A woman has been arrested in connection with the 2011 cold case murder of an Iowa real estate agent, authorities said.
Kristin Ramsey, 53, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of killing Ashley Okland, West Des Moines police said.
West Des Moines Police – Photo: Kristin Ramsey, 53, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Ashley Okland.
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Oakland was shot and killed while working on a model townhouse on April 8, 2011, according to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office Cold Case Unit.
West Des Moines Police Assistant Chief Jody Hayes said at a news conference Wednesday that Oakland’s death sent “shock waves” throughout the state and “haunted” the real estate community.
Iowa Attorney General – Photo: An undated photo of Ashley Okland, who was killed in 2011.
Police and prosecutors have not discussed what led to Ramsey’s arrest, but Ramsey’s boss at the time, Steven Kahn, told ABC News that Ramsey was working at Rottlund Homes, the company that built the model home in Oakland where he was killed.
Khan said Ramsey’s condition did not lead him to suspect she might be involved in Oakland’s death.
“She was the nicest lady. I was completely shocked,” he said.
Kahn noted that he sat next to Ramsay at the funeral in Oakland.
“From a business perspective, I can’t understand why this would happen,” Kahn said of Ramsey. “I don’t know anything about her personal life.”
LinkedIn – Photo: Undated photo of Kristin Ramsey.
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Police and prosecutors declined to discuss details of the case, with Dallas County Prosecutor Matt Schultz saying only at a press conference that “after hearing the evidence, the Dallas County Grand Jury issued an actual bill indicting Christine Ramsey for the murder of Ashley Oakland.”
“The Friday afternoon that Ashley was taken from us seems like a long time ago,” Oakland’s sister Brittany Bruce told reporters Wednesday. “We have lost all hope of finding answers and justice.”
She thanked detectives and prosecutors for their tireless work on the case.
“We have full confidence in their ability to solve this problem,” she said.