On Monday, one of the high-profile cold cases in Iowa – the 2011 murder of Ashley Okland, came to a close with the arrest of the suspect, Kristin Ramsey, on Tuesday, nearly 15 years after Okland was fatally shot twice.
West Des Moines police said in a press release on Tuesday that Ramsey was arrested. On Wednesday, a press conference was held by them confirming that Kristin Ramsey has been charged with one count of murder for the fatal shooting of Ashley Okland.
West Des Moines police revealed that Kristin Ramsey worked for Rottlund Homes, the builder behind the model townhouse that Okland, then an agent of Iowa Realtor & Co., was showing to prospective buyers when she was shot twice. Ramsey worked as an administrative assistant and sales manager.
Though police have not revealed the motive, the real estate connection between Okland and the suspect has sparked speculation.
Notably, after Ramsey’s tenure in Rottlund Homes, she worked for Midland Title & Escrow, company that is part of Iowa Realty.
The townhouse is located on 558 Stone Creek Court, in the Stone Creek Villas subdivision of West Des Moines. The Rottlund link first surfaced after an employee discovered Okland’s body around 2pm on April 8, 2011. She was shot in the head twice. Rottlund Homes was closed down in 2018.
Jody Hayes, the Assistant Police Chief at West Des Moines Police, said that the murder of Okland “kept many of us awake at night.” Hayes has been working on the case since the very beginning.
“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 said.
Iowa Realty Reacts With Statement
Amid speculation of possible realtor-builder rivalry, Iowa Realty, the company Ashley Okland worked for, released a statement saying that they are “relieved” to hear that the case has been solved, after 15 years. They also expressed shock that Okland’s murder suspect worked for a company that is part of Iowa Realty.
“Everyone within Iowa Realty and related companies was relieved for the family of our friend and colleague Ashley Okland that an arrest was made for her murder,” the statement read.
“And while we take comfort that Ashley’s family finally and our community as a whole has closure, it is with tremendous shock and sadness that we learned of the arrest of Kristin Ramsey, an employee of Midland Title & Escrow, an organization which is a part of Iowa Realty.
“Kristin became associated with the company several months after the events of 2011. Along with everyone in our community, we are understandably stunned.”
