A Milwaukee woman has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after fatally shooting a man she claimed was sexually trafficking her, according to Kenosha County Court documents. Chrystul Kizer, 24, was sentenced on Monday, ending a six-year legal battle that has garnered significant attention.
Kizer, who is Black, argued she was trafficked by Randall Volar, 34, who was White, beginning when she was 16. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that 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. This ruling allowed Kizer’s legal team to present evidence 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.
However, the court also specified that Kizer must first provide evidence to a trial judge that her decision to kill Volar was connected to her being trafficked before she could invoke immunity, the AP reported. Kizer maintains that Volar’s death was a result of self-defense. In May, she pleaded guilty to a reduced count of reckless homicide, according to court documents.
Kizer was initially charged with first-degree intentional homicide, arson, car theft, and possession of a firearm after she shot Volar in the head, set his house on fire, and stole his BMW. At the time of the shooting in June 2018, Kizer was 17 years old. She had put a gun in her bookbag and traveled from Milwaukee to Volar’s home in Kenosha after telling her boyfriend she was going to shoot him because she was tired of him touching her.
During the sentencing, Kenosha County Judge David Wilk addressed Kizer directly, stating, “The court is well aware of your circumstances surrounding your relationship with Mr. Volar. You are not permitted to be the instrument of his reckoning. To hold otherwise is to endorse a descent into lawlessness and chaos.”
In addition to the 11-year prison term, Kizer will serve five years of parole. Kenosha County District Attorney Michael Graveley clarified that Kizer’s sentence is reduced by 570 days she has already served awaiting trial, meaning she will likely serve about nine-and-a-half years in total.
Before the sentencing, Kizer appealed for leniency, quoting the Book of Genesis and Psalms. “I don’t know where to start, but I’m asking for your generosity in my sentence today,” she said. “I understand that I committed sins that put the Volar family in a lot of pain.”
Kizer’s legal team had argued that she should be immune from prosecution based on an affirmative defense, claiming her actions were a response to the abuse she endured.
Other POP! stories you might like:
JTBC Newsroom under investigation for airing wrong CCTV footage while reporting BTS SUGA’s DUI case
Social media rally for spoken word artist’s cancellation amid sexual harassment claims
Ben&Ben speaks up on Tanya Markova’s accusations, seeks to clear up confusion
‘We were not informed’: Olympians Finnegan and Malabuyo address absence from heroes’ welcome
‘Seen this film before?’: Filipinos express concern, feel déjà vu over Mpox emergency and Taal smog
