Defense lawyers representing a woman implicated in the 2011 slaying of an Iowa real estate agent are claiming that crucial evidence in this cold case has either been lost or destroyed.
Fifty-three-year-old Kristin Ramsey faces charges of first-degree murder for the killing of Ashley Okland on April 8, 2011. Ramsey’s recent arrest is a pivotal turn in a case that had remained unsolved for over a decade.
A recent court document suggests that Ramsey’s legal team is accusing officials of mishandling significant evidence during the initial stages of the investigation.
Ashley Okland was found inside a model townhome where she was reportedly conducting an open house in West Des Moines, Iowa, on the day of her death, April 8, 2011.
The legal filing, as reported by KCCI, claims, “The state has informed the defense that law enforcement has either lost or destroyed evidence, case details, or both since Ms. Okland’s passing.”
In a discovery motion accessed by the media outlet, Ramsey’s defense requests the release of all evidence related to the case, including the identities and contact details of everyone involved in the investigation at any stage.
The filing also reportedly requests “any and all items of evidence and/or information that were lost, destroyed, altered, deleted, or otherwise disposed of.”
53-year-old Kristin Elizabeth Ramsey was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in West Des Moines, Iowa on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (Dallas County Jail)
Details regarding the type of evidence that has allegedly been lost were not immediately available.
Okland was gunned down while hosting an open house at a model townhome owned by Rottlund Homes – the same company in which Ramsey worked at the time of the alleged murder.
Kristin Ramsey, 53, attends a hearing at the Dallas County Courthouse in Iowa on April 10, 2026. She was charged in March with first-degree murder for the 2011 shooting of Ashley Okland. (Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register/USA TODAY NETWORK)
The real estate agent was shot twice, once in the chest and another in the face, at close range, according to authorities.
The case ultimately ran cold for 15 years, until authorities announced Ramsey’s arrest last month.
A West Des Moines police officer stands near crime scene tape at the site where Ashley Okland was killed on April 8, 2011. (Register File Photo/USA TODAY NETWORK)
In a previous court filing obtained by KCCI, a witness who lived next door to the townhome told authorities she heard two loud noises and later saw Ramsey outside the front door on the day of the alleged shooting.
The witness also reportedly told authorities upon looking out her second-story window, she saw Ramsey pacing outside her vehicle and using her phone.
The court filing indicates Ramsey called a colleague at Rottlund Homes immediately following the alleged shooting, but did not call 911, KCCI reported.
As the witness observed Ramsey outside the townhouse, she reportedly told authorities she watched as Ramsey got into her vehicle and proceeded to “back up at a high rate of speed in an erratic manner and leave the area.”
It was the witness – not Ramsey – who ultimately called 911 to report the shooting, authorities said.
Prosecutors also revealed Ramsey allegedly provided inconsistent accounts of her whereabouts on the day of Okland’s death across multiple interviews conducted during the investigation, according to KCCI.
Court records further indicate that when authorities executed a search warrant at Ramsey’s home on May 3, 2011, they found several firearms, illegal drugs and posters depicting violence, the outlet reported.
The same items were reportedly later recovered after a second search warrant was executed at Ramsey’s home shortly before her arrest this spring.
Ramsey has pleaded not guilty in the case, and her defense team has asked a judge to lower her bond from $2 million to $100,000, the outlet reported. Authorities have not yet revealed a potential motive for the alleged murder.
Ramsey’s defense attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
