Arrest made in West Des Moines cold case death of real estate agent

March 18, 2026 - 10:43

A major breakthrough has been announced in a long-dormant homicide investigation that shook the West Des Moines community over a decade ago. Authorities have made an arrest in the 2011 killing of real estate agent Ashley Oakland.

The twenty-seven-year-old agent was fatally shot on April 8, 2011, while showing a townhome to a prospective client. The case, which remained unsolved for years, was a painful mystery for Oakland's family, colleagues, and local residents.

After a persistent investigative effort, recent developments led a Dallas County Grand Jury to authorize a charge of first-degree murder. The charge has been filed against a fifty-three-year-old individual, whose identity is being formally processed through the judicial system. The arrest marks a pivotal moment in a case that had grown cold.

Police officials expressed hope that this development will provide a measure of closure for the victim's loved ones. The community, which has long remembered the tragic loss of a young professional in the line of her work, now watches as the legal process begins to move forward.