Chrystul Kizer pleads guilty in 2018 Kenosha County homicide, avoids possible life sentence

A Milwaukee woman charged in the 2018 death of a man she claimed sexually trafficked her as a teen pleaded guilty Thursday to a reduced count of reckless homicide.

Chrystul Kizer’s decision, reached Thursday in Kenosha County Circuit Court, spares the 23-year-old a trial and a possible life sentence.

Kenosha County District Attorney Michael G. Graveley told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he's going to push for prison time for Kizer, but that prosecutors have yet to decide exactly how much they will recommend for the judge to consider.

Attempts to reach Kizer's lawyers, Helmi Hamad and Gregory Holdahl, for comment were unsuccessful.

What's next for Chrystul Kizer?

Sentencing is set for Aug. 19 before Judge David Wilk.

Kizer was 17 when she was charged with first-degree intentional homicide in Randall P. Volar's June 2018 death. A conviction on that charge would have resulted in a life sentence.

Volar, 34, of Kenosha, was already under investigation by the Kenosha Police Department for suspected sexual conduct with underage girls as young as 12 at the time of the incident.

Under her plea agreement, Kizer also pleaded guilty to using a dangerous weapon to cause the death of Volar as a result of “criminally reckless conduct.” That charge subjects her to a maximum of more than two decades in prison.

Kizer's case drew widespread attention to laws that protect victims of human trafficking

The plea is a development in a legal odyssey that spanned several years, touching off debate concerning the limits and merits of a Wisconsin law that shields trafficking victims from being punished for crimes committed as a direct result of having been trafficked.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in 2022 Kizer could use the law as part of her defense.

Here's what prosecutors say happened to Randall P. Volar

Prosecutors say Kizer went to Volar's home on June 5, 2018, shot him in the head, set a fire in his home and stole his BMW, computer and cash. They say the killing was a premeditated crime to steal the car.

Kizer's lawyers argued she had snapped after years of abuse by Volar and had planned to argue an affirmative defense, a Wisconsin state law that allows one to be acquitted of all charges if a crime was committed as a direct result of being trafficked.

Her bail initially was set at $1 million. It was reduced in February 2020 to $400,000, which was later posed by The Chrystul Kizer Defense Committee, Chicago Community Bond Fund, Milwaukee Freedom Fund and Survived & Punished.

She was ordered at the time of her release to not commit any other crimes.

Milwaukee County prosecutors charged Kizer in January with a single misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct, and domestic violence in an incident that allegedly occurred at a home in Milwaukee while she was out on release.

Three other charges — taking and driving a vehicle without consent, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and bail jumping — were dismissed.

Kizer also faced a felony charge of arson to a building without consent. That charge also was dismissed but will be read into the record later for sentencing purposes.

Online court records show the charges against Kizer in Milwaukee County are still open. She has a hearing scheduled for June 6.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Chrystul Kizer pleads guilty in 2018 Kenosha County killing