This article mentions sexual assault. Please read with caution.
In 2020, Chrystul Kizer of Kenosha, Wisconsin, accused of killing Randall P. Volar III, was released from custody after several community groups raised her bail. Volar was suspected of sexually trafficking and abusing Kizer, a teenager, when Volar died, and two years later, it seemed Kizer’s charges might be dropped.
A judge told Kizer, however, that she could not commit any other crimes as a condition of her 2020 release. But in early 2024, Kizer was back on the run. In mid-February, Kizer was caught in Louisiana, and as of this report, she was expected to be extradited to Wisconsin. Here’s what Kizer allegedly did to find herself on the wrong side of the law.
Kizer was charged with a misdemeanor
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, in Jan. 2023, Kizer, now 23, was accused of a single disorderly conduct and domestic violence misdemeanor while out on bail. As a result, she was charged with four counts of felony bail jumping, and she fled the state. Kizer says the January domestic violence incident in Milwaukee involved an attempted rape.
When the authorities caught up with Kizer in Louisiana, however, she was with David Melton, age 47, the registered sex offender who she alleges sexually assaulted her in January, FOX6now.com reported. With her new charges, Kizer risks forfeiting the $400,000 bail relating to Randall P. Volar III’s 2018 death.
Volar III was under investigation for child sex abuse
When Chrystul Kizer shot and killed Randall Volar III, who was 34 when he died, he was under investigation for sexually abusing girls as young as 12. He had allegedly sexually and physically abused Kizer for months. As well as shooting Volar, Kizer is accused of setting his house on fire and stealing his car, and Kizer never denied she pulled the trigger.
Given the circumstances of the case, several community organizations, including The Chrystul Kizer Defense Committee, Chicago Community Bond Fund, and the Milwaukee Freedom Fund, worked together to raise bail. In July 2022, The Washington Post reported Kizer could be acquitted of all charges, based on a Wisconsin court ruling.
That court decision was based on a Wisconsin law stating sex trafficking victims could either be acquitted of crimes committed while trafficked or have the opportunity to face lesser charges, which, in Kizer’s case, would mean second-degree rather than first-degree homicide charges.
At that time, Kizer’s public defender, Colleen Marion, said,
“Chrystul Kizer deserves a chance to present her defense, and today’s decision will allow her to do that. While the legal process on this matter is far from over, we, along with Chrystul and her family, believe the decision today affirms the legal rights provided by Wisconsin statute to victims of sex trafficking facing criminal charges.”
via WaPo
If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.