The Iowa murder suspect charged in the cold case killing of a realtor during an open house 15 years ago was released from jail after her attorneys painted her as an upstanding citizen with no criminal record.
Kristin Ramsey, the 53-year-old accused with fatally shooting Ashley Okland at a West Des Moines townhouse on April 8, 2011, bonded out of the Dallas County Jail on Thursday, according to court records viewed by The Post.
Ramsey was being held on $2 million bail after her March 17 arrest, before a judge lowered it to $500,000 this week.
She posted a $50,000 cash bond, 10% of her amended bail, and was released just after noon Thursday.
Judge Coleman McAllister was persuaded to reduce Ramsey’s bail after her attorneys argued she had strong ties to the community and had a non-existent criminal past, KCCI reported.
“(Ramsey) has no criminal record other than a single traffic ticket 25 years ago. Defendant has had no disciplinary issues while she has been in the Dallas County Jail. Jail staff have expressed no concerns that she poses any risk of self-harm,” McAllister said in his filing, viewed by the outlet.
The judge also noted Ramsey hadn’t fled the state despite the ongoing investigation into Okland’s death.
“After considering Defendant’s strong community and family ties, her history of stable employment, and that she has remained in the area over the past 15 years while the investigation proceeded, the Court determines while there remains a risk that Defendant may flee to avoid prosecution if released on bail, that risk is relatively moderate in the Court’s estimation.”
As part of her release agreement, Ramsey will remain under house arrest, be placed on 24/7 GPS monitoring and have any firearms confiscated from her home, according to the outlet.
Ramsey was indicted by a grand jury on March 17 on a first-degree murder charge.
Okland, 27, was found on the floor inside a West Des Moines townhome model unit suffering from two gunshot wounds.
She was rushed to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Ramsey, an administrative assistant and sales manager for townhome developer Rottlund Homes, had been a person of interest in the case from the start, after she was seen by neighbors pacing around outside moments after the shooting, KCCI reported.
She was questioned several times by detectives over the years and had made conflicting statements about where she was at the time of the shooting.
Two search warrants had been conducted on Ramsey’s Woodward home, one in May 2011 and another the day she was arrested, with officials recovering multiple firearms, illegal substances, and posters threatening violence each time, according to the outlet.
Ramsey’s attorneys filed a motion in court last week claiming state prosecutors informed them that evidence in the case had been lost or destroyed over the years, with the lawyers asking the officials to hand over all evidence they have.
No motive behind Okland’s death has been revealed.
Ramsey is expected to return to court on June 19.
A jury trial is scheduled for January 2027.
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