Iowa Realtor Killed at Open House - Suspect Found 15 Years Later

Ashley Okland was 27 years old, building a career in real estate, when she was shot twice inside a model townhome in West Des Moines on April 8, 2011. She had been there to host an open house. She was alone. Investigators arrived to find her with gunshot wounds - one to the chest, one to the face - and no suspect in sight.

The case shook Iowa. It sent fear through the real estate community and through families across the state who understood exactly how ordinary her situation had been. Authorities would go on to interview approximately 500 people and pursue nearly 900 leads over the years that followed. For nearly 15 years, none of it produced an arrest.

A Suspect No One Expected

On March 17, 2026, a Dallas County grand jury indicted 53-year-old Kristin Ramsey of Woodward, Iowa on a charge of first-degree murder in Okland’s death. Ramsey was arrested the same day and is being held on a $2 million cash bond.

What makes the arrest particularly striking is Ramsey’s connection to the scene. At the time of Okland’s death, she worked as an administrative assistant and sales manager for Rottlund Homes - the developer of the very townhome where Okland was killed. According to ABC News, a witness who had been in a neighboring unit told prosecutors she saw Ramsey outside the front door of the model home shortly after hearing two loud noises. The witness then watched Ramsey back her car out quickly, in what she described as erratic fashion, and drive away.

A Community That Never Forgot

West Des Moines Assistant Police Chief Jody Hayes described the case as one that kept investigators awake at night. “Ashley’s story has kept many of us awake at night, revisiting the details over and over in our minds,” Hayes said at the March press conference, according to Fox News. “Searching for that missing piece that would tie everything together.”

For Okland’s family, the arrest arrived after years of grief and diminishing hope. Her sister, Brittany Bruce, spoke at the press conference alongside her brother Josh. “We had lost our hope in finding answers and having any justice for Ashley,” Brittany said, according to Fox News. “It was really difficult to accept that the case had gone cold.” A bail hearing in the case was held in early April 2026, keeping the case in the news as proceedings moved forward.

The Woman at the Center of the Case

Ashley Okland is memorialized in the West Des Moines community through a specialized, inclusive playground at Ewing Park, built in her name. Her brother Josh described her as someone who impacted people deeply during a short but full life - a young woman whose real estate career was growing, whose relationships were close, and who had spent the afternoon before her death training her brother at a Panera in Ankeny.

“I will never forget that day,” Josh said in a 2025 interview with KCCI. He noted there was nothing unusual, nothing that signaled what was coming. She was 27, doing the work she loved, in a place that should have been safe.

What Comes Next

Kristin Ramsey has not entered a plea. Her attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment following the arrest. The case will now move through the courts, with prosecutors relying in part on the witness account and the circumstantial evidence developed over years of investigation.

For Iowa’s law enforcement community, the arrest represents a long-sought result - and a reminder that cold cases do not always stay cold. For Ashley Okland’s family, it is the beginning of a new chapter in a loss that began fifteen years ago on an ordinary Friday afternoon.

References: Iowa Realtor Cold Case: Kristin Ramsey Arrested 15 Years After Ashley Okland’s Murder | Cold Case: Kristin Ramsey Spotted at Scene After Okland Shooting