sheriff's Office knew that Pam had come down on vacation to
08:16help a friend of hers whose husband had just died shortly before. At that point, they didn't really
08:23have a suspect. They started to look at the surveillance videos to try and see who maybe
08:29had been with Pamela at that point. When we were collecting all the evidence in the unit,
08:35we found a receipt for the Smokin' Oyster Brewery. It had a date and time stamp on it.
08:40We sent detectives to the restaurant and they collected the video for that time stamp.
08:46We also made contact with the complainant from Marina Village at Snug Harbor and asked to review
08:52her surveillance footage. We were starting to go back to the day that our victim arrived and watching
09:01her come in. We see what kind of car she was driving, a white Acura four-door vehicle.
09:06The footage shows that Pam is alone at the condo from April 3rd to April 5th. But what about after
09:32that? Detectives decide to take a gander at the footage they collected from April 6th at the Smokin' Oyster
09:40Brewery. And that's where we see footage of our victim. But it also showed her with like a female
09:48companion or a female friend. The female was very talkative, very jovial, like easy to get along with.
09:55Um, she was talking to everybody that got close to her. So after finishing their meal at Smokin' Oyster Brewery,
10:03they both left the area together.
10:07So did Pam go back to her condo with her new friend? The investigators checked the footage from the complex to find out.
10:15About an hour after, both of them were seen walking to the room together.
10:22They're walking through the parking lot together, going up the elevator, walking down the hallway into the unit together.
10:28A short time later, the female which she entered with came out kind of looking distraught. So it was, it was concerning at that point.
10:40It looked as if she was almost talking to herself. She was walking around, she was leaning over. Again, it looked like she was upset emotionally.
10:48And from that point forward, I never saw the victim on surveillance footage again.
10:56At that point, then we knew who we were looking for.
10:59A white female, I would guesstimate between 50, 60 years of age.
11:04I was surprised. I'm thinking, wow, this reminds me of my grandma.
11:08Her facade was probably of an innocent lady.
11:15You can tell something was changing in her.
11:18She had a love for the casinos, a love for gambling.
11:23It has become this odd crime spree of the most unassuming looking grandmother.
11:30I was concerned about her trying to go to Mexico. I was like, this is a problem.
11:45When poor Pam Hutchinson is discovered shot to death in her Fort Myers rental, investigators sift through hours and hours of footage looking for one unusual suspect in particular.
11:57I never would have thought that this is who my suspect was in this case.
12:03She had blonde hair. She wasn't very tall, maybe five, five, five, six. And those, again, are characteristics that were somewhat similar to our victim.
12:13At that point, I wasn't sure if it was a friend. But to me, it appeared as if she had just met this person.
12:20It was my belief that the homicide probably had occurred on April 5th, just before we saw the suspect exit the room and appear distraught.
12:34On surveillance footage, on April 6th, 2018, I no longer see our victim coming and going. I only see our suspect coming and going from the victim's room.
12:43It appeared as if she took a lot of evidence from the unit itself. She was also adorning herself in the victim's clothing, specifically a hat, I remember, and sunglasses. And it was almost as if she was assuming her identity.
12:58And we see her driving away in our victim's car at this point.
13:06Once we saw her leave with the victim's vehicle and we no longer had her on any surveillance footage, we believed that she was on the run. She had a head start from us.
13:17From the time we last saw the suspect on surveillance to the time of the 911 call was about four days.
13:26We got to figure out where she's at. We start looking for our victim's car. We're putting license plates into our license plate reader system, flagging them as a homicide suspect.
13:38At that point, we knew of no witnesses. We did an extensive canvas of everyone that was in the building. Some had already come and gone. Again, this is spring break.
13:49But there's no obvious way that Pam and the gray-haired mystery lady would know each other.
13:59The only clue the guys have to work with are the two cars caught on tape at the crime scene.
14:06Pam's Acura and the other lady's Escalade.
14:09They check recent police reports to see if anything comes up.
14:13Before we found the body, our units on the beach were provided information to be on the lookout for Lois Reese from Minnesota because they believed that she had been in the area in her white Escalade.
14:26Lois Reese had a warrant for her arrest out of Blooming Prairie, Minnesota, in reference to a fraud case.
14:33Now there's an aha moment. Their suspect was in a white Escalade, too. Could it be the same one Lois Reese was driving?
14:43It was just, let me just take a chance. Let me just see.
14:48I called the local jurisdiction up in Minnesota, but this one just kind of took me by surprise.
14:54They had a murder investigation on going there.
14:58Lois Reese was a person of interest at the time.
15:01They didn't have charges on her for murder, but her husband, David Reese, was killed.
15:06So they were looking for her.
15:08The Dodge County Sheriff's Office had mentioned that they had secured an arrest warrant for her
15:12because she withdrew approximately $11,000 from David Reese's bank account after she had fled the area.
15:20Even though the police in Minnesota figured that Lois Reese had flipped from kindly grandmother to husband killer,
15:27they could only get a warrant for the money she stole from his account.
15:30I asked them for a photo of the person of interest that they had up in Minnesota,
15:35and I took that photo, I printed it off, and as I'm watching the surveillance footage,
15:40I put it right up next to the screen, and I paused it, and I said, that's her.
15:45I spoke specifically and directly with the detectives involved with the murder investigation
15:53and the grand theft investigation, and they relayed the scene that they encountered in that area.
15:59They told me they received a call to do a welfare check on David Reese.
16:04Dave's employees had not seen him for almost two weeks,
16:16and Lois had been telling them that he was ill.
16:20On the 22nd, they saw Lois driving out in Dave's white Escalade.
16:27And the employees said, something's up.
16:31So they called the local police to come and do a welfare check.
16:38Blooming Prairie police went to the house, knocked, couldn't get anybody,
16:42walked around, found an open window in the back,
16:45which is unusual because it's March in Minnesota.
16:48And they saw a body through the window that was open.
16:53They were able to make entry, get inside the house,
16:58made their way to the master bath,
17:00and the door was closed, things up against the door.
17:06They found who they believed to be David Reese in the bathroom.
17:11It did not look like the body had moved.
17:14It looked like Dave laid where he fell after he got shot twice,
17:18again covered with a towel.
17:20According to the Dodge County Sheriff's Office,
17:24David had been dead for at least a few days.
17:27And at that point, Lois was nowhere to be found.
17:34It sounded very similar to what I had found in the unit down here.
17:39The victim up in Minnesota was killed in the bathroom.
17:42It appeared to be a small caliber round.
17:45And then also a towel was draped over the decedent up in Minnesota,
17:48same as down here.
17:51The bathroom window was open to, again, let in cold air,
17:55again, similar to Lois dropping the air in the unit.
17:59She turned the air down, tried to keep the smell out.
18:03I was shocked.
18:04I would have never just thought walking down the street,
18:07oh, that lady's responsible for the deaths of two people.
18:09So everything we put out at that point was she's wanted
18:14and she's considered armed and dangerous.
18:17We needed to find her as soon as possible
18:19because my biggest fear was I don't want her to do this again.
18:22Investigators in Florida find out that their suspect, Lois Reese,
18:35likely shot her poor husband in Minnesota
18:38two weeks before she did the same thing to Pam Hutchinson.
18:42They put the word out all over the state
18:44to be on the lookout for Lois
18:46and then pry into her past
18:49to see if they can figure out why she did it.
18:54Lois and Dave moved to Blooming Prairie
18:56about 2005 or 2006, somewhere in there.
19:00Dave and Lois were really a friendly couple.
19:03Everybody loved to hang out with them and laugh with them.
19:07Lois was born and raised in Rochester, Minnesota.
19:11Dave also grew up in Rochester.
19:15Lois dropped out of high school as a junior
19:16and was already dating Dave.
19:19They got married
19:20and had three children very quickly.
19:25Lois, she just had this instant draw.
19:29She was just super fun, very sweet,
19:32great laugh,
19:34and just makes you feel very comfortable.
19:37Lois, for many years,
19:39while her children were young especially,
19:41had a daycare in her home.
19:42If you went to Lois' daycare,
19:45you were privileged.
19:47Like, she, everybody wanted Lois to watch her kids.
19:50She was phenomenal.
19:52She was a good mom and a good grandmother
19:55and did the things that good moms
19:58and grandmas are supposed to do.
20:00Our grandmas are the people
20:02that you can go to
20:04and be comforted when bad things happen.
20:07Lois was bad for her grandchildren.
20:10Her grandchildren and my children
20:12were the same age
20:13and we took them everywhere together.
20:16Bringing them to, like, the zoo
20:18and the beach
20:19and just doing lots of fun stuff.
20:22She's just, like,
20:23the sweetest little grandma.
20:27Dave was a jolly, fun guy.
20:31If you were in a bad mood,
20:32sit by Dave
20:33because he'd have you laughing in a minute.
20:35He had this infectious, deep laugh.
20:37Dave always told jokes,
20:39loved to talk about fishing.
20:41That was his favorite thing to do.
20:44Dave ran a waxworm business,
20:47so he actually grew waxworms from nothing
20:50and they would sell them at fisheries,
20:53bait shops, stuff like that.
20:57Lois seemed very happy.
20:58So did Dave.
20:59Never would have guessed
21:02there was, like, deeper problems involved.
21:08I think it wasn't until
21:10later on in the years
21:11where you can tell
21:13something was changing in her.
21:15Everyone knew that Lois and Dave
21:17liked to go to the casino,
21:19especially Lois.
21:22It was something that
21:23a lot of the Blooming Prairie people
21:25their age did on the weekends.
21:27But later on
21:29when she would call me
21:31and be like,
21:33hey, can I use you for an excuse?
21:35I'm going to the casino
21:37and I don't want Dave to know.
21:39That's when I kind of realized
21:41that maybe
21:42it was getting a little
21:43a little too much.
21:46She had confided a couple times,
21:48just exhausted.
21:50And I said to her,
21:51I'm like,
21:51you're going to snap.
21:53I panicked because
21:58then we find out Dave's dead
21:59and Lois is nowhere to be found.
22:03She's not answering my phone calls,
22:04not texting me back.
22:06So then I'm like,
22:07oh my gosh,
22:07did something happen to her?
22:09Was she kidnapped?
22:10Was she murdered and taken away?
22:12Like, I had no idea.
22:13Two weeks later,
22:21Lois has managed to avoid
22:22Minnesota police
22:24for killing her husband
22:25and Florida police
22:27for killing Pam.
22:28And the cops realized
22:30that she could already be
22:31days and miles ahead of them.
22:34So while they look for her,
22:35they try to figure out
22:36what she was up to
22:38right before she killed Pam.
22:39So prior to the homicide,
22:43we had learned that
22:44Lois Reese was spotted
22:46on Fort Myers Beach
22:47by Tess Coster,
22:49a part-time resident of Florida.
22:51We were part-time here
22:53and part-time in Minnesota.
22:56Tess was from Blooming Prairie,
22:58and so she was aware
22:59of the murder investigation
23:00that was happening
23:01up in that area at the time
23:03and knew about Lois Reese
23:05and what she may be wanted for.
23:09On April 2nd,
23:15I was cleaning my garage.
23:18Then I saw this pearl-colored
23:20Cadillac Escalade
23:21pull up in our driveway,
23:23and someone got out,
23:25looked at the house number,
23:26and so I stepped out
23:27of the garage and said,
23:28can I help you?
23:29And she looked up
23:30and just shock was in her eyes,
23:32and she said,
23:33wrong house, wrong house,
23:34and looked down like this
23:35and shook her head
23:36and went around to her Escalade
23:39and got in and drove away.
23:43Well, my heart just started pounding
23:45because here was Lois Reese
23:48in my driveway.
23:51When she saw the person
23:53who she believed to be Lois
23:54in the driveway,
23:55it scared her,
23:56and she wanted to make,
23:58you know,
23:58the sheriff's office aware
23:59down here,
24:00which she did,
24:01but unfortunately,
24:02she was able
24:03to stay hidden from us.
24:05A few days later,
24:07Lois Reese killed our victim.
24:11I'm thinking,
24:12she was after me first.
24:14She got fouled out
24:14because I saw her
24:16and called 911 on her.
24:18She had a plan in mind,
24:19but Tess interrupted that,
24:22and so instead of moving forward
24:23at that point,
24:24she just took a step back
24:26and went another way.
24:27The detectives figured
24:29that Lois switched gears
24:31and decided
24:32that someone like Pam
24:34wouldn't see her coming.
24:36Lois was clearly desperate.
24:39She was definitely looking
24:40for more money
24:42and more options.
24:44In homicides that I've worked,
24:46everything has a reason,
24:48and this reason in my mind
24:50was to assume the identity
24:52of the victim
24:53and use it for what she could.
24:57I think she targeted her
24:58because they were similar.
25:01Someone like-minded,
25:02similar characteristics,
25:04skin color, hair, age.
25:07She's already committed
25:08two murders,
25:09and she's still in the wind.
25:13We did search warrants
25:14on her cell phone.
25:15We did search warrants
25:16on the financial information
25:18for Lois,
25:18but then also
25:19for our victim as well.
25:21She had made several withdrawals
25:23from ATMs
25:24using the victim's information,
25:26a couple days
25:27after the murder.
25:30We also have her on video
25:31up in the Ocala area,
25:33central Florida,
25:34checking into a hotel
25:35under the identity
25:36of our victim,
25:37wearing the same hat
25:38that our victim had
25:39in her room.
25:40However, by the time
25:41I found this,
25:42Lois had already come and gone.
25:45We know we have you.
25:46We just got to find you,
25:48and you're assuming
25:49the identity of our victim.
25:50Double-murdering granny
25:58Lois Reese
25:59has a jump
26:00on Lee County cops,
26:01so they cast
26:03a wider net
26:04across the south
26:05to see if they
26:06can catch back up.
26:08Sure enough,
26:08another clue turns up.
26:10We had tracked her
26:16to a casino
26:16in Louisiana
26:17and found out
26:18that she hit
26:19a jackpot for $1,500.
26:22She actually used
26:23her own name and ID
26:24to claim the winnings.
26:27She did have
26:28a gambling addiction,
26:29and that may very well
26:30be a good reason
26:31as to why Lois
26:32used her own information
26:34to collect the winning.
26:36She felt proud.
26:37It made me mad
26:39that she just
26:40seemed to be out there
26:42enjoying herself
26:43and just continuing
26:45to live her life,
26:46knowing that she
26:46had committed
26:47one murder in Florida
26:48and most likely
26:50another one in Minnesota.
26:53But Lois is slippery.
26:56She's long gone
26:57days before police
26:58get the alert,
26:59and they're once again
27:00left chasing her shadow.
27:03I was able to present
27:05the case to the
27:05state attorney's office,
27:06and walked a warrant
27:08through for the murder,
27:10at which point then
27:11that went nationwide.
27:13We alerted everybody
27:15that we could,
27:16federal agencies,
27:17state law enforcement,
27:18local agencies,
27:20anywhere and everywhere
27:21that we think
27:21she may be going.
27:22We made them aware
27:23to be on the lookout
27:24for, one,
27:25Lois Reese herself,
27:26but then also the vehicle
27:27that she was driving.
27:29It became an all-points
27:31bulletin across
27:32the United States.
27:33They put up bulletin boards
27:34around lots of different areas,
27:36Texas, Louisiana, Florida,
27:38with Pamela's picture
27:39and information on it.
27:41So it became more
27:42than just a Florida
27:43or a Minnesota story.
27:45It became a coast-to-coast story.
27:47Lois became known,
27:48very well known,
27:49as the killer grandma.
27:53With Lois' escape route
27:55now crossing state lines,
27:57the heat gets turned way up.
28:00The hunt for granny
28:01is now nationwide.
28:04People wanted answers
28:05and people needed to know.
28:06I mean, she knew a lot of people
28:09in that town.
28:11Do you think she's around here?
28:12Do you think she might
28:13shoot anybody else?
28:16The whole entire community
28:17was completely shocked
28:19and very sad, very sad.
28:22Like I said,
28:22everybody loved Dave,
28:24everybody loved Lois,
28:25so it was mad at Lois,
28:28it was sad about Dave,
28:29it was a very crazy dynamic
28:32that was going on there.
28:33I had to actually
28:35turn the TVs off
28:36and not let anyone
28:37turn them on
28:38because my sons were small
28:40and Dave and Lois
28:42were grandma and grandpa
28:43to them.
28:48My thoughts
28:49on seeing Lois
28:50wearing Pam's clothes,
28:51I can't hardly comprehend
28:55it right now
28:56because it really bothers me.
29:00It's just so abusive.
29:03It's just a terrible reminder
29:05of what happened to Pam.
29:07I definitely wanted her caught.
29:11Please God,
29:12get her before she kills
29:13another woman.
29:14Killer granny Lois
29:18is just leaving chaos
29:19in her wake,
29:20but the search
29:21stretches into another week
29:23without the cops
29:24catching up to her.
29:25However,
29:26they do catch the news
29:27that she's headed south.
29:30There were several
29:32other license plate reader
29:33hits along a route
29:35to Texas
29:36heading south.
29:39I had a thought
29:40that she would be
29:41trying to leave
29:42the country.
29:44Who knows
29:45where she's going next,
29:46but I think we know
29:47she could kill someone again
29:48because that's already
29:49happened twice.
29:51We were tracking Lois
29:53through license plate readers
29:54on the victim's car.
29:57Eventually,
29:57it came to
29:58South Padre Island.
30:02South Padre Island, Texas,
30:04very close to the border.
30:07On April 19th,
30:09we received information
30:10from the U.S. Marshals Service
30:12that she had went
30:13into a bar
30:15and restaurant
30:16called Dirty Owls
30:17and basically was looking
30:18at a menu.
30:19And the manager there
30:20actually recognized her
30:22and called in a tip
30:23to the local police department
30:24at a marshal's service.
30:27When the marshals
30:28got to South Padre,
30:30they canvassed the area
30:31and actually located
30:32the vehicle
30:32at a restaurant
30:34right adjacent
30:35to Dirty Owls.
30:36They got the marshals
30:39rallied and trooped up
30:40and Lois was
30:42by then sitting
30:44in the bar
30:44and yucking it up
30:46like she didn't have
30:47a care in the world.
30:49I was elated.
30:51She wasn't going to be able
30:52to keep this up forever.
30:53Cops have been looking
30:58everywhere for double-murdering
31:00grandma Lois Reese.
31:02But the U.S. Marshals
31:04finally catch up
31:05and she's just sitting there
31:07sipping a drink
31:08in South Padre,
31:09just a hop,
31:10skip and a jump
31:11from Mexico.
31:13This cadre of marshals
31:14moved in,
31:15four or five of them,
31:16and said,
31:18we're going to take you
31:19outside.
31:20Don't make a scene.
31:20There was no resistance
31:23from Lois
31:24and it was very
31:25interesting to me
31:26how just calm,
31:27cool,
31:27and collected she was.
31:29She didn't fight,
31:29she didn't resist,
31:30she didn't ask
31:31a bunch of questions.
31:33She got up
31:34off her chair
31:34and out they went.
31:38She almost just
31:39went willingly
31:40with the authorities.
31:43I think Lois knew
31:44that she was caught,
31:46that it was done.
31:47There was a bulletin
31:49over the Associated Press
31:50that she had been arrested.
31:54When I heard
31:55that they had caught her
31:57at South Padre Island,
31:58it was really a relief.
32:01It was like,
32:02this is one closure.
32:05They caught her.
32:06The grandma killer.
32:10Arrangements were made
32:11for us to fly out
32:13to South Padre Island.
32:15We knew we wanted
32:16to speak with her
32:16and we were hoping
32:18that she would speak
32:18with us.
32:20I remember her being led
32:22from the holding cell
32:23into the interview room
32:24and she kind of just
32:26looked right through me.
32:28And so instead of her
32:30being the outgoing,
32:30jovial person
32:31that we see,
32:32once she was caught,
32:34her whole demeanor changed.
32:36She was defeated almost.
32:38And without saying
32:40another word,
32:41she said she wanted
32:42an attorney.
32:45With Lois lawyered up,
32:46there's no way
32:47she's going to confess.
32:49So it's up to the cops
32:50to find some physical evidence
32:52that can tie this granny
32:54to the two murders.
32:55She had secured
32:58a hotel room
32:59at a Motel 6
33:00just down the street.
33:03According to hotel receipts,
33:05Lois checked in
33:06on April 9th.
33:07She lived a good life
33:09for 10 days
33:09before they caught up
33:11to her.
33:12We were able
33:12to secure search warrants
33:14for the motel room
33:15where she was staying at
33:16and we found
33:17two handguns,
33:18a 9mm
33:19and a .22 caliber.
33:21The .22 caliber
33:22specifically we believe
33:24to be the murder weapon.
33:27We found the victim's clothing
33:30and specifically the hat
33:32that was shown
33:32on surveillance footage
33:33of her wearing
33:35at the bank
33:35at the hotel
33:36after she had committed
33:37the murder.
33:38Also something of note
33:40was a black bag,
33:41kind of like a go bag.
33:43And inside
33:44there was latex gloves,
33:45there was duct tape,
33:47there was our victim's
33:48personal information,
33:49her wallet,
33:50driver's license.
33:55I think that Lois
33:57in her desperation
33:59because she was,
34:00I'm sure,
34:01getting antsy
34:01wanting to gamble
34:02with this addiction
34:03of hers,
34:04I think she knew
34:06that Pam had money.
34:08I think she killed Pamela
34:10to get another car
34:12and to get more money.
34:14And so she clearly
34:15had a bit of a pattern.
34:17So she gets to
34:19South Padre Island.
34:21She goes and finds herself
34:23a spot to sit
34:25and kind of blend in
34:27and start hunting.
34:31We did an extensive canvas
34:33and we spoke
34:34with numerous people
34:35that she came
34:35into contact with.
34:37We were able to confirm
34:39with a lot of witnesses.
34:40She was just having
34:41a great time
34:42hanging with people,
34:43having drinks at the bar,
34:45hanging out by the pool.
34:47She told some people
34:48that she was a grandmother,
34:49she had kids,
34:50grandkids,
34:51that she was a widow,
34:53that her husband
34:53died recently.
34:55Her facade
34:56was probably
34:57of an innocent lady.
34:58Anybody will talk to her.
34:59I came across
35:04a lady who said
35:05that she interacted
35:06often with Lois.
35:07They went to dinner together.
35:09She actually invited her
35:11at one point
35:11back to her own house.
35:14She had kind of
35:15befriended Lois.
35:17I remember specifically
35:18she had different color hair.
35:19But I also know
35:20that in the search warrant
35:22at the motel room
35:22there was hair dye
35:24that we collected.
35:25It was a dark color,
35:27just like the witness
35:28out there.
35:28And she possibly thought
35:31that she might be
35:32her next victim.
35:36I do think
35:37she was planning
35:37on killing somebody
35:38in South Padre also
35:40and getting a new identity
35:42to go across the border.
35:44So between this gal
35:46in South Padre
35:46and myself,
35:47we're very lucky
35:48that we're still here.
35:51It was a relief
35:52that she'd been caught.
35:54The so-called manhunt
35:55for the killer grandma
35:56was over
35:56and now came a hard part.
35:59The court case.
36:01This was a seminal moment
36:02for this case.
36:04The court proceedings
36:05facing her in Florida
36:06and in Minnesota as well.
36:13After she led the cops
36:15on a many-state wild goose chase,
36:18killer granny Lois Reese
36:19has to face the music
36:21for killing Pam Hutchinson
36:23in Florida
36:24and her husband,
36:25David Reese,
36:26in Minnesota.
36:28So in Florida,
36:29she was charged
36:30with first-degree homicide.
36:31She was also charged
36:33in Minnesota
36:34with first-degree homicide.
36:37Based on the crime,
36:38death penalty
36:39was on the table for her.
36:40Once Lois is locked up
36:43and staring down
36:44the consequences,
36:45including the possibility
36:47of the death penalty,
36:49she suddenly has
36:50a change of heart.
36:52I eventually heard
36:53that Lois pled guilty
36:55to the crime
36:55of murder down here
36:56in exchange
36:58for the death penalty
36:59being taken off the table.
37:00I wanted it to go to trial.
37:10They claimed that
37:11they didn't want
37:12to put the family
37:13through any extra whatever,
37:16but I'd have been
37:16in court every day.
37:18I wanted no mercy for her.
37:22On December 18, 2019,
37:24in Lee County Court,
37:26Lois pled guilty to murder.
37:27It became a huge story.
37:32Major breaking news.
37:33The so-called
37:34killer grandma
37:35on Fort Myers Beach
37:35will spend the rest
37:36of her life in prison
37:37after pleading guilty.
37:38Once the case
37:39was wrapped up in Florida,
37:41she was then transported
37:43up to Minnesota
37:43where she also entered
37:45a plea of guilty up there.
37:48All investigators can hope
37:50is that Lois' statement
37:52just shows us all
37:53how she went
37:54from loving grandmother
37:56to husband killer.
37:57And everything spiraled
37:59from there
38:00down a path
38:00of fraud and murder.
38:04Lois' story is that
38:06he was mad
38:07and they had argued
38:08and that he walked
38:09into their bedroom
38:10and he had a .22
38:12in his bedroom,
38:14handed her the gun
38:15and said,
38:18well, why don't you
38:18just kill yourself?
38:19she claims that that
38:23just set her off
38:25and she said,
38:27I aimed right at his heart
38:29and I pulled the trigger.
38:33I didn't believe that.
38:35Based on where he was
38:36in the bathroom,
38:37I mean,
38:37if she did have that argument
38:39outside of the bathroom
38:40where the guns were kept,
38:42she's not moving that man
38:43into the bathroom.
38:44that's why I think
38:45she snuck up on him
38:46just like she probably did
38:48our victim in Fort Myers Beach.
38:51Everything's a lie with her.
38:57Lois' addiction,
38:59from what the authorities
38:59in Minnesota told me,
39:00was gambling.
39:01She had a love
39:02for the casinos,
39:03a love for gambling,
39:04and that was part
39:06of the problem
39:07that she had
39:08with her husband
39:08from what I was told.
39:10The waxworm farm
39:12was successful,
39:13but it was not making money
39:15because Lois was spending it all
39:18and asking Dave
39:20for more money
39:21and not terribly long
39:23before he was killed,
39:24he said,
39:25I'm done.
39:26I'm cutting her off.
39:27And I just think
39:28that everything
39:29caught up with her.
39:31That's the only thing
39:31I could think of
39:32why she would do
39:33any of this.
39:35It's just a legit
39:36mental breakdown.
39:39She finally reached
39:41a breaking point
39:41and she chose
39:43the most drastic route.
39:47In Florida,
39:48she got a life sentence
39:49and eventually
39:51she got the same
39:52in Minnesota.
39:57It was just so sad
39:59that, you know,
40:00to lose a friend
40:01and lose Dave
40:03and lose her
40:04and you want
40:06to still love them
40:07because you're your friend,
40:08but what she did
40:09was so horrible.
40:13And to this day,
40:14it's still crazy to me.
40:16Like, I just don't,
40:17I still can't wrap
40:18my head around it.
40:25Dave was fantastic.
40:27His laugh was so contagious.
40:29If you ever heard
40:30his laugh,
40:31you will never forget it.
40:32Super friendly.
40:34He loved to, like,
40:35give hugs
40:36and he was just so great.
40:41One of my favorite
40:42memories of Pam,
40:44when she would come home,
40:46if I wasn't up,
40:47she'd wake me up
40:48and we'd sit there
40:49and talk for two,
40:51three hours
40:51until I'd finally say,
40:52Pam, I've got to go to bed.
40:54And we would jabber-jabber
40:57for hours,
40:57just talk and laugh
40:59and joke.
41:00She just had a good heart.
41:02She had a very good heart.
41:07I mean,
41:08the ripple effects
41:09of not only her,
41:10her, her murder victims,
41:12but people who love them,
41:15her own children,
41:16her own grandchildren.
41:17I mean,
41:19oh, God, the pain.
41:22I feel like Lois
41:23kind of tainted
41:24the grandmother image
41:25for all of us.
41:27I have 10 grandkids myself.
41:29Love them all dearly.
41:31Talk about them all the time
41:32just like she does.
41:33And as a grandmother myself,
41:35I can't imagine
41:36being less than the best example
41:39I can be for my grandchildren.
41:41And that's how it should be.
41:43That's just how it should be.
41:45That's just how it should be.
41:48You
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