DALLAS COUNTY, Iowa — A district judge has issued a ruling about discovery in the case of Kristin Ramsey, the woman accused of killing realtor Ashley Okland in West Des Moines in 2011.
Ramsey, 53, was arrested in March on a charge of first-degree murder in Okland’s death. The realtor was found shot to death in the West Des Moines model townhome where she had been working on April 8, 2011. Despite nearly a thousand tips to law enforcement over the years following the murder, no arrests were made until Ramsey’s.
Ramsey’s attorneys have been seeking discovery materials from prosecutors and filed a motion to produce on April 13th, to gain access to “mandatory discovery, exculpatory and impeachment evidence, and requests the State to further provide her with discretionary discovery as further detailed herein.”
In a response filed April 23, the state claimed it was aware of its duty to provide discovery to Ramsey, but despite its attempts to reach an agreement, “the Defense declined to file a joint discovery motion.”
April 29th, Ramsey’s attorneys filed a reply in support of her motion to produce, claiming “the State now appears to want to slow down the progress of this case by waiting until the court issues a ruling on Ms. Ramsey’s motion before providing anything.” They cited the large amount of material gathered over the 15-year investigation and the need to gain access to it with enough time to properly prepare for trial…