{"id":50380,"date":"2026-04-10T18:37:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T22:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/iowa-woman-denies-charges-in-2011-real-estate-agent-murder\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T18:37:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T22:37:01","slug":"iowa-woman-denies-charges-in-2011-real-estate-agent-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/iowa-woman-denies-charges-in-2011-real-estate-agent-murder\/","title":{"rendered":"Iowa Woman Denies Charges in 2011 Real Estate Agent Murder"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

ADEL, Iowa (AP) \u2014 Nearly 15 years after a young real estate professional’s murder shocked the industry and prompted nationwide safety reforms, the accused killer has denied the charges against her.<\/p>

Kristin Ramsey, 53, entered a not guilty plea on Friday to first-degree murder charges in the death of Ashley Okland. The 27-year-old Iowa Realty agent was discovered dead at a model townhome in West Des Moines on April 8, 2011, where she had been conducting an open house.<\/p>

Family members and friends of the victim packed the courtroom during Friday’s proceedings for Ramsey, who was taken into custody last month following a grand jury indictment.<\/p>

“That Friday afternoon when Ashley was taken from us seems so long ago,” Okland’s sister, Brittany Bruce, shared with media in March. “We had lost our hope in finding answers and having any justice for Ashley.”<\/p>

Since Ramsey’s March 17 indictment and subsequent arrest, prosecutors have remained tight-lipped about potential motives or any new evidence that may have emerged in the case.<\/p>

Recent court filings related to Friday’s arraignment and bond review hearing offer limited details about the grand jury proceedings.<\/p>

According to prosecutors, a neighbor who contacted emergency services reportedly witnessed Ramsey, who had professional ties to Okland, standing near the model home’s entrance and walking back and forth by her vehicle while on a phone call before departing. State Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown revealed during Friday’s hearing that Ramsey came back to the location 15 minutes afterward.<\/p>

Defense attorneys for Ramsey argue there are significant holes in the prosecution’s case presented to the grand jury, including what they claim are mischaracterizations of the witness’s 911 report. Defense attorney Alfredo Parrish noted that even the grand jury expressed skepticism.<\/p>

“You don’t wait 15 years and then say: ‘OK, let’s make a go of it,'” Parrish stated.<\/p>

Criminal grand jury proceedings are uncommon in Iowa and typically remain sealed. The prosecution disclosed these details while opposing a defense request to reduce Ramsey’s current $2 million bail.<\/p>

The victim’s death sent shockwaves through Des Moines’ close-knit real estate community, according to Scott Steelman, her former colleague who serves as president of the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors and works as an agent at Iowa Realty. He characterized the murder as “so out of character for our business, our industry, our profession.”<\/p>

Following Okland’s death, the local realtors’ association worked to establish safety protocols and guidelines.<\/p>

“Nationwide, it’s caused the real estate community to take greater caution when interacting with the public,” Steelman explained. “We will not show any property to someone who we don’t know, aren’t familiar or at least have not vetted.”<\/p>

The safety measures developed in Iowa have been endorsed by the National Association of Realtors and adopted by hundreds of state and local real estate organizations throughout the United States.<\/p>

Given that Ramsey is also part of the real estate industry, Steelman said her arrest has created bewilderment and raised more questions than it has answered.<\/p>

At the time of the incident, Ramsey was employed by Rottlund Homes of Iowa, which utilized independent real estate agents for sales purposes. The model home where Okland was killed belonged to Rottlund Homes.<\/p>

During Friday’s court appearance, Ramsey wore a business suit with restraints on one arm and both feet. She was seen wiping away tears as witnesses spoke about her character during the defense team’s attempt to lower her bail amount. Her spouse and son, along with her parents and grandfather, occupied the front row behind her.<\/p>

While Ramsey initially received a court-appointed public defender, she is now being represented by well-known defense lawyers who emphasized her deep family connections and lifelong residence in the small rural community of Woodward, Iowa, located approximately 25 miles northwest of Des Moines.<\/p>

Court documents reveal that a witness in an adjacent townhome that shared a wall with the model home heard two loud sounds “described as thuds that were 3-4 seconds apart.” After hearing these noises, the witness looked outside and spotted Ramsey near the front entrance. The witness then observed her walking by her car while talking on her phone before leaving and later returning.<\/p>

“Concerned that something was wrong, the witness entered the model home and discovered Ms. Okland unresponsive on the ground,” the court filing states. The witness then contacted emergency services, prosecutors said.<\/p>

In their counter-argument, Ramsey’s legal team accused prosecutors of presenting “cherry-picked” evidence, claiming they failed to provide the grand jury with any weapon, ballistics analysis, or DNA evidence.<\/p>

“So while the State is right the grand jury’s job was to consider the evidence presented to it, it fails to disclose that the State chose not to present all the evidence it has collected in the last 15 years,” Ramsey’s attorneys wrote. “The grand jurors here were shown only a few pieces of the puzzle over two days\u2014not the whole picture.”<\/p>

The trial is scheduled to commence in January.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A 53-year-old Iowa woman has entered a not guilty plea in connection with the 2011 murder of real estate agent Ashley Okland. The case, which went cold for nearly 15 years, led to nationwide changes in safety protocols for real estate professionals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":50379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[831],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/news-1775860621693.jpg?fit=1000%2C666&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-d6A","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":100476,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/georgia-teen-faces-sentencing-in-apalachee-high-school-shooting-that-killed-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":50380,"position":0},"title":"Georgia Teen Faces Sentencing in Apalachee High School Shooting That Killed 4","author":"Admin","date":"July 24, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A 16-year-old accused of opening fire at Apalachee High School in Georgia is scheduled to appear in court Friday for a plea and sentencing hearing. 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