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High Court Victory for Chrystul Kizer But Not Off the Hook Yet

July 6, 2022 9:30a

(WGTD)---The teenager who shot and killed a Kenosha man whom she later claimed was trying to traffic her won a round at the Wisconsin Supreme Court Wednesday.

On a 4-3 vote, the justices ruled that Chrystul Kizer can try to use an affirmative defense that if successful would absolve her from any criminal liability in the 2018 killing of Randall Volar. Kizer was 17 at the time.

The defense would work only if a jury believes her story. 

A status conference in the murder case that's before Kenosha Judge David Wilk is scheduled for September. Kizer remains free on a $400,000 bond that was posted by an aid group after she spent two years in jail.

The case has received national attention. 

Wednesday's Supreme Court ruling upheld the finding of an appeals court, which had reversed Wilk's decision on the matter. 

Comments in a separate opinion from Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley illustrated just how complex the case is. She said the state statute in question "befuddles" the justices, and she called the dissenting opinion from the three justices "well-reasoned." But Bradley still sided with the majority. 

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