Arrest Made in Long-Cold Killing of Iowa Real Estate Agent

A nearly 15-year-old murder case tied to an open house has resurfaced with an arrest, putting a spotlight back on one of residential brokerage’s biggest risks: agent safety in the field.

Authorities in West Des Moines, Iowa, this week charged a 53-year-old woman in the 2011 killing of Ashley Okland, a 27-year-old Realtor who was shot while hosting a model townhome showing. The suspect, Kristin Ramsey, faces a first-degree murder charge in a case that had long gone cold, according to People.

Investigators reportedly searched Ramsey’s home on Tuesday, according to local news outlet KCCI. A K-9 unit, crime scene investigators and metal detectors were all spotted at the location.

Okland was working alone inside a model unit developed by homebuilder Rottlund Homes when an employee nearby heard a disturbance and found her shot on the floor. She later died at a hospital.

The killing, which stunned the local real estate community, became a cautionary tale nationwide as agents routinely meet prospective buyers in vacant properties with little oversight.

Police have not disclosed a motive or whether the suspect and victim knew each other.

Ramsey’s professional background adds an unusual wrinkle: she previously worked as a sales

manager for Rottlund Homes around the time of the incident, though authorities have not publicly connected that role to the crime.

Authorities do not plan to disclose additional information about the case as the judicial process takes its course, according to KCCI.

“Today is a day my family has thought about very often over the last 14 years,” Ashley’s brother, Josh, said following the arrest. Their sister, Brittany, also thanked law enforcement for continuing to search for justice, even when the case went cold.

Ramsey made her first court appearance on Wednesday and is due back in court on April 10, two days after the 15-year anniversary of Okland’s murder. Ramsey is being held on a $2 million cash-only bond.

No further arrests are expected in the case.

— Holden Walter-Warner