Girl charged with killing realtor Ashley Okland in 15-year chilly case

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Iowa authorities have introduced an arrest within the cold case murder of realtor Ashley Okland almost 15 years after her loss of life.

On Wednesday, officers revealed 53-year-old Kristin Elizabeth Ramsey, of Woodward, is charged with first-degree homicide stemming from Okland’s loss of life.

"Ashley's story has stored many people awake at night time, revisiting the small print again and again in our minds," West Des Moines Assistant Police Chief Jody Hayes mentioned in a press convention. "Trying to find that lacking piece that will tie every part collectively and lead us down the precise path to figuring out an individual that was chargeable for this act."

On April 8, 2011, the physique of 27-year-old Ashley Okland was found inside a mannequin townhome the place authorities say she was internet hosting an open home. She had been shot twice .

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Ashley Okland was found inside a mannequin townhome the place authorities say she was internet hosting an open home in West Des Moines, Iowa on April 8, 2011. (Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa)

An worker working throughout the complicated heard a commotion contained in the townhome and went to analyze the reason for the noise, according to Crime Stoppers of Central Iowa. Upon getting into the constructing, the employee discovered Okland on the ground and dialed 911.

On the time of Okland’s loss of life, Ramsey labored as an administrative assistant and gross sales supervisor for Rottlund Properties, which was the developer of the townhome the place Okland was killed, according to the Des Moines Register.

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<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/03/672/378/kristin-elizabeth-ramsey-ashley-okland-iowa-cold-case_01.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/03/1344/756/kristin-elizabeth-ramsey-ashley-okland-iowa-cold-case_01.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/03/931/523/kristin-elizabeth-ramsey-ashley-okland-iowa-cold-case_01.jpg?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2026/03/1862/1046/kristin-elizabeth-ramsey-ashley-okland-iowa-cold-case_01.jpg?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"> Kristin Elizabeth Ramsey, 53, was arrested and charged with first-degree homicide in West Des Moines, Iowa on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (Dallas County Jail)

The case went unsolved for almost 15 years.

The case rattled the Iowa community, with authorities revealing on the four-year anniversary of Okland’s loss of life that just about 900 leads had been investigated and roughly 500 individuals had been interviewed, the outlet reported.

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Ashley Okland's grave website within the Fjeldberg Cemetery close to Huxley, Iowa on Thursday, April 8, 2021. (Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register by way of Imagn Content material Providers, LLC)

Officers didn't present particulars on what info led to Ramsey’s arrest.

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At a press convention on Thursday, Okland’s brother, Josh, thanked investigators for his or her unrelenting efforts on the case.

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"Right this moment is a day my household has thought of fairly often during the last 14 years," Josh Okland mentioned.

Ashley Okland's siblings Josh Okland and Brittany Bruce converse after the arrest of Kristin Ramsey within the 2011 capturing loss of life of their sister on the West Des Moines Police Division on March 18, 2026. (Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK by way of Imagn Photographs)

Ramsey’s arrest follows an indictment from a Dallas County grand jury. She is at the moment being held within the Dallas County Jail on $2 million money bond.

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"That Friday afternoon when Ashley was taken from us appears so way back," Okland's sister, Brittany Bruce, advised reporters on Thursday. "We had misplaced our hope find solutions and having any justice for Ashley. It was actually troublesome to simply accept that the case had gone chilly."

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She went on to precise her gratitude to each the investigators and prosecutors dealing with her sister’s case.

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"We've full confidence of their talents to see this via," she added.

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The West Des Moines Police Division didn't instantly reply to Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.

Julia Bonavita is a U.S. Author for Fox Information Digital and a Fox Flight Staff drone pilot. You'll be able to comply with her at @juliabonavita13 on all platforms and ship story tricks to julia.bonavita@fox.com.