Woman arrested for 2011 cold case murder of Iowa real estate agent
Kristin Ramsey, 53, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Ashley Okland. (West Des Moines Police)
(WEST DES MOINES, Iowa) — A woman has been arrested in the 2011 cold case murder of an Iowa real estate agent, authorities said.
Kristin Ramsey, 53, was arrested on Tuesday for first-degree murder in the death of Ashley Okland, the West Des Moines Police said.
Police and prosecutors did not elaborate on what led to Ramsey’s arrest, but Dallas County Attorney Matt Schultz said at a Wednesday news conference, “After hearing the evidence, a Dallas County grand jury issued a true bill indicting Kristin Ramsey with the murder of Ashley Okland.”
Okland was shot and killed while working at a model townhouse on April 8, 2011, according to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office Cold Case Unit.
Okland’s death sent “shockwaves” throughout the state and “haunted” the real estate community, West Des Moines Police Assistant Chief Jody Hayes said at the news conference.
“That Friday afternoon when Ashley was taken from us seems so long ago. We had lost our hope in finding answers and having any justice,” Okland’s sister, Brittany Bruce, told reporters.
She thanked the detectives and prosecutors for their relentless work on the case.
“We have full confidence in their abilities to see this through,” she said.
Bill Gates watches the Women’s Singles Final at the 2026 Australian Open, January 31, 2026, in Melbourne, Australia. (James D. Morgan/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Microsoft founder Bill Gates is speaking out publicly for the first time since the latest release by the Department of Justice of nearly three million pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, saying he was “foolish” to spend time with the late convicted sex predator.
In an interview with 9News Australia, Gates denied any wrongdoing involving Epstein, including unfounded allegations made against the tech billionaire in draft emails Epstein wrote in 2013 that were included in the latest tranche of documents released by the DOJ on Friday.
“Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. Ah, that email was never sent. The email is false,” Gates said in the interview, conducted in Australia and broadcast on Wednesday. “So, I don’t know what his thinking was there. It just reminds me that every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologize I did that.”
Gates, 70, spoke out after his ex-wife, Melinda French Gates, said in an interview with NPR’s Wild Card podcast, set to air on Thursday, that Bill Gates and other wealthy men named in the Epstein files should answer questions about their association with him.
“Whatever questions remain there … those questions are for those people, and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me,” French Gates said in an excerpt of the interview released by NPR.
French Gates, who finalized her divorce from Bill Gates in 2021, said the details in the latest tranche of files made public brought back memories of “some very, very painful times” in her marriage. She has previously said that her ex-husband’s association with Epstein was one factor of many that led her to seek their divorce.
In the interview with 9News Australia, Gates said he first met Epstein in 2011, which was after Epstein’s 2008 conviction in Florida for soliciting prostitution from a minor. Gates said he thought Epstein could introduce him to other wealthy people who might donate to the Gates Foundation, which has donated billions of dollars globally to “improve health, alleviate extreme poverty, and advance gender equality,” according to its website.
“It’s factually true that I was only at dinners. I never went to the island, I never met any women,” Gates said of his association with Epstein, referring to the latter’s private island in the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Epstein allegedly sexually exploited dozens of young women and girls. “And the more that comes out, the more clear it will be that, although the time was a mistake, it had nothing to do with that kind of behavior.”
“The focus was always he [Epstein] knew a lot of very rich people and he was always saying he could get them to give money to global health,” Gates added. “You know, in retrospect, that was a dead end, and I was foolish to spend time with him. I was one of many people who regret ever knowing him.”
Asked by ABC about the latest DOJ disclosure in the Epstein case, a spokesperson for Bill Gates said, “These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false. The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”
Gates was in Australia partly for vacation and partly on behalf of the Gates Foundation to encourage the Australian government to commit more funds to eradicating preventable childhood diseases.
he Terrorism Containment Center (CECOT) maximum security prison in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023. (Camilo Freedman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) –A federal appeals court on Tuesday halted a criminal contempt inquiry into former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other officials for last year’s deportation of more than 200 Venezuelans to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison, marking the second time in less than a year that the probe has been frozen.
A divided panel of judges on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered an end to the inquiry, concluding that the probe into whether the officials knowingly defied a court order with the deportations “encroaches on the autonomy” of the executive branch.
The Trump administration, in March 2025, invoked the Alien Enemies Act — an 18th century wartime authority used to remove noncitizens with little-to-no due process — to deport two planeloads of alleged migrant gang members by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a “hybrid criminal state” that is invading the United States.
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order and ordered that the planes be turned around, but Justice Department attorneys said his oral instructions directing the flight to be returned were defective, and the deportations proceeded as planned.
Boasberg subsequently sought contempt proceedings against the government for deliberately defying his order, and had concluded that “probable cause exists to find the government in criminal contempt” — but his inquiry was frozen by the same appeals court last year.
When Boasberg attempted to continue with his probe within the confines of the court’s order, the Trump administration filed an interlocutory appeal to stop the investigation outright.
“The district court proposes to probe high-level Executive Branch deliberations about matters of national security and diplomacy,” Judge Neomi Rao, one of two Trump appointees on the panel who ruled in favor of the government, wrote in Tuesday’s order. “These proceedings are a clear abuse of discretion, as the district court’s order said nothing about transferring custody of the plaintiffs and therefore lacks the clarity to support criminal contempt based on the transfer of custody.”
Judge J. Michelle Childs dissented from the majority and argued that Boasberg should have the latitude to proceed with basic fact-finding into the deportations.
“There is no question that there could be much to fear in a factual inquiry about the actions of potential contemnors who may have defied a court order. However, that does not mean that this court must intervene to end a criminal case before it begins, even for the Executive Branch,” she wrote.
In a sharply worded dissent, she argued that “the fate of our democratic republic” depends on whether courts can properly investigate and punish contempt.
“Without the contempt power, the rule of law is an illusion, a theory that stands upon shifting sands,” she said.
Lee Gelernt, the lead counsel representing the Venezuelans, said in a statement, “The opinion is a blow to the rule of law. Our system is built on the executive branch, including the president, respecting court orders. In this case there is no longer any question that the Trump administration willfully violated the court’s order.”
The Venezuelan nationals were ultimately released to their home country from CECOT in a prisoner swap last July.
ABC News’ Armando Garcia contributed to this report.
Cars make their way to Hobby Airport in Houston on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images
(HOUSTON) — A man has been detained by police after allegedly exhibiting “unruly and unlawful behavior towards other customers” that caused a flight to return to Houston shortly after taking off, according to Delta Airlines and law enforcement.
The flight, departing from William P. Hobby Airport, was headed to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
“The safety of our customers and crew is paramount, and Delta has zero tolerance for unruly behavior. We apologize to our customers for this experience and delay in their travels,” Delta said in a statement on Wednesday.
After taking off, it landed at the William P. Hobby Airport in Houston around 5:40 a.m. local time, according to the FAA. The flight was only in the air for about 15 minutes.
Earlier reports and air traffic controller audio alleged the man was attempting to breach the cockpit of a Delta Airlines flight but Delta said he “did not make contact with or attempt to access the flight deck,” in a statement to ABC News.
A call reporting that “apparently an individual tried to gain entry into a cockpit” was made at around 5:35 a.m., according to the Houston Police Department. Police officers were dispatched to Gate 32 at the airport, where multiple police cars surrounded the aircraft, according to KTRK.
On air traffic controller audio, one of the pilots can be heard telling controllers, “we had a passenger get up and try to access the cockpit,” and that “he assaulted another passenger,” who the pilot said they wanted to get checked out.
Video reviewed and verified by ABC News shows a passenger whose hands are bound being escorted off a Delta flight 2557 on Wednesday morning in Houston.
The FAA said the flight “returned safely” to Hobby “after the crew reported a passenger disturbance.” The FAA said it will investigate the incident.
There were 85 passengers and five crew on board the plane. The flight re-departed and arrived in Atlanta, about 90 minutes behind schedule, Delta said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
