Real Estate Agent Safety

In Adel, Iowa, 53-year-old real estate professional Kristin Ramsey pleaded not guilty on April 10, 2026, to a first-degree murder charge in the 2011 killing of 27-year-old Iowa Realty agent Ashley Okland at a model townhome open house in West Des Moines. Prosecutors told the court that a neighbor who called 911 reported seeing Ramsey, who worked with Okland selling homes for Rottlund Homes of Iowa, pacing outside the model home while on her phone, then leaving and returning about 15 minutes later, though they have not publicly disclosed a motive or any new forensic evidence. Ramsey’s defense team argued there are significant gaps in the case presented to the grand jury and accused prosecutors of mischaracterizing what the witness reported, noting that even grand jurors questioned aspects of the state’s evidence. Okland’s unsolved death rattled the tight-knit Des Moines real estate community 15 years ago and spurred creation of agent safety standards in Iowa that were later promoted by the National Association of Realtors and adopted by hundreds of local associations nationwide, including rules against showing properties to unvetted strangers. The court kept Ramsey’s bond at $2 million after character witnesses testified on her behalf, while Okland’s family, who had long feared the case would never be solved, packed the courtroom for the hearing, underscoring how long-running cold cases can reshape industry norms even before a suspect ever goes to trial.