A Wisconsin Woman Who Said She Properly Killed a Sex Trafficker is Going to Prison for 11 Years
KENOSHA, Wis. — A woman in Milwaukee said she could legally kill a man because he was sexually exploiting her. On Monday, she was given 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of reckless murder.
Chrystul Kizer was found guilty in the 2018 death of Randall Volar, 34, and was given a term of 11 years in prison followed by 5 years of extended supervision. She got 570 days of time served, which is about one and a half years.
The judge did not allow Kizer to take part in any early release programs at the Department of Corrections. The Wisconsin State Public Defender’s office says she should be free in 2033.
Kizer admitted to killing Volar without intending to, which kept her from going to trial and avoiding a possible life term.
Police say Kizer shot Volar at his home in Kenosha in 2018 when she was only 17. They also say she set fire to his house and stole his BMW. Kizer was charged with many things, such as first-degree intentional homicide, setting fires, car theft, and having a gun while being a criminal.
Now 24 years old, Kizer said she met Volar on a website for people who trade sex. She said that in the year before he died, he had abused her and was using her as a prostitute. She told the police that she shot him because he tried to touch her.
According to a state law from 2008, Kizer couldn’t be charged with any of it because she was a victim of sex trafficking and hadn’t done “any offense committed as a direct result” of being trafficked. Over the last 10 years, most states have passed similar rules that protect sex trafficking victims from being charged with crimes.
Against this, prosecutors said that Wisconsin lawmakers could not have meant for provisions to cover murder. Many groups against violence came to Kizer’s defense, writing in court papers that trafficking victims often feel trapped and like they need to take things into their own hands. In 2022, the state Supreme Court said Kizer could use his case while he was being tried.