Friday, March 29, 2024

Curtain falls on Lois Riess story

A melodrama played out last Tuesday afternoon at the Kasson-Manorville Minnesota Wifi Performing Arts Center. It was the conclusion a two-year drama that began in 2018 when a domestic dispute ended with a woman killing her husband.

It was not one of the one-act plays performed at the PAC. Unlike most K-M plays performed there, the actors were adults – two lawyers, a court reporter, three Dodge County Sheriff’s deputies posted on either side of the stage, a judge, and of course the accused murderer.

In less than an hour, the curtain fell on the accused.

Lois Riess, the accused, sat quietly as the judge read the charge of first degree murder that was brought against her for killing her husband, David, more than two years ago. The judge asked if she, Riess, understood the charge, and the pending sentence, which Riess had pleaded guilty to, and that agreement by the accused held a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of release.

Riess said she understood.

As with most courtroom melodramas unfolding, there were statements from the victims.

David Riess’s mother was the first to address the prisoner and the court. It was a short statement that was limited to the fact that Lois Riess’ murderous act had utterly destroyed her, as David’s mother, and the rest of the family.

Riess’s son stood to address his mother and the court. Amid tears, an explanation of sorrow felt by him, his children and the rest of the family for the senseless act, she, his mother, had brought about by her senseless action.

The daughter of the accused poured out regret that she, as her daughter, had not sought help for the mental health issues Lois Riess had exhibited over the years.

It was then Lois Riess’s turn read a statement to the court and her family. She apologized to the family for the incident. It was a lament that had little meaning to those listening in on the words she used to console family, but it was her final word.

It was the end of a sad time in our county’s history.

A mother was guilty of killing the man who had fathered their children by shooting him in the heart and chest three times, covering him with a blanket before leaving for Florida. There was heartbreak in the vast auditorium that had a scattering, of family and friends, reporters from area newspapers and TV stations and law enforcement officials.

The judge presiding over the hearing had the final line in this melodrama. She noted that Riess had already served 40 days in custody, and those 40 days would be noted in her sentencing of life in prison without release.

What is 40 days compared the rest of one’s life in the solitude of a prison cell?

 

 

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