What on earth is it about this evidence that makes it more compelling now than when they had it the weeks after the crime in 2011?
This is really very concerning. A great deal of potential evidence is going to be no longer accessible. Even if her phone still exists, the devices of everyone else almost certainly do not, thus cutting off any exculpatory evidence that might exist on those.
Having firearms, illegal substances, or posters that seem violent as in the affidavit is irrelevant because they made no assertion any of those belonged to her or were linked to the murder. The passage of time has made a very strong case into a very weak one.
If I were her attorney I would simply claim that the woman who called 911 was the killer.
IMO, the only difference that I'm hearing from 2011 to the recent date of arrest is that the State elected a new AG (Brenna Bird, inaugurated Jan 2023), who created a cold case unit, and appointed Scott Brown in Sept 2024 to lead the prosecution of these cases!
According to defense attorney Alfredo Parrish, an extremely rare Iowa assembled grand jury barely indicted KR for murder per the sealed transcript he reviewed.
From Parrish's professional statement made for the court as evidence, it doesn't appear there was any evidence of gunshot residue linked to KR, and police did not recover and/or seize any fire arm here during two search warrants issued for KR's property--the first search in April 2011, and the second in March 2026, where multiple weapons were present.
Also, relative to the defendant's phone and motion to quash the search warrant, it's my understanding that the subject phone did not exist in 2011.
In response, Prosecutor Brown did not dispute Parrish's professional statement, presented no evidence, and called no witnesses.
I think there's a good chance KR will be granted modified bond conditions. Had this not been an arrest by grand jury indictment and a preliminary hearing held, I'd say the State failed the "proof evident or the presumption great" standard, derived from Article I, Section 12 of the Iowa Constitution, and the defense motion to modify pretrial bail granted.
To be clear, I'm not saying that KR is not responsible for the death of Ashley Okland, but when the State struggles to convince a grand jury to indict a lifetime resident with no criminal record-- one who produces 70 character references from the community (i.e., the jury pool) in support of pretrial bond release, and where the defense is ready with two possible alternate suspects, at this time, I'm envisioning a trial where one juror might have reasonable doubt to put KR away for life. MOO
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