Aug. 19, 2024 2:30p
(WGTD)---The woman who killed a man who was sex trafficking young girls will be spending the next nine-and-a-half years in prison.
24-year-old Chrystul Kizer was sentenced Monday by Judge David Wilk. She had pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of reckless homicide, avoiding a trial and a possible 1st Degree Intentional Homicide conviction and a mandatory life sentence.
In court Monday, the prosecution and defense agreed on many things, but differed on a few key points.
Prosecutor Mike Graveley noted that Kizer—both before and after the 2018 shooting of Randall Volar—spelled out in text messages what she had planned to do, then afterward bragged about it on social media.
Defense attorney Jennifer Bias downplayed the online evidence, maintaining instead that the murder was a spontaneous act brought on by an argument.
Bias also maintained that the 34-year-old Volar, after spending time and money grooming Kizer and having sex with her, forced her to have sex with other men. "She absolutely is a sex trafficking victim," Bias said.
Graveley argued that the evidence doesn't support the contention that Kizer was sold for sex.
But he left no doubt that Volar regularly paid for sex with underaged females and filmed the assaults.
He said the socially-awkward Volar paid for sex with money he had made by investing in Bitcoin. Up until then, Volar, who had several physical deformities, had worked in nursing homes and gas stations.
In her argument for leniency, defense attorney Bias described how Kizer as a child had been sexually assaulted by her mother’s boyfriend. Kizer, the oldest of several siblings, also witnessed domestic violence as she grew up in poverty.
In passing sentence, Judge Wilk said Kizer’s childhood experiences helped to explain but did not excuse her actions.
He also referenced her multiple, conflicting stories of what happened on the night of the murder, saying it appeared Kizer’s relationship with the truth was ”fluid and opportunistic.”
Kizer’s eleven-year prison term was about half of what she could’ve received. She was given credit for 570 days of time served.
Kizer had no visible reaction when the sentence was pronounced.
The case had drawn national attention because Kizer—before agreeing to plead guilty to the reduced charge of reckless homicide—had invoked a law that protects victims of sex trafficking from criminal liability for any actions that are tied to the trafficking.
Kizer spoke briefly, beginning her comments by quoting verses from the Bible. She had gotten baptized while in jail awaiting the resolution of her case, Bias said.
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