Woman accused of killing her sex trafficker gets bond lowered from $1M to $400K
KENOSHA - A young woman facing life in prison for allegedly killing her sex trafficker in Kenosha appeared for a hearing to lower her bond. Chrystul Kizer says she killed a man in self-defense. But prosecutors hope to use newly-revealed text messages and a voicemail to prove that the murder was premeditated.
Chrystul Kizer
Kizer, 19, sat quietly before a Kenosha County circuit judge on Thursday morning, Feb. 6. She stands accused of killing 34-year-old Randall Volar, setting his Kenosha house on fire, and stealing his car in June 2018.
A Washington Post investigation revealed Volar had been trafficking Kizer and other underage girls. Volar was charged with child sex abuse. He was out on bail when he was killed.
"Literally seconds before Mr. Volar is shot and killed, this defendant is downloading an app to be sure she has access to the Kenosha Police Department scanner," said Kenosha County District Attorney Mike Graveley.
The prosecution also revealed new evidence apparently from Kizer's phone -- including text messages.
"She says it's gonna splatter everywhere because she looked it up on Google," Graveley said. "She is communicating with a friend and saying, 'I'm going to get a BMW."
Also, a voicemail allegedly left by Kizer minutes after the shooting.
"Bragging, saying something to the effect of, 'Oh boy, I did it,'" Graveley said.
Kizer's case has a following across the country. A Change.org petition for her charges to be dropped now has more than 138,000 signatures. Her attorney argues whether or not this was planned, it was done in self-defense and for the greater good.
"It is disgusting to see some of the things that this gentleman was doing to girls. Children. People far younger than Ms. Kizer," said Defense Attorney Larisa Benitez-Morgan.
Chrystul Kizer
There is a law allowing victims to be acquitted for committing a crime while trafficked. The judge has said that the law could not be applied to Kizer's whole case. That is being appealed by Kizer's attorneys.
Kizer's bond was reduced on Thursday from $1 million to $400,000.