Iowa Woman Indicted in 2011 Realtor Open‑House Murder

West Des Moines police have announced the arrest of 53‑year‑old Kristin Elizabeth Ramsey of Woodward, Iowa, who has been indicted on a first‑degree murder charge in the 2011 shooting death of realtor Ashley Okland inside a model townhome where she was hosting an open house. Okland, 27, was found shot twice on April 8, 2011, in a West Des Moines development built by Rottlund Homes, where Ramsey then worked as an administrative assistant and sales manager. Investigators say the cold case generated roughly 900 leads and about 500 interviews over nearly 15 years before a Dallas County grand jury returned the indictment, though authorities have not yet disclosed what new evidence led to Ramsey’s arrest. Okland’s siblings, Josh and Brittany, publicly thanked detectives and prosecutors for persisting with the case after years in which the family feared it had gone permanently cold, while Ramsey is being held in the Dallas County Jail on $2 million cash bond. The case underscores both the persistence and opacity of major cold case investigations, with key details about the breakthrough still under wraps as prosecutors prepare for trial.