DALLAS COUNTY, Iowa– Prosecutors are pushing back against Kristin Ramsey’s effort to have her first-degree murder charge dismissed in the 2011 killing of Ashley Okland.
Okland, 27, was found shot to death inside her West Des Moines townhome in April 2011. Ramsey, 53, was arrested in March after a Dallas County grand jury indicted her on a charge of first-degree murder.
Earlier this month, Ramsey’s attorneys filed a motion asking a judge to dismiss the case, arguing prosecutors violated her constitutional rights during the grand jury proceedings by misleading jurors and withholding key evidence. The 44-page motion (below) alleges the prosecution’s eyewitness changed their story and was manipulated during the case. The defense also alleges the state did not present all the evidence and presented misleading evidence to the grand jury, leading to Ramsey’s indictment.
Kristin Ramsey’s motion to dismiss her murder charge.Download
In a resistance filed Friday, prosecutors argue Ramsey’s claims are based on disputes over witness credibility and conflicting interpretations of the evidence, issues they say should be decided by a trial jury rather than through a pretrial dismissal. Prosecutors also contend that even if the defense’s allegations were true, dismissal is not a legally available remedy.
The defenses resistence to the motion to resist.Download
Prosecutors indicated that they intend to file a more detailed response to the defense’s motion before the next pretrial conference.
Ramsey’s trial is currently scheduled to begin in January…