Cold case murder of Iowa realtor Ashley Okland cracked 15 years later

The long-unsolved mystery of an Iowa realtor’s death, who was shot twice at an open house 15 years ago, has been resolved, according to authorities.

Kristin Elizabeth Ramsey, 53, was charged with first-degree murder by a grand jury on Tuesday for the murder of realtor Ashley Okland on April 8, 2011. This was announced by the West Des Moines Police Department during a press conference on Wednesday.

Okland, aged 27, was discovered lying on the floor by a development company employee after being shot twice while hosting an open house at a West Des Moines model townhouse for Iowa Realty Co. in the early afternoon, as reported by Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa.

She was quickly transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead, authorities confirmed.

Ramsey had previously worked as an administrative assistant and sales manager for Rottlund Homes, the developer of the townhouse where Okland was killed, according to the Des Moines Register.

Currently, Ramsey is employed by Midland Title & Escrow, which has ties to the realty company Okland was associated with at the time of her death, Iowa Realty stated. Following the indictment, the company removed Ramsey from its website, the outlet reported.

The motive behind Okland’s murder remains unclear.

Assistant Police Chief Jody Hayes remarked, “Ashley’s story has haunted a very vibrant community of professional realtors who have forever changed how they hold open houses and conduct business on a daily basis.”

Investigators pursued “thousands of leads from the public,” and examined “countless” pieces of evidence related to Okland’s murder case.

“Ashley’s story has kept many of us awake at night, revisiting the details over and over in our minds, searching for that missing piece that would tie everything together and lead us down the right path to identifying a person who was responsible for this act,” Hayes stated.

Authorities did not provide further details on what led to Ramsey’s arrest.

“As significant as this arrest is, our work is not done yet,” Hayes added.

During the press conference, Ashley’s siblings, Josh Okland and Brittany Bruce, expressed gratitude towards the authorities and community for their continued support leading up to Ramsey’s arrest.

Josh Okland commented on the day of Ramsey’s arrest as “a day my family has thought about very often in the last [15] years.”

Brittany Bruce added, “That Friday afternoon when Ashley was taken from us seems so long ago. We had lost our hope in finding answers and having any justice for Ashley. It was really difficult to accept that the case went cold.”

Regarding the police investigation, Bruce stated, “Their dedication, commitment to Ashley, their drive and work ethic is a true gift from God that we feel fortunate to be touched by.”

Ramsey is currently detained at the Dallas County Jail, police reported.