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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Wisconsin
Missing Wisconsin teen Joniah Walker found safe 4 years after disappearing from home
A missing Wisconsin teen was found safe after mysteriously vanishing from home four years ago as her family had believed she was “lured away.”
Joniah Walker, 19, was safely discovered on May 25, the Milwaukee Police Department told WISN on Tuesday.
Police officials didn’t disclose where Walker was found or provide any further information on the case, including whether the teen was with someone else.
Walker, then 15, had disappeared from her Milwaukee home on June 23, 2022.
Walker’s mother, Tanesha Howard, said she last saw her daughter lying in bed when she left for work the morning of her disappearance, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
“Joniah was lying in bed because she had just finished school. I went in to give her a hug before leaving for work,” Howard told the organization.
The mother and daughter duo had talked on the phone several times throughout the day before Walker “suddenly stopped responding.”
Walker was supposed to meet her father to apply for a summer work permit but failed to arrive at the designated time.
“He called me and said that Joniah wasn’t picking up her phone,” Howard said. “That is when I immediately knew something was wrong. I left work right away.”
A nearby ring camera captured Walker leaving the apartment complex at around 2:30 p.m. in the Brewer’s Hill neighborhood, a mile-and-a-half north of Downtown Milwaukee.
Video footage showed the teen carrying a large green backpack.
It was the last known sighting of Walker until she was reportedly found last month.
Howard believed her daughter had met someone online after she deleted her digital footprint and never returned.
“Somebody stole her…that was my first instinct,” Howard said. “But when I saw that she left with a big backpack that I had never seen, that’s when I knew. I was like, someone lured her away.”
The protective mother issued multiple pleas for her daughter to come home, begging Walker to “call me,” WISN reported in July 2022.
“She is my youngest daughter, so I always call her by ‘baby girl’ because that is exactly who she is, my baby girl,” she said. “She is what I would describe as a perfect daughter. She is angelic, soft spoken and very intelligent.”
Walker was one of the faces of a legislative push by Wisconsin State Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison) seeking to pass a bill to create a Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls Task Force, according to Fox6 Now.
Stubbs says she believed Walker was still alive, telling Howard to hold out hope for her daughter’s return.
“I believed Joniah was still living, and I said that to her – I don’t believe Joniah is dead, it’s only a matter of time,” Stubbs told the outlet.
“I think right now, the family needs their privacy,” Stubbs added. “I know there are so many questions, but I think as time goes by when they are ready to tell their story, they will tell it.”
Detroit, MI
Detroit Tigers tee off on New York Yankees with 5 homers in win
Tigers call up Ben Malgeri from Triple-A Toledo; Trei Cruz sent down
Ben Malgeri called up from Triple-A Toledo; Trei Cruz optioned, Burch Smith to 60-day IL. Malgeri: 9 HR, .322 vs LHP.
NEW YORK – The Detroit Tigers showed no fear or intimidation facing Cam Schlittler, the New York Yankees superstar who entered Tuesday, June 30, as the favorite to win the American League Cy Young award.
The Tigers weren’t timid, either. They were aggressive and decisive, launching four homers off Schlittler in a 9-3 victory at Yankee Stadium.
It was stunning, to say the least.
Meanwhile, lefty Tarik Skubal was his usual outstanding self for the Tigers (37-49). Skubal picked up the win, allowing one earned run off two hits while racking up nine strikeouts.
The Tigers danced off with their second straight win at Yankee Stadium. Meanwhile, the Yankees (48-37) drew plenty of boos after losing their sixth straight. The Tigers will go for the three-game sweep on Wednesday (1:35 p.m., Detroit SportsNet).
At the plate: Tigers use long ball to crush Yankees
Schlittler has had a historic start to the season for the Yankees. He came into the game with a 1.62 ERA, the second lowest ERA by a Yankees pitcher through his first 17 starts of a season since it became an official stat in 1913.
“He’s the best pitcher in the American League right now,” Skubal said before the game.
Which was obviously no small statement coming from Skubal.
But the Tigers played with no fear. Catcher Dillon Dingler started it off by hitting a ball 337 feet. Yes, it was caught. But it was a sign of things to come.
The next Tigers hitter, Kerry Carpenter, smashed a ball to deep center. Spencer Jones, the Yankees outfielder, went above the wall and it looked, for a split second, like he robbed the homer. But the ball hit the palm of his glove and it popped out, squirting over the fence for a 410-foot round-tripper.
It was a massive moment, considering a catch would have ended the inning.
But that left a door open for the Tigers to start jacking more homers through.
Riley Greene, the next batter, smashed a homer to right, a 424-foot blast that landed in the second deck.
That was also an important moment, considering Schlittler had only given up two homers all season to lefties – the Tigers had equaled it in back-to-back plate appearances.
In the first inning, no less.
Colt Keith continued the onslaught, pounding a single up the middle.
Then Spencer Torkelson got into the act, launching a homer to left on the 10th pitch of the at bat. It was a no-doubter that went 405 feet.
To recap: Facing the best pitcher in the American League, at least to this point in the season, the Tigers crushed three 400-foot homers in one inning.
Another fun Schlittler fact: He had allowed one run or fewer in 13 of his starts this season, leading MLB.
Then, Greene did it again. He hit his second homer of the game in the third. Yes, maybe he should get more days off, like he did on Monday.
Schlittler gave up six runs in four innings, his worst start of the season.
Tigers outfielder James Outman turned it into a rout with a three-run homer in the sixth.
On the mound: Tarik Skubal was dealing
The Tigers had a 4-0 lead before Skubal even took the mound.
He did allow a homer to Ben Rice, which was not exactly a stunner. The Yankees slugger crushed his 23rd homer of the season, cutting the Tigers lead to 4-1.
But after that point, Skubal just rolled and the Yankees never really had a chance to get back into this game.
He gave up one earned run in six innings of work, recording nine strikeouts with no walks.
The Tigers took a 9-2 lead into the ninth. Tyler Holton came in to pitch the ninth and he gave up a run.
Next up: Tigers try for the sweep
The Tigers will finish their three-game series in Yankee Stadium, a day start that will feature right-hander Troy Melton (4-1, 2.39 ERA) against right-hander Will Warren (7-3, 3.75).
Melton will try to keep up the Tigers’ outstanding starting pitching.
In the first game, on Monday, Tigers righty Casey Mize became the first pitcher in the Tigers’ 126 seasons to throw seven or more innings, allow one hit or less, no runs, no walks and strike out 10 or more in an outing. The 10 punchouts matched his career high.
Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
Milwaukee, WI
Career minor-leaguer Garrett Stallings gets his shot with the Brewers
Garrett Stallings finally makes it to the majors with the Brewers
Garrett Stallings has thrown nearly 600 innings in the minor leagues including the past three at Class AAA Nashville. Now, he’s in the Brewers bullpen.
Garrett Stallings was in position to hit a pretty big milestone with Class AAA Nashville.
“Someone told me this week I would have hit my 600th minor-league inning, which is kind of crazy for someone who hadn’t made it to The Show yet,” Stallings said on Tuesday – but from the Milwaukee Brewers dugout at American Family Field after the right-hander had been selected to the 26-man roster.
“But the whole time I’ve kind of put my head down and continued to go at it, and the work’s really paid off.”
Stallings, 28, was in the midst of his best minor-league season to date with the Sounds, posting a 3-3 record and 3.45 ERA in 16 appearances (12 starts) and 59 strikeouts in 62 ⅔ innings. His last six outings have been starts, but with the Brewers he’ll join a bullpen group that’s been ridden hard in recent weeks.
“Really, just learned how to be a reliever really quickly,” said Stallings when asked how things changed for him with Milwaukee. Originally a fifth-round pick of the Angels out of the University of Tennessee in 2019, he was traded the following year to the Orioles and then to the Brewers in 2024 in exchange for right-hander Thyago Vieira and minor-leaguer Aneuris Rodriguez.
Stallings re-signed with the Brewers as a minor-league free agent in the offseason after pitching in a career-high 30 games in 2025
“I’d been a starter my whole career, and just continued to be adaptable,” he continued. “In order to get your name called you can’t just tailor to one thing. That’s really helped broaden my horizons in the game, and as many different situations you can be in, it’s helped me just adapt to the game and keep my head up and be the best version of myself.”
Stallings lacks the electric fastball and truly nasty stuff that defines so many pitchers these days, instead relying upon moxie and a willingness to try new things.
“I’ve always been a throw-every-type-of-pitch (guy),” he said. “I’ll tinker this side of the rubber or this side and I’m always one that will always at least try new things to see if I can get that edge. I think if anything, the experience of throwing 600 minor-league innings you learn a lot along the way. And it comes with failure, too.
“It hasn’t always been the easiest path. But this year I feel like I’ve just been able to keep getting a little bit better.”
Stallings joked that he’s felt at times like he’s been the best player in the minor leagues and at other times the worst, with the cumulative experiences helping shape him into a reliever being asked to contribute outs whenever he receives the opportunity.
“I talked to him today,” said manager Pat Murphy. “That’s the best part. You get to sit here and let those guys come in, knowing how he grinded and stuck with it and hung with it and probably didn’t believe for a while that he would (make it).
“Then, to finally believe and get that phone call, I immediately think about his mom and dad, He’s got a fiancee, his brother and sister are coming. That’s really cool, and even cooler when he gets up (to pitch).”
Stallings, a native of Chesapeake, Va., could receive that chance as soon as tonight as the Brewers try for their fifth win in as many games against the Cincinnati Reds this season.
“It’s a dream come true,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Stallings becomes the 45th player to appear on Milwaukee’s active roster this season and seeks to become the sixth to make his major league debut.
To clear space on the 26-man roster, left-hander Robert Gasser was optioned to the rookie Arizona Complex League Brewers, a procedural move that will allow him to be available July 7 when Milwaukee will need extra starting pitching for its doubleheader against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
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