Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Killers Amongst Us: Murder on the Waxworm Farm (part 5)

Episode Date: September 29, 2020

A manhunt is launched for Lois Riess. She is a murder suspect in the deaths of her husband and now new friend Pamela Hutchinson. We find out she's made her way to Texas, just a few miles away from the Mexican border. Is another victim in Riess' sights? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Hi guys, Nancy Grace here. Welcome back to Killers Amongst Us, a production of iHeartMedia and Crime Online. The search is on for Lois Reese, who has left a trail a mile wide. All she needs now is a new driver's license and somebody's car. Whose car will it be? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Killers Amongst Us. The death of Pamela Hutchinson found basically her medically sealed in the bathroom there at her resort condo. And leaving, caught on video surveillance, is Lois Reese actually wearing Pam's hat. The two met at a local oyster bar at the bar, hit it off, and the next thing you know, Hutchon allows her to come home with her why did she do

this i'll tell you why she wanted to be free she wanted to gamble and she needed somebody else's money to do it that's why all she needs now is a new driver's license and somebody's car take a listen to dave mack crime online.com where is lois reese lois reese was in texas less than a week after she befriended and killed pamela hutchinson in fort myers beach by all accounts the minnesota woman was making a new friend just like hutchinson at a restaurant liam's in south padre island you know south padre island that's just a hop, skip, and a jump from the Mexican border. Guys, joining me right now is a very special guest. Special in so many ways, not just because of her persona, her personality, but because she is lucky to be alive.

I'm going to call her Jane. Jane, how did you meet Lois Reese? I met her at Liam's restaurant one evening. I was at the bar, and she came into the restaurant and said, well, I guess we're both eating alone tonight. I mean, she struck up a conversation. So we talked. She said that she's back from Florida.

She said that she's a widow and I'm a widow. We had that in common. And she said she was down there for property. She said that she was speaking for her husband and that her family was not allowing her to grieve properly. So we just had a big conversation over dinner that night. Now, wait a minute. Let me, let me understand this. Okay. You're at Liam's. did you say Liam's restaurant? Restaurant, but I was sitting at the bar in the restaurant. Just like Pam Hutchinson, Cheryl McCollum. Are you hearing this? She has a clear M.O., Nancy.

This is how she operates and works. Again, you scour the bar and the restaurant. You see somebody, the right age group, the right hair. You approach her. And, of course, you're going to be overly friendly. That's when people's defenses go down. Just like a lot of child molesters, they're not mean to the children. They give them gifts.

They're kind to them. Otherwise, you can't capture them. That's what she's doing. It is twisted, but it works. Back to who I believe to be Lois Reese's next intended murder victim. I'll call her Jane. Jane, what color is your hair? I'm a brunette, naturally.

So it was brunette. Now, okay, I guess Joseph Scott Morgan and Ashley Wilcott are still having their cup of hot tea. Can you put down your china cup for a moment and let's talk about the facts. Joe Scott Morgan, true, Jane is brunette, but we know Lois Reese had been changing her hair color to change her appearance. Right. Yes. Yeah, absolutely, Nancy. Lois Reese, have been changing her hair color to change her appearance, right? Yes. Yeah, absolutely, Nancy. And so it's almost like she's chameleon-like.

She's going to adapt to whatever kind of environment. All she needs is kind of a rough template to work from. And she sees that. That's what's so scary about her, Nancy, because you know how Cheryl had mentioned just a moment ago how she kind of walks into this area and surveils the entire area and picks the person that she wants to be at that moment in time. And these people have the ability to kind of watch mannerisms, voice patterns, all this sort of thing. And the physical is just kind of a whatever, as long as she's in the basic template, and then she can adjust to fit that template down the road. And just so you know, Cheryl McCollum, Louis Reese had a brunette driver's license ID.

Absolutely. I'm telling you, Nancy, this woman at her chosen profession was a pro. Do you remember Jim Birch with the GBI, Nancy? Oh, yeah. He trained us when I was a real young up-and-coming weed and seed person. And he used to tell us to go to the grocery store, pick somebody, walk past them, look in their buggy, walk back to them and start a conversation just based on what was in that buggy. And here's what you learn about people.

If they're throwing a party, you know it. If they have a young baby, you know it. If they have a young baby, you know it. If they're single, you know it. So you can start a conversation just by the items in that buggy. You already know something about them. And what's funny about human nature is people will often open up to a complete stranger. So these women are saying they've lost their husbands. This is why they're eating alone.

They don't live far from here. They're telling her things about their private life that she ends up using against them. And, of course, overwhelmingly statistics show that perps, violent felons, are men most often. So you let your guard down when you're approached by a woman. Back to our special guest, Jane, not her real name. Jane, could you tell me one more time about you sitting there at the bar of this restaurant and Lois Reese comes up to you? She came in, she saw that I was sitting alone and she said, well, I guess we're both having dinner alone this evening, or we're both dining alone, just like that.

So then we started talking. What would she talk about? What would she talk about, Jane? She had said that she just came back from Florida, that she was a widow down in Texas looking for property. She was thinking about relocating. She was grieving over her lost husband and her family not allowing her to grieve properly. So that's why she wanted to get away from her family. And so that we just, I don't know, talked about things after that.

Did y'all have dinner together? Well, yes. I was in the process of eating, and she came in, and she ordered something. And we just talked, talked to the bartender. You know, he was our wait server. So we just kind of all kind of got into a conversation. He would hear what we were talking about, and he would kind of join in. So, question, what did she order?

I can remember what she had, but I can't remember what I had. She had like the tuna tartare that has the avocado and the onion, because I remember her telling me that it had too much onion. So that's what I remember her eating. You have a good memory. And did you pay for it with cash or a credit card? She paid cash, and she pulled out a big wad of cash. Because I never carry cash.

I'm always using my debit card. She had a big hand of cash. You know what? Don't you just love the details? Back to you, Cheryl McCollum. Because that cash is that $5,000 she stole from Pam Hutchinson's ATM account. That's right. And it's a way that they can't track her.

She's not leaving a footprint anywhere, anybody's debit card or credit card. The other thing, Nancy, I promise you, where this future victim, and I believe she was the next victim too, she doesn't really remember the conversation. She said they were just talking. I guarantee you she navigated that conversation to learn things about her, to learn that she lived alone, to learn where exactly she lived, whether she was still working, whether or not she had adult children nearby. She was learning, is she going to be an easy prey for me?

That's what she was doing. Totally. And you know what? You can find out so much if you just ask the right questions and take time to listen. Back to you, Jane. What happened next? Well, we closed out our tab and you didn't even have dessert? No. Okay, go ahead. Were y'all drinking alcohol? I don't really remember. Glass of wine or something. And she probably did too. I don't, you know. Okay. All right. I had asked her if she wanted to ride back to her hotel because, you know, a woman by herself, I just don't think it's safe.

She was walking everywhere. I dropped her off at the Motel 6. and we did exchange numbers because she texted me a few days later, and she wanted to meet me, meet up with her again for just a dessert or something. So don't believe I did go that time. But I did go like the following Friday. Actually, it was Friday the 13th the next time that we met at Lent

so how was that initiated the next time that you met how did that come about I think we just texted back and forth so you guys meet up again what happened well we went to dinner at Lent and she paid for my dinner and so I guess

she had said something about she didn't really like South Padre Island that much because she was tired of getting sandy and having to take two showers and I told her that she might like my area. It's close to the beach. You know, it's like 30 minutes family oriented. And anyway, so I guess that's how she ended up back at my house because I was going to show her around my area. And so we went in the hot tub. She had her bathing suit with her. We just bought a bathing suit and a little sun hat. So we were swimming in my hot tub, and then she spent the night.

The next morning, something down my ear. Whoa, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Don't bury the lead. She spent the night in your place? Yes. You never once picked up a crazy vibe? No, not at all. She was self-trusting.

Man, she's good. She was good. I have security cameras in my house. And I think that might have scared her a little bit. Thank goodness for those security cameras. So you go to sleep. Where is she, in the next room? She's, like, on the other side of the house.

Okay, so you wake up the next morning, and what happens? I took her to breakfast, and we drove around the area and showed her houses. And then I brought her back to her motel. Did you ever see her again? No, I didn't see her. We exchanged phone numbers. When I called her, somebody else was on that line. Like, this is Stormy. Give me a message. There was a last name, but I don't remember what it is. That's when I picked up this woman is not

who she said she is. Well, there you go right there straight out to you joseph scott morgan that one phone message may have saved jane's life that was the alias she used in florida remember when she was trying to quote rent a home from tess costa i.e get tess costa alone and kill her and squat in her house and then leave. She used the name Stormy, remember? Oh, yeah. And, you know, we were talking, this is really interesting that this has come up, because remember what we were talking about a few moments ago, Nancy,

this patterned behavior that you have. And she thinks that she's the puppet master and that she's orchestrating everything. And all it takes, you never know how that one little stone thrown into the pond is going to send out ripples. And it just could offset the balance of things where she readjust and has to go into another direction. This woman is very, very, very lucky to be alive. Jane, when you heard the answer machine say, hi, this is Stormy, leave a message, what did you think? I thought it was very strange. I said, she's using another name. She called herself Donna to me.

That was the name that she gave me. She said, but I go by Donna. Donna. She said, I go by Donna. So when you called and the message said, hi, this is Stormy, what did you do? I just started questioning myself, like, who is this person? Or I don't know. I was thinking all kinds of things.

Did you think that maybe you may have misjudged her character? At that time, I didn't really know what to think. I was just kind of in shock that she had a different name. Did you ever get a chance to ask her about it? I never saw her again. You know, it's funny how one tiny chink in the armor can ruin the whole battle. Take a listen to this. The state attorney's office in Lee County, Florida has released THE STATE ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IN LEE COUNTY, FLORIDA HAS RELEASED HUNDREDS OF PAGES OF DOCUMENTS DETAILING THE MURDER INVESTIGATION. THE CASES ARE STRIKINGLY SIMILAR. PAMELA HUTCHINSON FOUND DEAD

ALMOST THE EXACT SAME WAY AS LOIS REECE'S HUSBAND DAVID. BOTH FOUND ON THE BATHROOM FLOOR WITH A TOWEL DRAPED OVER THEIR HEADS. BOTH SHOT WITH A 22-CALIBER BULLET. REECE VISITED THE HOME OF

ANOTHER BLOOMING PRAIRIE RESIDENT WHO LIVES IN FORT MYERS BEACH A PORTION OF THE YEAR. THE VISIT TAKES A LONG TIME. THE BATHROOM IS OPENED TO THE PEOPLE. THE BATHROOM IS OPENED TO THE

PEOPLE. THE BATHROOM IS OPENED TO THE PEOPLE. THE BATHROOM IS OPENED TO THE PEOPLE. THE BATHROOM IS OPENED OVER THEIR HEADS, BOTH SHOT WITH A 22-CALIBER BULLET. REESE VISITED THE HOME OF ANOTHER BLOOMING PRAIRIE RESIDENT WHO LIVES IN FORT MYERS BEACH A PORTION OF THE YEAR. THE VISIT TAKING PLACE THE WEEK BEFORE REESE ALLEGEDLY KILLED HUTCHINSON. THERESE COSTER SAYS SHE SAW A WOMAN WALKING AROUND THE EDGE OF HER PROPERTY AND RECOGNIZED REESE BECAUSE THEY HAD KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR 15 YEARS. COSTER SAYS REESE PUT HER HEAD DOWN AND REPLIED WRONG HOUSE BEFORE LEAVING. Koster says Reese put her head down and replied, wrong house, before leaving. Documents say Reese also befriended a woman in San Padre Island, Texas, shortly after Hutchinson's death and just a few days before her arrest. Reese even slept in the woman's guest bedroom. The woman said Reese appeared completely normal.

You're just hearing our friends at KAAL-TV, ABC6 News. news. The search is on for Lois Reese, aka Stormy, aka Donna, who has left a trail a mile wide across the country. She ends up in South Padre Island, Texas, just a skip and a jump 27 miles to the Mexican border. All she needs now is a new driver's license and somebody's car. Whose car will it be? With us, Jane. Jane, befriended by Lois Reese, even lets her sleep in her guest room, saying Reese appeared completely normal, asking her about her family, getting into her home, getting into her car. What does that tell you, Cheryl McCollum? It tells me, again, this woman is very good at her con. When you run a con, Nancy, like if I was working undercover,

I have to be from a southern state. I can't fake that. I can't get rid of that. A lot of what she did was true and authentic. She had a suntan. She dyed her hair. She was grieving her husband. She killed him, but she was grieving him.

Those things rang true. But then she changes some things like her name, her address, things like that where she keeps the con going. So what she's doing is she goes from Lois to Stormy to Donna. Once the last murder would have happened, she would have also dropped Stormy. That person wouldn't exist anymore. She would go from Donna to somebody else like Stacy or something. And where does she turn up? Island, Texas, enjoying a meal at a bar seated amongst a group of women. Take a listen to this. U.S. Marshals arrested Reese about 25 minutes after getting a tip that she was inside a restaurant on South Padre Island, Texas. Authorities also found nearby the car she had stolen.

Now, South Padre Island is a beach resort less than 30 miles from Mexico, and authorities were concerned she was going to cross the border. She's been on the run since late March, when police say she killed her husband in Minnesota, then made her way to Florida. That's where Lee County deputies say she killed Pamela Hutchinson earlier this month, assumed her identity and stole her car. Reese has been cited several times since then, including in Ocala, Florida, Louisiana and Corpus Christi, Texas. But she has not been apprehended until now. Last night, authorities released this new surveillance video to show Reese at a convenience store in northern Iowa last month.

She is seen approaching the cashier, buying a sandwich and asking for directions. The store is right next to a casino where authorities say Reese spent most of the day gambling. Police say she was gambling. She has a gambling problem. U.S. Marshals arrested Reese about 25 minutes after getting a tip that she was inside a restaurant on South Padre Island, Texas. Authorities also found nearby the car she had stolen. Now, South Padre Island is a beach resort less than 30 miles from Mexico, and authorities were concerned she was going to cross the border. She's been on the run since late March when police say she killed her husband in Minnesota,

then made her way to Florida. That's where Lee County deputies say she killed Pamela Hutchinson earlier this month, assumed her identity, and stole her car. Reese has been cited several times since then, including in Ocala, Florida, Louisiana, and Corpus Christi, Texas. But she has not been apprehended until now. Last night, authorities released this new surveillance video to show Reese at a convenience store in northern Iowa last month. She is seen approaching the cashier, buying a sandwich, and asking for directions.

The store is right next to a casino where authorities say Reese spent most of the day gambling. Police say she was gambling. She has a gambling problem. Sitting at a restaurant at the bar in a group of women. When you look back on this, Jane, what do you think? Well, right now I'm shaking when I found out that I was hit by a serial killer. You know, my heart just beat. So, yeah, I'm still freaking out about it. Every time we talk about it, I'm freaked out.

So I'm very careful now who I talk to. You were spared. You were spared. Right. Lois Reese on the search for her next victim, her next twin doppelganger, so she could get one more car and one more ID to cross that 20 miles across the Mexican border. Joining me now is a very special guest. Her name is Tess Koster.

And Tess knew Reese in Minnesota and saw Reese in Florida befriending Pam at the bar. They were eating at the bar and it's almost like she was wooing a boyfriend. She would look directly into Pam's face and they would talk and laugh. She just met Pam Hutchinson at this bar and somehow connived her way over to Pam's condo where Pam was murdered and left. The towel stuck up under the door so the stench of a decomposing body would not seep out of the condo and alert authorities. But they found out. You're right. The video shows just 30 miles from the Mexican border, chatting up another woman at an upscale restaurant bar, probably her next intended victim, because she needed another ID and car to get across the Mexican border. What do you think about that theory of mine, Tess Koster?

I think you're right on the dot with that. That's exactly what she had planned. And I am so thankful that that gal is still alive today because her plan was to do it all over again to get across the border, steal that poor gal's car and ID and murder her and probably the same MO again as with Dave and Pamela, put her in the bathtub, towels under the door, open the window. So yes, that gal has to just thank her lucky stars.

You know, just thinking about him dying over the money to gamble, Pam Hutchinson dying to get money in a car. Other people's lives mean absolutely nothing to her. They are just a means to an end. Their lives have no value at all. And I think about Lois Reese crossing the country and her dead husband's Cadillac Escalade and then Pam Hutchinson's stolen car. That would bother me that I'm driving their car using their credit cards and money after I killed them. I mean, did any of that, even a glint of that ever shine through? Yeah, where's the remorse? I can't imagine. First of all, I myself could never do any of those things in the first place, but you would have so much remorse. How could you continue on?

What do people back in Blooming Prairie think of all this? Most of them don't want to talk about it because this is such a nice great little town and this is such a sad story to have attached to our town i'll tell you what you would never i mean what was her reputation before all of this uh nice sweet happy-go-lucky person. Loved kids, you know, had the daycare, went bowling with the bowling, she was on the bowling team, the bowlers all loved her. I don't know where the personality switch came in. We are talking to a friend of Lois Reese, the so-called serial killer losing Lois, Tess Koster,

who many people, including law enforcement, believe was scheduled to be Lois Reese's next murder victim. Tess, when you go to bed at night and say your prayers, I bet you think back on the time you were almost murdered at the hands of a serial killer. I do. I'm very grateful that I'm still here today. What does your husband say about all this? Same thing. He says, honey, that could have been you. Or both of us, because we are together an awful lot. To Kaylin Thompson, KIMT News 3, Rochester, where now their Lois Reese has been arrested. Where does the case stand? So Lois Reese entered a guilty plea in Dodge County District Court in August, and she was immediately sentenced to life without parole. You know, it makes you wonder, right, Jane, every time you sit down in a restaurant and somebody

sits beside you, about killers amongst us. Who would have ever suspected this was a serial killer, Jane? Well, certainly not me. Killers amongst us. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart podcast.