Woman sentenced to 11 years in prison for killing her sex trafficker

WISCONSIN – A Milwaukee woman who argued she was immune from prosecution, because the man she fatally shot was sexually trafficking her was sentenced Monday to 11 years in prison, according to Kenosha County Court documents. Chrystul Kizer – who earlier this year pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in the case – will also serve five years parole, Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley told CNN in an email Monday. “The 11 years is minus … 570 days because she has served those awaiting trial,” said Graveley.

 

Kizer shot Randall Volar, 34, at his Kenosha, Wisconsin, home in 2018 when she was 17 years old, Kenosha County Court prosecutors said. Kizer shot Volar in the head, burned his house down and stole his BMW, The Associated Press reported. She initially was charged with multiple counts, including first-degree intentional homicide, arson, car theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

She was 16 years old when she met Randal P. Volar III, 33, at a bus stop. He offered to give her a ride home, then got her number. The next time they met, according to Chrystul, he took her to dinner and shopping  then made clear what he expected in return. For two years, Volar regularly engaged in sexual abuse of Chrystul, and without her knowing it, filmed their interactions. Little did she know, Volar was under investigation by local police for abusing and filming many more girls  but they had not yet arrested him.

One night, after resisting his advances, Chrystul shot Volar in the head. She lit his house on fire and fled in his car. After posting about the crime on Facebook Live, she was arrested and charged with his murder. Now, her case is at the center of a nationwide debate, taking place in the post Me Too era, about what it means to be a victim, which women are believed, and who should be held accountable

 

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court ruled in 2022 a state law absolving trafficking victims of criminal liability for offenses committed as a direct result of being trafficked extends to first-degree intentional homicide. The court ruled Kizer’s legal team should have the opportunity to present evidence at trial that the crimes she was charged with were “a direct result of the violence she experienced,” according to a statement from the Chicago Community Bond Fund. (CNN) …[+]