Woman who fatally shot, burned the body, house of a man who repeatedly raped and ‘forced her into prostitution’ is sentenced

August 20, 2024 Sharon Banks

Chrystul Kizer, a 23-year-old Wisconsin woman who admitted to killing her longtime rapist and setting his house on fire, was sentenced to over a decade in state prison on Monday.

Kizer became a widely discussed figure online after being charged with first-degree murder, arson, theft and other related charges following the 2018 death of 34-year-old Randall Phillip Volar III.

The legal battle surrounding Kizer’s case has been extensive, drawing attention from victim rights advocates who supported her cause.

After years of legal wrangling, Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge David P. Wilk sentenced her to a combined 16-year sentence, consisting of 11 years in prison followed by five years of extended supervision.

This decision was made in a courtroom intentionally free of video cameras.

In May, Kizer pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree reckless homicide as part of a plea deal. This agreement secured her a sentence less than half the statutory maximum of 25 years, a much more lenient outcome compared to the potential life sentence she could have faced if found guilty of murder at trial.

Kizer’s defense team had long been prepared to argue a self-defense case, emphasizing the torturous treatment she endured at the hands of Volar.

According to the defense, Volar began sexually abusing Kizer when she was 16, recording his acts as part of his production of child sexual abuse material. He also “forced her into prostitution,” making her work for other men multiple times a day.

When Kizer was 17, she shot Volar twice in the head, set his body on fire and fled in his car. Authorities believe that Kizer was just one of many underage victims the wealthy man had been abusing for some time.

At the time of his death, Volar was facing charges for child enticement, using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime and second-degree sexual assault of a child. Investigators found “hundreds” of videos of child sexual abuse material and more than 20 home videos showing Volar sexually abusing children.

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 with an affirmative defense for any offense committed as a direct result of said trafficking.

This law allows victims to be acquitted of any charges related to their trafficking, regardless of whether the perpetrator was prosecuted or convicted for the underlying sex crimes.

Upon release and awaiting trial, Kizer’s situation took a significant downturn late last year and earlier this year. In February, federal authorities arrested her in Louisiana on a bail-jumping warrant issued by Kenosha County.

Prior to that, in January, Kizer was charged with one count of disorderly conduct in Milwaukee County and four counts of bail jumping in Kenosha County. One of the bail-jumping charges was due to her changing her address without notifying the court, according to a motion to increase her bail.

Kizer was wanted for nearly two weeks before U.S. Marshals located her in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana. She was found with a man who she claimed had tried to rape her during a domestic disturbance incident.

Kizer told Milwaukee police that she had just discovered the man she was staying with was a registered sex offender and accused him of lying. This led to a series of arguments between them, during which officers had difficulty keeping the two apart.

Police reports indicate that Kizer repeatedly threatened the man with violence and “continued to yell and act belligerently.”

As a result of these incidents, Kizer now faces additional felony charges. She was extradited back to Wisconsin, where she entered into plea negotiations related to her original case involving the death of Randall Volar.

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However, Kenosha County prosecutors have given no indication of dropping the charges regarding the domestic violence incident.