On Monday morning, a Wisconsin woman admitted to killing her longstanding alleged rapist and then setting fire to his house. She was sentenced to more than a decade in state prison.
Chrystul Kizer, 23, became an internet sensation after being charged with first-degree murder, arson, theft, and other crimes in connection with the death of Randall Phillip Volar, III, 34, in 2018.
The judicial procedure has been lengthy and tortuous as news of her controversial case spread over the following months and years — as victims’ rights advocates marched, spoke, and gathered donations on her behalf — but it finally came to a close this week. In a courtroom purposefully free of video cameras, Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge David P. Wilk imposed a combined 16-year sentence consisting of 11 years in prison and five years of extended supervision.
In May, the now-condemned woman pled guilty to one count of reckless homicide in the second degree.
The plea deal resulted in a sentence of less than half the statutory maximum of 25 years in state prison for the admitted offense, which is significantly more merciful than a potential life term if she was proven guilty of murder after a trial.
For years, Kizer’s defense attorneys appeared to be preparing to provide jurors with a highly detailed and forceful self-defense argument — an affirmative defense bolstered by the woman’s alleged tortured treatment at the hands of the guy she killed.
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Volar allegedly began sexually abusing Kizer at the age of 16, capturing his crimes on tape as part of his history of producing child sexual abuse material, as well as forcing her to work as an unwilling prostitute for other men, frequently many times per day.
When she was 17, Kizer shot Volar twice in the head. After that, she set fire to his body and left in his car. The woman was one of many teenage Black victims that authorities suspect the affluent, white pedophile had been exploiting for a while.
Volar had been on the radar of law enforcement for quite some time. At the time of his death, he was charged with child enticement, using a computer to facilitate a child sex offense and second-degree sexual assault on a minor.
Kizer was one of several teenage Black victims who authorities believe the affluent, white suspected pedophile abused.
When Volar was arrested for those crimes, authorities stated they discovered “hundreds” of recordings containing child sexual abuse material, as well as more than 20 “home videos” of Volar sexually abusing Black youngsters.
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In July 2022, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Kizer could rely on a law that provides victims of human trafficking or child sex trafficking “an affirmative defense for any offense committed as a direct result” of said trafficking “without regard to whether anyone was prosecuted or convicted” for the underlying sex crime or crimes.
In other words, the law allows a victim of trafficking to be cleared of all trafficking-related crimes.
While on pretrial release, Kizer’s case—and her life in general—took a turn for the worst late last year and early this year.
In February, federal agents detained her in Louisiana on a bail-jumping warrant out of Kenosha County. According to a motion to increase bail, Kizer was charged with one count of disorderly conduct in Milwaukee County and four counts of bail jumping in Kenosha County the previous month, one of which stemmed from her allegedly changing her address without notifying the court.
Kizer was wanted for nearly two weeks before being apprehended by U.S. Marshals in Lafayette Parish, along with the guy she said attempted to rape her during a domestic disturbance call.
On January 7, Kizer informed Milwaukee police that she had recently discovered the man she was staying with was a registered sex offender and accused him of lying. A series of disputes erupted, during which officers battled to keep Kizer and the man separated. Police further claim that Kizer repeatedly threatened the man with violence and “continued to yell and act belligerently.”
Kizer was extradited to Wisconsin and entered into plea bargains, which sealed her fate in the Volar case. The charges linked to the domestic violence call are not included in the homicide case, and Kenosha County prosecutors have made no indication that they intend to drop them.