[Updated] (Radio Iowa) – Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced a new tool Wednesday that she says could help solve cold case murders.  “Today, I’m announcing the launch of the new Iowa Cold Case playing cards,” she says. Bird says the decks of 52 cards include information on some of the people in the cold cases. “Primarily, they’ll be going to prisons and jails because, often times, whether it’s someone in a jail setting or in a prison setting, they might know or have heard something about a cold case,” Bird says. “So that’s where they’re going first, and we’ll also go out to county jails as well.” Bird says a special committee reviewed the more than 400 Iowa cold cases to select the ones to go on the cards.

“And cases in this deck, they range from unsolved homicides to missing persons cases to unidentified remains cases. And these are the cases that continue to cast a shadow over our communities,” Bird says. Bird says they hope seeing the information will bring in some clues. “Our goal is simple. We want to start a conversation. We want to start or spark a memory, and Someone might recognize a name. They might overhear or remember a conversation, or they might even feel that weight of a long-held secret that they never should have kept,” Bird says. The Attorney General launched the cold case unit last year. Steve Ponsetto is the lead investigator for the unit and says other states have had some success with using cold case cards.

Iowa AG Brenna Bird unveils the new Cold Case deck of cards (4-16-25)

“My last information was Connecticut, for example, had these cards for approximately a decade, and they’ve solved 20. Kansas recently got these cards within the last couple of years, and I know of at least one they’ve solved,” Ponsetto says. The Attorney General says various groups involved in solving cold cases paid for the cold case cards.

The cards include:

• The 10 of diamonds is realtor Ashley Okland. In 2011, she was holding an open house in Des Moines and was shot twice.
• The three of hearts is Bill and Kay Wood. In 2011, their home in rural Norwalk was set on fire. Bill was found dead inside, and Kay has never been found. Their truck was later found in Kansas City, Missouri.
• Ruthie Kingery-Pohlmeier’s case is on the six of diamonds. In 2004, she was found brutally beaten to death and wrapped in a blanket next to the former AMF Bowling Alley on East 14th Street in Des Moines.
• The two of clubs is Bobbi Crawford, of Hampton. She was found beaten to death in her home in 1999.

To submit a cold case tip, contact the Iowa Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-242-5100 or email ColdCase@ag.iowa.gov.