Adel, Iowa — A woman accused of killing a young real estate agent in Iowa pleaded not guilty Friday, nearly 15 years to the day after the death rocked the industry and led to tighter safety practices for agents across the country.
Iowa real estate agent Ashley Oakland, 27, was found dead in a model townhouse in West Des Moines, where she was hosting an open house on April 8, 2011. Her family and friends filled the courtroom for Friday’s hearing for Christine Ramsey, 53, who was arrested last month after being indicted on a charge of first-degree murder.
“The Friday afternoon that Ashley was taken from us feels like a long time ago,” Brittany Bruce, Oakland’s sister, told reporters in March. “We have lost hope of finding answers and getting justice for Ashley.”
Prosecutors have said little about Ramsey after her March 17 indictment by a grand jury and arrest, withholding information about what they consider a possible motive or whether there is new evidence in the case.
Court documents filed this week ahead of Friday’s charge and bond review hearing give limited insight into the grand jury procedures.
A neighbor who called 911 saw Ramsey, who worked with Oakland, outside the front door of the model home walking past her car while talking on her cellphone before leaving, prosecutors said. Ramsey returned 15 minutes later, Assistant State’s Attorney Scott Brown said during Friday’s hearing.
Ramsey’s lawyers said there were holes in the case prosecutors presented to the grand jury, including a misrepresentation of what the witness said in the 911 call, and attorney Alfredo Parrish said the grand jury backed down.
“You don’t wait 15 years and then say, ‘Okay, let’s do this,’” Parrish said.
Grand jury proceedings, which are rare in criminal cases in Iowa, are generally kept secret. The prosecution published the details in resistance to a request from Ramsey’s lawyer to reduce the bail amount, currently set at $2 million.
Oakland’s death rippled throughout Des Moines’ small, close-knit real estate community, said her co-worker Scott Stillman, president of the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors and an agent with Iowa Realty. He described the murder as “contrary to the nature of our work, our industry and our profession.”
After Oakland’s death, the property owners association pushed for safety standards and guidelines.
“Nationally, this has prompted the real estate community to take greater caution when interacting with the public,” Stillman said. “We will not offer any property to someone we do not know, are not familiar with, or at least have not vetted.”
The Safety Pledge drafted in Iowa is promoted by the National Association of Realtors and is used by hundreds of state and local associations across the United States.
Because Ramsay is also a member of the real estate community, Stillman said her arrest also raised confusion and more questions than answers.
At the time, Ramsey was working for Rottlund Homes in Iowa, which used independent real estate agents for sales. Rottlund Homes owns the model home in which Auckland was killed.
Ramzi appeared in court on Friday wearing a jumpsuit, with his arms and legs shackled. She wiped tears from her eyes at times when witnesses described her character as part of the defense’s efforts to reduce the bail amount. Her husband, son, parents, and grandfather sat in the first row behind her.
Ramsey was initially hired as a public defender, but is now represented by prominent defense attorneys, who said she has strong family ties and has lived in the 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 townhouse that shared a wall with the model home when they heard two loud noises “described as a crash 3-4 seconds apart,” according to the filing. The witness looked outside after hearing the voices and saw Ramsey at the front door, prosecutors said. The witness then watched her walk past her car on her mobile phone before leaving and returning later.
“Concerned that something was wrong, the witness entered the model home and discovered Ms. Oakland unresponsive on the floor,” the recording states. The witness called 911, prosecutors said.
In their response, Ramsey’s lawyers said prosecutors were presenting “cherry-picked” evidence, arguing they did not present the grand jury with gun, ballistics or DNA evidence.
“So, while the State is correct, the grand jury’s job was to consider the evidence presented to it, but it failed to disclose that the State chose not to present all of the evidence it had collected in the past 15 years,” Ramsey’s attorneys wrote. “The jury members here were only shown a few pieces of the puzzle over two days – not the whole picture.”
The trial is scheduled to begin next January.