An Iowa woman pleads not guilty in the 2011 killing of real estate agent

ADEL, Iowa (AP) — A woman charged in the killing of a young real estate agent in Iowa pleaded not guilty Friday, almost 15 years to the day that the death rattled the industry and led to heightened safety practices for agents nationwide.

Iowa Realty agent Ashley Okland, 27, was found dead at a model townhome in West Des Moines, where she was hosting an open house April 8, 2011. Her family and friends filled the courtroom for a Friday hearing for Kristin Ramsey, 53, who was arrested last month after an indictment charged her with first-degree murder.

“That Friday afternoon when Ashley was taken from us seems so long ago,” Brittany Bruce, Okland’s sister told reporters in March. “We had lost our hope in finding answers and having any justice for Ashley.”

Prosecutors have said little about Ramsey following her March 17 indictment by a grand jury and arrest, withholding information on what they consider to be a potential motive or whether there is new evidence in the case.

Court documents filed this week ahead of the arraignment and bond review hearing Friday give limited insight into the grand jury proceedings.

Prosecutors said a neighbor who called 911 reportedly saw Ramsey, who worked with Okland, outside the front door of the model home and pacing by her car while talking on her cellphone before she drove off. State Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown said during the hearing Friday that Ramsey returned 15 minutes later.

Ramsey’s attorneys said there are gaps in the case prosecutors presented to the grand jury, including by misrepresenting what the witness reported in the 911 call, and attorney Alfredo Parrish said the grand jury even pushed back.

“You don’t wait 15 years and then say: ‘OK, let’s make a go of it,’” Parrish said.

Grand jury proceedings, a rare occurrence for criminal cases in Iowa, are generally kept confidential. The prosecution released the details in resisting a motion from Ramsey’s attorneys to lower her bail amount, currently set at $2 million.

Okland’s death rippled throughout Des Moines’ small, tight-knit real estate community, said her coworker Scott Steelman, president of the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors and an agent at Iowa Realty. He described the killing as “so out of character for our business, our industry, our profession.”

After Okland’s death, the realtors’ association pushed to create safety standards and guidance.

“Nationwide, it’s caused the real estate community to take greater caution when interacting with the public,” Steelman said. “We will not show any property to someone who we don’t know, aren’t familiar or at least have not vetted.”

That safety pledge crafted in Iowa is promoted by the National Association of Realtors and is being used by hundreds of state and local associations across the U.S.

Since Ramsey also is a member of the real estate community, Steelman said her arrest also has spurred confusion and more questions than answers.

At the time, Ramsey had worked for Rottlund Homes of Iowa, which used independent real estate agents for sales. Rottlund Homes owned the model home where Okland was killed.

Ramsey appeared in court Friday wearing a pantsuit, with one arm and both feet shackled. She wiped tears from her eyes at times as witnesses described her character as part of the defense’s effort to reduce her bail amount. Her husband and son, parents and grandfather sat in the first row behind her.

Ramsey was initially appointed a public defender but is now represented by prominent defense attorneys, who said she has strong family ties and has lived in small, rural town of Woodward, Iowa, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northwest of Des Moines, since she was a child.

Prosecutors said a witness was next door in a townhome that shared a wall with the model home when they heard two loud noises “described as thuds that were 3-4 seconds apart,” according to the filing. Prosecutors said the witness looked out after hearing the sounds and saw Ramsey by the front door. The witness then saw her pacing by her car on her cellphone before driving off, returning later.

“Concerned that something was wrong, the witness entered the model home and discovered Ms. Okland unresponsive on the ground,” the filing reads. The witness called 911, prosecutors said.

In their response, Ramsey’s attorneys said prosecutors are offering “cherry-picked” evidence, arguing that they did not present the grand jury with a weapon, ballistics evidence or DNA evidence.

“So while the State is right the grand jury’s job was to consider the evidence presented to it, it fails to disclose that the State chose not to present all the evidence it has collected in the last 15 years,” Ramsey’s attorneys wrote. “The grand jurors here were shown only a few pieces of the puzzle over two days—not the whole picture.”

Trial is set to begin next January.