Iowa
Woman pleads not guilty in the 2011 killing of real estate agent
ADEL, Iowa (AP) — A woman charged in the killing of a young real estate agent in Iowa pleaded not guilty Friday, almost 15 years to the day that the death rattled the industry and led to heightened safety practices for agents nationwide.
Iowa Realty agent Ashley Okland, 27, was found dead at a model townhome in West Des Moines, where she was hosting an open house April 8, 2011. Her family and friends filled the courtroom for a Friday hearing for Kristin Ramsey, 53, who was arrested last month after an indictment charged her with first-degree murder.
“That Friday afternoon when Ashley was taken from us seems so long ago,” Brittany Bruce, Okland’s sister told reporters in March. “We had lost our hope in finding answers and having any justice for Ashley.”
Prosecutors have said little about Ramsey following her March 17 indictment by a grand jury and arrest, withholding information on what they consider to be a potential motive or whether there is new evidence in the case.
Court documents filed this week ahead of the arraignment and bond review hearing Friday give limited insight into the grand jury proceedings.
Prosecutors said a neighbor who called 911 reportedly saw Ramsey, who worked with Okland, outside the front door of the model home and pacing by her car while talking on her cellphone before she drove off.
State Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown said during the hearing Friday that Ramsey returned 15 minutes later.
Ramsey’s attorneys said there are gaps in the case prosecutors presented to the grand jury, including by misrepresenting what the witness reported in the 911 call, and attorney Alfredo Parrish said the grand jury even pushed back.
“You don’t wait 15 years and then say: ‘OK, let’s make a go of it,’” Parrish said.
Grand jury proceedings, a rare occurrence for criminal cases in Iowa, are generally kept confidential. The prosecution released the details in resisting a motion from Ramsey’s attorneys to lower her bail amount, currently set at $2 million.
Okland’s killing impacted the real estate community
Okland’s death rippled throughout Des Moines’ small, tight-knit real estate community, said her coworker Scott Steelman, president of the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors and an agent at Iowa Realty. He described the killing as “so out of character for our business, our industry, our profession.”
After Okland’s death, the realtors’ association pushed to create safety standards and guidance.
“Nationwide, it’s caused the real estate community to take greater caution when interacting with the public,” Steelman said. “We will not show any property to someone who we don’t know, aren’t familiar or at least have not vetted.”
That safety pledge crafted in Iowa is promoted by the National Association of Realtors and is being used by hundreds of state and local associations across the U.S.
Since Ramsey also is a member of the real estate community, Steelman said her arrest also has spurred confusion and more questions than answers.
At the time, Ramsey had worked for Rottlund Homes of Iowa, which used independent real estate agents for sales. Rottlund Homes owned the model home where Okland was killed.
New court filings give limited insight into case
Ramsey appeared in court Friday wearing a pantsuit, with one arm and both feet shackled. She wiped tears from her eyes at times as witnesses described her character as part of the defense’s effort to reduce her bail amount. Her husband and son, parents and grandfather sat in the first row behind her.
Ramsey was initially appointed a public defender but is now represented by prominent defense attorneys, who said she has strong family ties and has lived in 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 townhome that shared a wall with the model home when they heard two loud noises “described as thuds that were 3-4 seconds apart,” according to the filing.
Prosecutors said the witness looked out after hearing the sounds and saw Ramsey by the front door. The witness then saw her pacing by her car on her cellphone before driving off, returning later.
“Concerned that something was wrong, the witness entered the model home and discovered Ms. Okland unresponsive on the ground,” the filing reads. The witness called 911, prosecutors said.
In their response, Ramsey’s attorneys said prosecutors are offering “cherry-picked” evidence, arguing that they did not present the grand jury with a weapon, ballistics evidence or DNA evidence.
“So while the State is right the grand jury’s job was to consider the evidence presented to it, it fails to disclose that the State chose not to present all the evidence it has collected in the last 15 years,” Ramsey’s attorneys wrote. “The grand jurors here were shown only a few pieces of the puzzle over two days—not the whole picture.”
Trial is set to begin next January.
Washington
Judge dismisses Trump’s $10B lawsuit against WSJ, Murdoch over reporting on ties to Epstein
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch on Monday over a story on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles in Florida wrote in the order that Trump had failed to make the argument that the article was published with the intent to be malicious, but gave the president a chance to file an amended complaint.
Trump filed the lawsuit in July, following up on a promise to sue the paper almost immediately after it put a new spotlight on his well-documented relationship with Epstein by publishing an article that described a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper said bore Trump’s signature and was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday.
The letter was subsequently released publicly by Congress, which subpoenaed the records from Epstein’s estate. Trump denied writing it, calling the story “false, malicious, and defamatory.”
Attorneys for the newspaper and Murdoch had asked Gayles to rule that the article’s statements were true and therefore couldn’t be defamatory, but the judge wrote that “whether President Trump was the author of the Letter or Epstein’s friend are questions of fact that cannot be determined at this stage of the litigation,” Gayles wrote.
The ruling marks yet another blow in the Trump administration’s efforts to manage fallout over its release of the Epstein files and the president’s attempts to use the legal system to chill reporting he finds critical of him.
Neither the White House nor a spokesperson for Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal, immediately responded to requests for comment.
Florida
16-year-old charged with sexually assaulting and killing stepsister on a cruise ship
MIAMI (AP) — A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and aggravated sexual abuse in Florida in the death of his 18-year-old stepsister on a Carnival Cruise ship, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.
The teen, identified by the government as T.H., was initially charged as a juvenile on Feb. 2, but the case was sealed until U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom ordered that he would be prosecuted as an adult, the department said.
An email and voicemail seeking comment from T.H.’s lawyer about the indictment were not immediately returned.
Anna Kepner had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship in November with her family. Before the ship was scheduled to return to Florida, her body was found concealed under a bed in a room she was sharing with two other teens, including the younger stepbrother.
The cause of death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing.
Massachusetts
Developer of offshore wind farm sues to stop turbine manufacturer from walking away
The developer of a major Massachusetts offshore wind farm is suing its turbine manufacturer seeking to force it to stay with the project.
Vineyard Wind filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Massachusetts against GE Renewables. That comes after the parent company for GE Renewables said it would be terminating its contracts for turbine services and maintenance at the end of April.
GE Vernova says Vineyard Wind owes it $300 million for work it performed. But Vineyard Wind counters that the manufacturer remains on the hook for about $545 million to make up for a catastrophic turbine blade collapse in July 2024 and the delays that caused.
Fiberglass fragments of a blade broke apart and began washing onto Nantucket beaches in July 2024 during the peak of tourist season. GE Vernova agreed to pay $10.5 million in a settlement to compensate island businesses that suffered losses.
The lawsuit states that the project already has been significantly damaged by GE Renewable’s “inexcusably poor performance,” and allowing the contractor to back out now would case irreparable harm. Craig Gilvarg, spokesman for Vineyard Wind, said Friday that the lawsuit is meant to ensure that GE Renewables fulfills its obligations to the project “and to the people of Massachusetts and New England who are relying on the significant power and economic benefits this project is already providing.” He said Vineyard Wind is expected to provide $3.7 billion in savings to electric customers over the life of the project.
GE Vernova said the company is exercising its right to terminate agreements for nonpayment for work performed.
“The company remains committed to the safety of the wind farm and stands by our performance and our contractual obligations,” the company said in a statement. “We will vigorously defend our position through the appropriate legal process.”
Construction finished on Vineyard Wind in March, making it the first project to reach this stage during President Donald Trump’s time in office. It had already been providing power to the grid for over a year as more turbines were finished. It is expected to reach full operations in the coming months.
According to the lawsuit, GE Renewables is the only company able to perform the remaining work, and it would be virtually impossible to find another turbine supplier willing to take its place. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
GE Vernova has said that insufficient bonding at one of its factories in Canada was responsible for the blade coming apart and that there was no indication of a design flaw. Sixty-eight out of the 72 blades that had been installed at Vineyard Wind at the time were removed and replaced. Vineyard Wind said that set the project behind nearly two years.
The Trump administration has been particularly critical of the project because of the blade failure.
It was one of five major East Coast offshore wind projects the Trump administration halted construction on days before Christmas, citing national security concerns. Developers and states sued, and federal judges allowed all five to resume construction, essentially concluding that the government did not show that the national security risk was so imminent that construction must halt.
Vineyard Wind is a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, located 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts. It has 62 turbines that will generate a total of 800 megawatts. That is enough clean electricity to power about 400,000 homes.
Woman pleads not guilty in the 2011 killing of real estate agent
ADEL, Iowa (AP) — A woman charged in the killing of a young real estate agent in Iowa pleaded not guilty Friday, almost 15 years to the day that the death rattled the industry and led to heightened safety practices for agents nationwide.
Iowa Realty agent Ashley Okland, 27, was found dead at a model townhome in West Des Moines, where she was hosting an open house April 8, 2011. Her family and friends filled the courtroom for a Friday hearing for Kristin Ramsey, 53, who was arrested last month after an indictment charged her with first-degree murder.
“That Friday afternoon when Ashley was taken from us seems so long ago,” Brittany Bruce, Okland’s sister told reporters in March. “We had lost our hope in finding answers and having any justice for Ashley.”
Prosecutors have said little about Ramsey following her March 17 indictment by a grand jury and arrest, withholding information on what they consider to be a potential motive or whether there is new evidence in the case.
Court documents filed this week ahead of the arraignment and bond review hearing Friday give limited insight into the grand jury proceedings.
Prosecutors said a neighbor who called 911 reportedly saw Ramsey, who worked with Okland, outside the front door of the model home and pacing by her car while talking on her cellphone before she drove off.
State Assistant Attorney General Scott Brown said during the hearing Friday that Ramsey returned 15 minutes later.
Ramsey’s attorneys said there are gaps in the case prosecutors presented to the grand jury, including by misrepresenting what the witness reported in the 911 call, and attorney Alfredo Parrish said the grand jury even pushed back.
“You don’t wait 15 years and then say: ‘OK, let’s make a go of it,’” Parrish said.
Grand jury proceedings, a rare occurrence for criminal cases in Iowa, are generally kept confidential. The prosecution released the details in resisting a motion from Ramsey’s attorneys to lower her bail amount, currently set at $2 million.
Okland’s killing impacted the real estate community
Okland’s death rippled throughout Des Moines’ small, tight-knit real estate community, said her coworker Scott Steelman, president of the Des Moines Area Association of Realtors and an agent at Iowa Realty. He described the killing as “so out of character for our business, our industry, our profession.”
After Okland’s death, the realtors’ association pushed to create safety standards and guidance.
“Nationwide, it’s caused the real estate community to take greater caution when interacting with the public,” Steelman said. “We will not show any property to someone who we don’t know, aren’t familiar or at least have not vetted.”
That safety pledge crafted in Iowa is promoted by the National Association of Realtors and is being used by hundreds of state and local associations across the U.S.
Since Ramsey also is a member of the real estate community, Steelman said her arrest also has spurred confusion and more questions than answers.
At the time, Ramsey had worked for Rottlund Homes of Iowa, which used independent real estate agents for sales. Rottlund Homes owned the model home where Okland was killed.
New court filings give limited insight into case
Ramsey appeared in court Friday wearing a pantsuit, with one arm and both feet shackled. She wiped tears from her eyes at times as witnesses described her character as part of the defense’s effort to reduce her bail amount. Her husband and son, parents and grandfather sat in the first row behind her.
Ramsey was initially appointed a public defender but is now represented by prominent defense attorneys, who said she has strong family ties and has lived in 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 townhome that shared a wall with the model home when they heard two loud noises “described as thuds that were 3-4 seconds apart,” according to the filing.
Prosecutors said the witness looked out after hearing the sounds and saw Ramsey by the front door. The witness then saw her pacing by her car on her cellphone before driving off, returning later.
“Concerned that something was wrong, the witness entered the model home and discovered Ms. Okland unresponsive on the ground,” the filing reads. The witness called 911, prosecutors said.
In their response, Ramsey’s attorneys said prosecutors are offering “cherry-picked” evidence, arguing that they did not present the grand jury with a weapon, ballistics evidence or DNA evidence.
“So while the State is right the grand jury’s job was to consider the evidence presented to it, it fails to disclose that the State chose not to present all the evidence it has collected in the last 15 years,” Ramsey’s attorneys wrote. “The grand jurors here were shown only a few pieces of the puzzle over two days—not the whole picture.”
Trial is set to begin next January.
Washington
Judge dismisses Trump’s $10B lawsuit against WSJ, Murdoch over reporting on ties to Epstein
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump’s $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal and Rupert Murdoch on Monday over a story on his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles in Florida wrote in the order that Trump had failed to make the argument that the article was published with the intent to be malicious, but gave the president a chance to file an amended complaint.
Trump filed the lawsuit in July, following up on a promise to sue the paper almost immediately after it put a new spotlight on his well-documented relationship with Epstein by publishing an article that described a sexually suggestive letter that the newspaper said bore Trump’s signature and was included in a 2003 album compiled for Epstein’s 50th birthday.
The letter was subsequently released publicly by Congress, which subpoenaed the records from Epstein’s estate. Trump denied writing it, calling the story “false, malicious, and defamatory.”
Attorneys for the newspaper and Murdoch had asked Gayles to rule that the article’s statements were true and therefore couldn’t be defamatory, but the judge wrote that “whether President Trump was the author of the Letter or Epstein’s friend are questions of fact that cannot be determined at this stage of the litigation,” Gayles wrote.
The ruling marks yet another blow in the Trump administration’s efforts to manage fallout over its release of the Epstein files and the president’s attempts to use the legal system to chill reporting he finds critical of him.
Neither the White House nor a spokesperson for Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal, immediately responded to requests for comment.
Florida
16-year-old charged with sexually assaulting and killing stepsister on a cruise ship
MIAMI (AP) — A 16-year-old boy has been charged with murder and aggravated sexual abuse in Florida in the death of his 18-year-old stepsister on a Carnival Cruise ship, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.
The teen, identified by the government as T.H., was initially charged as a juvenile on Feb. 2, but the case was sealed until U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom ordered that he would be prosecuted as an adult, the department said.
An email and voicemail seeking comment from T.H.’s lawyer about the indictment were not immediately returned.
Anna Kepner had been traveling on the Carnival Horizon ship in November with her family. Before the ship was scheduled to return to Florida, her body was found concealed under a bed in a room she was sharing with two other teens, including the younger stepbrother.
The cause of death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, which is when an object or physical force stops someone from breathing.
Massachusetts
Developer of offshore wind farm sues to stop turbine manufacturer from walking away
The developer of a major Massachusetts offshore wind farm is suing its turbine manufacturer seeking to force it to stay with the project.
Vineyard Wind filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Massachusetts against GE Renewables. That comes after the parent company for GE Renewables said it would be terminating its contracts for turbine services and maintenance at the end of April.
GE Vernova says Vineyard Wind owes it $300 million for work it performed. But Vineyard Wind counters that the manufacturer remains on the hook for about $545 million to make up for a catastrophic turbine blade collapse in July 2024 and the delays that caused.
Fiberglass fragments of a blade broke apart and began washing onto Nantucket beaches in July 2024 during the peak of tourist season. GE Vernova agreed to pay $10.5 million in a settlement to compensate island businesses that suffered losses.
The lawsuit states that the project already has been significantly damaged by GE Renewable’s “inexcusably poor performance,” and allowing the contractor to back out now would case irreparable harm. Craig Gilvarg, spokesman for Vineyard Wind, said Friday that the lawsuit is meant to ensure that GE Renewables fulfills its obligations to the project “and to the people of Massachusetts and New England who are relying on the significant power and economic benefits this project is already providing.” He said Vineyard Wind is expected to provide $3.7 billion in savings to electric customers over the life of the project.
GE Vernova said the company is exercising its right to terminate agreements for nonpayment for work performed.
“The company remains committed to the safety of the wind farm and stands by our performance and our contractual obligations,” the company said in a statement. “We will vigorously defend our position through the appropriate legal process.”
Construction finished on Vineyard Wind in March, making it the first project to reach this stage during President Donald Trump’s time in office. It had already been providing power to the grid for over a year as more turbines were finished. It is expected to reach full operations in the coming months.
According to the lawsuit, GE Renewables is the only company able to perform the remaining work, and it would be virtually impossible to find another turbine supplier willing to take its place. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
GE Vernova has said that insufficient bonding at one of its factories in Canada was responsible for the blade coming apart and that there was no indication of a design flaw. Sixty-eight out of the 72 blades that had been installed at Vineyard Wind at the time were removed and replaced. Vineyard Wind said that set the project behind nearly two years.
The Trump administration has been particularly critical of the project because of the blade failure.
It was one of five major East Coast offshore wind projects the Trump administration halted construction on days before Christmas, citing national security concerns. Developers and states sued, and federal judges allowed all five to resume construction, essentially concluding that the government did not show that the national security risk was so imminent that construction must halt.
Vineyard Wind is a joint venture between Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, located 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Massachusetts. It has 62 turbines that will generate a total of 800 megawatts. That is enough clean electricity to power about 400,000 homes.
