Woman jailed for killing her doppelganger

Pamela Hutchinson (left) was singled out by Lois Riess (right). Photo / Fox 4 News/AP

A woman in the US has been jailed for life for killing a woman because she looked like her.

Lois Riess led police on a cross-country hunt but has now pleaded guilty of the fatal shooting of Pamela Hutchinson.

Riess, from Minnesota, reportedly singled out Hutchinson because the two looked alike and she wanted to assume her identity while on the run from authorities.

The 57-year-old woman has been sentenced to life in prison, after leading police on a nationwide hunt in 2018 that ended with her capture in Texas.

"It was certainly one of the more unusual cases in my 25-year career as a prosecutor," Florida Chief Assistant State Attorney Rich Montecalvo said.

The bizarre case started in March last year, when Riess' husband, David Riess, was found dead at their Minnesota home.

She was found to have forged cheques to steal more than $16,000 from his bank account, before travelling to Florida.

Surveillance footage reportedly showed the two women near Hutchinson's hotel room on April 4 and 5.

Over the following two days, Riess was recorded carrying rubbish bags to the parking lot.

Hutchinson was not seen at all.

Riess killed Hutchinson, then headed to Texas using her victim's credit cards and vehicle.

She was arrested while she was drinking cocktails at a waterfront restaurant in Texas, after an employee recognised her from TV footage.

Prosecutors withdrew the death penalty as part of a plea deal.

The victim's family agreed to the deal because they wanted her to spend her life in prison.

Her son Braden Riess said in 2018 his mum was a "good lady" but had "her own demons".