Chrystul Kizer case
Chrystul Kizer was arrested at age 17 for the murder of Randall Phillip Volar III, who was her sex trafficker. On June 5, 2018 she shot him twice, set his house on fire, and left the scene in his car.[1] Kizer was later arrested and incarcerated at Kenosha County Detention Facility to await trial.[2][3] Kenosha County prosecutors charged her with first degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon, and four other felonies.[2] They contend that the murder was premeditated. If convicted, she would face a mandatory life sentence in prison.[2]
| Date | June 5, 2018 |
|---|---|
| Location | Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA |
| Participants | Chrystul Kizer (accused) |
| Deaths | Randall Phillip Volar III |
| Accused | Chrystul Kizer |
| Charges | first degree intentional homicide |
| Trial | TBD |
Critics and her defense team argue that she was a child trafficking victim who acted in self-defense.[1] Her case received renewed media attention and celebrity advocacy first in December 2019 after she provided a jailhouse interview to The Washington Post, and again after the George Floyd protests.[4] Activist groups including the Chicago Community Bond Fund posted her $400,000 bond and she was released in June 2020.[1] A trial date has not been set.[5]
Background and incident
Kenosha, Wisconsin resident Chrystul Kizer met Randall "Randy" Volar III, a 34-year-old white man, on Backpage when she was 16.[3] She posted to the site after a referral from a girl she knew, and stated that she needed the money for food and school notebooks.[3] He was the first person to contact her when she joined the site.[5] She lived with him and alleged that he sexually abused her regularly and sometimes filmed the abuse for over a year.[6] Kizer alleged that he began trafficking her using Backpage and took the money she was paid.[3]
Volar was previously arrested in 2017 after a 15-year-old Black girl reported him to police for giving her drugs and threatening to kill her.[3] He was charged with child enticement, using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, and second-degree sexual assault of a child.[7] Volar was released the same day and had to pay no bail, and was told he would receive a court summons.[3] The Washington Post reported that court records demonstrated that police had evidence that Volar was abusing multiple underage Black girls and there was video evidence of the abuse.[2] Records also showed that the prosecutor's office received the evidence 12 days before Volar was killed and three months after his arrest.[6]
Kizer killed Volar on June 5, 2018 by shooting him in the head.[2] She lit his home on fire and fled the scene in his car.[5] A neighbor called 911 to report the fire at Volar's home.[3] Police found and identified his burned body and the autopsy showed the bullets in his head.[3] His car was found abandoned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The police found a receipt in the vehicle and traced it to Kizer, who was arrested at her boyfriend's home in Milwaukee.[3]
Aftermath
Kizer was incarcerated at the Kenosha County Detention Facility and bail was set at one million dollars.[4] Kenosha County charged her with first-degree intentional murder, which carries a mandatory life sentence in prison according to Wisconsin law.[3] Lead prosecutor and District Attorney Michael Graveley stated that the murder was premeditated. The prosecution agreed that Volar was an abuser,[7] but further stated that Kizer planned to steal Volar's car as indicated by being armed with the gun, and that she downloaded a police scanner app the day of the shooting.[5]
In December 2019, in her first press interview Kizer that disputed her initial police statement to The Washington Post and said she had killed him in self-defense because he had her pinned down and was attempting to sexually assault her.[2][3] Her lawyers planned to argue an "affirmative defense," a Wisconsin state law that allows one to be acquitted of all charges if a crime was committed by someone being trafficked.[3] There are no known cases where the affirmative defense has been used in an offense involving a violent crime.[3] In December 2019, Judge Wilk ruled that "Chrystul did not have access to the affirmative defense law for trafficking victims."[3]
Media attention and activism
Kizer's case received national attention after Jessica Contrera of The Washington Post covered the story in December 2019.[5] Alyssa Milano and Tarana Burke were among those who circulated information about the case on social media.[6] Critics of Kizer's arrest argued that the criminal justice system frequently punishes trafficking victims such as Kizer.[2] Sex crimes experts stated that children of color are seen as willing participants in trafficking cases.[3]
Supporters wrote letters to Kizer.[2] Cyntoia Brown-Long wrote an op-ed that outlined the similarities between their cases.[2] A petition with approximately 950,000[3] signatures circulated that requested Kizer's release and the case's dismissal in December 2019.[6] DA Graveley posted a Facebook response that stated that he would not be swayed by the petition.[6]
Kizer's mother, Devore Taylor, formed the Chrystul Kizer Defense Committee to organize around the case and to raise bail money.[5] The case received renewed attention again after the George Floyd protests,[3] and organizations such as Chicago Community Bond Fund received an influx of donations.[5]
Ongoing case
A trial date has not been set.[5] In February 2020, Judge Wilk lowered the bond amount to $400,000.[7]
At a June hearing, Kizer's public defenders stated that she had contracted COVID-19 while incarcerated and argued that she should be released to receive medical attention. The motion was denied.[5]
Kizer was released on June 22, 2020 after she posted bond raised by the Chicago Community Bond Fund, the Milwaukee Freedom Fund, Survived and Punished, and the Chrystul Kizer Defense Committee.[6][2][5]
References
- Holcombe, Madeline (2020-06-24). "A teenager accused of killing her alleged sex trafficker is released from jail on $400,000 bond". CNN. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- Brooks, Ryan (2020-06-23). "Chrystul Kizer, A 19-Year-Old Sex Trafficking Victim Who Killed Her Abuser, Has Been Released From Jail". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- Contrera, Jessica (2019-12-23). "She met her abuser at 16. Then, police said, she killed him". The Washington Post.
- Fortin, Jacey (2020-06-23). "Chrystul Kizer, Teen Charged With Killing Sexual Abuser, Is Released on Bond". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- O'Connell, Oliver (2020-06-23). "US trafficking victim leaves jail after two years as activists raise $400,000 bail". The Independent. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
- Contrera, Jessica (2019-12-31). "Activists, celebrities call for Chrystul Kizer's release in sex trafficking murder case: Amid the pressure, a Wisconsin district attorney took to Facebook to defend his office's decision to prosecute Kizer, now 19". The Washington Post.
- "Milwaukee Teen Accused of Killing Her Abuser Freed on Bond After 2 Years". Time. Associated Press. 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2020-07-18.
External links
- Defense committee—Official website
- ABC 30—Video: "Wisconsin teen faces life in prison for killing alleged sex trafficker"