Midwest
Wisconsin woman pleads guilty to killing her sex trafficker after arguing it was legal
A Milwaukee woman who argued she was legally allowed to a kill a man because he was sexually trafficking her pleaded guilty Thursday to a reduced count of reckless homicide.
Chrystul Kizer’s decision means she’ll avoid trial and a possible life sentence. It also leaves open the question of whether a state law that grants sex trafficking victims immunity for any offense committed while they were being trafficked extends all the way to homicide.
Kizer’s attorneys, Gregory Holdahl and Helmi Hamad, didn’t immediately respond to email and voicemail messages seeking comment.
CHRYSTUL KIZER, ACCUSED OF KILLING HER ALLEGED ABUSER, ARRESTED IN LOUISIANA AFTER 2 WEEKS ON THE RUN
Prosecutors allege Kizer shot 34-year-old Randall Volar at his Kenosha home in 2018, when she was just 17 years old. She then burned his house down and stole his BMW, they allege. She was charged with multiple counts, including first-degree intentional homicide, arson, car theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Chrystul Kizer is pictured during a hearing in the Kenosha County Courthouse on November 15, 2019. Her lawyers, public defenders Larisa Vargas Benitez-Morgan, left, and Carl Johnson talk during the hearing. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Kizer, now 23, argued that she met Volar on a sex trafficking website. He had been molesting her and selling her as a prostitute over the year leading up to his death, she argued. She told detectives that she shot him after he tried to touch her.
Her attorneys argued that Kizer couldn’t be held criminally liable for any of it under a 2008 state law that absolves sex trafficking victims of “any offense committed as a direct result” of being trafficked. Most states have passed similar laws over the last 10 years providing sex trafficking victims at least some level of criminal immunity.
Prosecutors countered that Wisconsin legislators couldn’t possibly have intended for protections to extend to homicide. Anti-violence groups flocked to Kizer’s defense, arguing in court briefs that trafficking victims feel trapped and sometimes feel as if they have to take matters into their own hands. The state Supreme Court ruled in 2022 that Kizer could raise the defense during trial.
But that won’t happen now. Online court records show Kizer pleaded guilty during a hearing Thursday morning to a count of second-degree reckless homicide. Prosecutors dismissed all the other charges.
Kenosha County Circuit Judge Michael Wilk is set to sentence her on Aug. 19. The second-degree reckless homicide charge carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. First-degree intentional homicide carries a mandatory life sentence.
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Nebraska
Erstad joins Nebraska golf program
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Like his father, Zack Erstad is a Husker. Erstad, the son of Hall of Fame baseball player Darin Erstad, joined the Nebraska men’s golf program on Tuesday.
Zack signed with the Huskers one month after winning a state championship at Lincoln East. With the Spartans, Erstad was a two-time NSAA champion. He was Class A’s individual runner-up in 2026. The previous year, Erstad claimed the Nebraska Junior PGA Championship title.
Erstad said joining the Huskers is a dream come true. The Nebraska newcomer grew up playing baseball and hockey. However, he focused solely on golf while in high school.
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Copyright 2026 KOLN. All rights reserved.
North Dakota
June ND severe weather recap: 5 tornadoes, damaging winds impact numerous towns
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Rounds of severe thunderstorms impacted many parts of North Dakota in June.
June 3 saw damaging straight-line winds in Rolette County, estimated up to 95 mph based on the damage observed.
June 7 brought two tornadoes to northern North Dakota, one of which caused damage to a property. The complexes of storms that Sunday evening also caused extensive wind damage, with 80-100 mph gusts estimated in many towns.
June 9 delivered more damaging wind, especially to the town of Sawyer, where lots of trees were knocked down. 90 mph winds were estimated there, as well as in rural northwest McHenry County at a property that sustained damage.
- Storm cleanup underway in Sawyer as questions raised over warning siren
- Sawyer declares wind emergency as storm cleanup continues

After a break from widespread severe thunderstorms in the middle of the month, the final weekend of June brought more activity.
A tornado touched down north of Belfield on June 27, doing damage to a property. Meanwhile, another swath of damaging winds moved across the region, with western ND seeing the worst of it. Damage west of Williston was estimated to be caused by near 100 mph winds.
- NWS completes surveys of tornado & t-storm wind damage from the weekend
- Severe weather causes damage, displaces residents in Williston area

June 28 also saw a tornado touch down near Riverdale and Coleharbor amid another severe weather outbreak, bringing the month’s tornado total to five.
Hail was also a common threat during the month, with June 29 delivering large hail to towns like Mandan, north Bismarck, and Max.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
Ohio
‘Pure evil’: Adults arrested after 16 children found in deplorable conditions in Ohio home
Authorities arrested four adults on felony child endangerment charges after discovering 16 children in dire need of medical treatment Tuesday in a rural southern Ohio home.
The Ohio Bureau of Investigation and local sheriff’s department searched a home in the small village of Hamden, where they found the kids in what officials called “deplorable” conditions.”
“Conditions you cannot even imagine people being in, let alone children being in,” Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson said at a news conference.
Law enforcement arrested Gary Siders Jr., Gary Siders Sr., Christina Siders and Elizabeth Siders. They have not yet been arraigned and assigned public defenders.
Vinton County prosecuting attorney William Archer said they were being charged with second-degree felony child endangering because it involves “serious physical harm.”
Officials did not confirm if the children were related but said it was not a human trafficking situation. They said the adults were not locals and appeared to have been traveling.
Hamden has a population of less than 1,000 people and is about 60 miles southeast of Columbus.
The children ranged from ages 1.5 to 18 and included both boys and girls, officials said. Several were in serious conditions when found, and two had to be flown to level one trauma centers because of their injuries.
Wilson said it was the worst scene he had ever encountered in his entire career, describing what he saw as “pure evil.”
Law enforcement were also executing a secondary search warrant at the home Tuesday, and the investigation is ongoing. The four adults will appear in court Wednesday morning.
“Justice will be served for these children,” Wilson said.
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