Today Lois Riess pled guilty as charged and was sentenced to life in prison for the charges she was indicted on involving the murder of a woman on Fort Myers Beach in April 2018.
She pled guilty to First Degree Murder with a Firearm, Grand Theft of a Motor Vehicle, Grand Theft, and Criminal Use of Personal Identification Information of a Deceased Individual, $5,000 or More. She was indicted on those charges on June 6, 2018 by the Lee County Grand Jury. The Honorable Judge Branning adjudicated her guilty and sentenced her this morning.
The State withdrew the possibility of the death penalty in exchange for the life plea. The victim’s family was supportive of the decision as they sought for her to be incarcerated for life.
Chief Assistant State Attorney Rich Montecalvo, Assistant State Attorney Jennifer Royal, and Assistant State Attorney Hamid Hunter prosecuted the case.
“This defendant will never get out of prison. This life sentence also alleviates any appellate issues that could arise and guarantees she will never be free again. It also allows the family of the victim to not have to go through the details of this crime at a trial,” said State Attorney Amira Fox.
Riess waived extradition today to face charges in Minnesota for allegedly murdering her husband there.
Samantha Syoen
Communications Director
State Attorney’s Office
ssyoen@sao20.org
239-533-1125