Olmstead County deputies were called Monday evening to Grund's home, where they found her 37-year-old son, identified by the Minneapolis Star Tribune as Jason Finstad, suffering from significant lower body injuries, a Sheriff's Office news release said. The man had been run over by a vehicle.
Credit: South Padre Island Police Department via AP/Lee County Jail
Credit: South Padre Island Police Department via AP/Lee County Jail
Investigators determined that Grund had run over her son with a 2004 Ford Explorer, the news release said.
According to detectives, Finstad was very intoxicated when he began walking down the rural driveway to go to a friend’s house. His mother and stepfather no longer wanted him staying at their home.
Grund drove down the driveway to pick Finstad up and drive him to the friend's house, the news release said. Finstad refused to get in the SUV.
“Why don’t you just run me over,” he allegedly said before lying in the driveway in front of Grund’s vehicle.
"Grund then backed the vehicle up and intentionally ran over the victim," the news release said. "Grund admitted to her actions and at one point made a comment to the effect, 'He didn't believe I would. He has been drinking all day. We gave him a chance.'"
Grund was taken into custody at the scene.
Finstad underwent surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester to repair damage to his pelvis. He also suffered head injuries in the incident, investigators said.
He was in fair condition as of Tuesday, the Star Tribune reported.
According to the newspaper, Grund is the sister of Lois Ann Riess, 57, of Blooming Prairie, who is being held in Florida on a charge of first-degree murder in the April 5 slaying of Pamela Hutchinson, 59, of Bradenton.
Riess was arrested April 19 on Texas’ South Padre Island after a multistate string of crimes that investigators allege began with the shooting death of her husband, David Riess, 54, at their worm farm. Saturday will mark a year since David Riess’ decomposing body was found.
Authorities said David Riess had been dead for several days by the time his body was discovered.
The Star Tribune reported last month that a .22-caliber semi-automatic handgun found in Lois Riess' Texas motel room matched shell casings found at the scene of her husband's death. Dodge County investigators have turned their case over to the Minnesota Attorney General's Office for review.
Lois Riess, who authorities nicknamed “Losing Streak Lois” for her penchant for gambling, fled south to Florida -- stopping at a casino on the way. Riess’ abandoned Cadillac Escalade, which Minnesota investigators alleged she left the state in after gunning down her husband, was found in a park in Fort Myers, Florida.
Surveillance footage from a restaurant two blocks from Hutchinson’s borrowed timeshare condo showed the victim chatting with Riess at the bar on April 5, the day authorities believe she was shot to death. Hutchinson’s body was found four days later in the bathroom of the condo.
See the footage of Lois Riess chatting with Pamela Hutchinson below, courtesy of the Fort Myers News-Press.
Investigators believe Hutchinson was killed so Riess could assume her identity. They also believe Hutchinson was shot with the same gun that killed David Riess.
According to Riess’ Florida indictment, Lois Riess stole credit cards, money, jewelry, sunglasses and other property from Hutchinson after she was killed. Surveillance footage from Hutchinson’s condo complex showed Riess walking into the parking lot, getting into Hutchinson’s Acura TL and driving away.
The indictment also alleged that Riess went to a Fort Myers bank and used Hutchinson’s identification to withdraw $5,000 from the dead woman’s account before leaving town.
Riess was next spotted the following day at an Ocala Hilton hotel, where she used Hutchinson’s identification to check into a room, Lee County officials said. She stayed there the nights of April 6 and 7, according to investigators.
Surveillance footage from inside and outside the hotel showed both Riess and the stolen Acura. According to the News-Press, a white straw hat Riess wore in the footage belonged to Hutchinson.
While in Ocala, Riess is accused of withdrawing another $500 from Hutchinson’s bank account.
From there, Riess is accused of making her way west across the southeastern U.S., making several stops in Louisiana -- including at another casino -- before being seen driving the Acura around Corpus Christi, Texas. She attempted to get $200 from Hutchinson's account at a gas station, but the effort failed, the News-Press reported.
Riess used her own ID to claim a $1,500 jackpot at a Louisiana casino, the newspaper reported.
Credit: AP Photos
Credit: AP Photos
Riess remained at large until April 19, when she was arrested on South Padre Island in Texas. Dodge County Sheriff Scott Rose said a man recognized Riess when she walked into a restaurant on the island, located about 25 miles from the Mexican border, and looked at a menu.
Riess did not stay to eat at the restaurant, identified as Dirty Al’s Seafood, but the man called police to report the sighting. A South Padre Island police officer and a federal marshal responded to the area and spotted the white Acura that had been stolen from Hutchinson at another nearby restaurant, the Sea Ranch.
Riess was taken into custody as she sat at the bar inside, eating a meal and chatting with fellow patrons. She was subsequently extradited back to Florida to face charges in Hutchinson’s homicide.
Riess was indicted June 6 in the case, according to court records. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in Hutchinson's slaying.
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