DES MOINES, IOWA (April 16, 2025) — Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has announced the launch of the new Iowa Cold Case playing card deck to help crack Iowa’s more than 400 unsolved murders. The announcement was made in a press conference at the Des Moines Police Department. Speakers at the press conference also included:
- Steve Ponsetto, Investigator and lead of the Iowa cold case unit in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office
- Haley Elliott, niece to Ruthie Kingery-Pohlmeier
- Brandi Weber, granddaughter to Bill and Kay Wood
- Josh Okland, brother to Ashley Okland
- Brittany Okland, sister to Ashley Okland
- Sheriff Jason Sandholt, Marion County Sheriff
- Chief Michael McTaggart, Des Moines Police Department, Chief of Police
“Every name in this cold case playing card deck represents more than just an unsolved case,” said AG Bird. “Each card is a life, a story, and a family searching for answers. Our hope is that this new cold case card deck will help bring long-awaited answers to those families. I thank the Kingery-Pohlmeier, Wood, and Okland families for sharing their stories with us today. These cards give law enforcement another tool to crack cases and hold criminals accountable. No one should get away with murder.”
The Iowa cold case card deck includes 52 unsolved cases from across Iowa, including homicides, missing persons, and unidentified remains cases. The decks will be distributed to inmates within Iowa’s nine state correctional facilities in an effort to generate new leads.
To submit a cold case tip, contact the Iowa Attorney General’s office at 1-800-242-5100 or coldcase@ag.iowa.gov.
