GUILTY SD - Kari Kirkegaard, 56, raped & murdered, Sioux Falls, 16 March 2014

[Jacie Estes]

"Kirkegaard, 56, was found dead in her home on South Garfield Avenue on Sunday, March 16." [video at link]

http://www.ksfy.com/story/25103042/...-convict-in-connection-to-kirkegaard-homicide

 

[Jacie Estes]

"He took my sister's life, he choked her, and I'll do the same thing to him if he gets out again...I will hunt him down myself and kill him," said Brian Johnson.

These strong words from the brother of Kari Kirkegaard as police arrest repeat offender Christopher Kryger for her rape and murder.

Nearly two weeks after Kirkegaard's brutal death in her Sioux Falls home, police have made an arrest.

Christopher Kryger is behind bards, held on multiple counts of murder, rape and burglary charges.

Kryger has been labeled a habitual criminal by the state and has a rap sheet spanning 22 years, a history Kirkegaard's family and friends find most upsetting.

http://www.ksfy.com/story/25105857/...ice-arrest-repeat-offender-for-sisters-murder

 

[Jacie Estes]

Kirkegaard's murder bears a striking resemblance to Kryger's 2008 rape conviction, only this time it proved deadly. The arrest affidavit revealed that Kirkegaard was strangled to the point her neck was broken, raped, and her body left in the bathtub. Kryger is currently being held on $1 million bond.

http://www.ksfy.com/story/25104105/murder-suspect-has-a-history-of-violence

 

[Jacie Estes]

Christopher Kryger should have never been released from prison.

Kryger has a history of violent crime dating to 1992, with convictions for assault and arson He has spent much of his adult life in prison, and had been paroled about four months ago.

http://www.kotatv.com/story/25116316/sioux-falls-homicide-suspect-has-history-of-crime

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.argusleader.com/story/ne...ecision-postponed-march-murder-case/16180697/

Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to seek the death penalty for a parolee accused of raping and killing a Sioux Falls woman in her home in March...

Judge Mark Salter, who already has pushed Kryger's trial back to July, had set a deadline of Dec. 1 for a decision from prosecutors on whether to seek the death penalty.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.kdlt.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39797&Itemid=57

Christopher Kryger refused to be transported to the Minnehaha County Courthouse for a motions hearing to go over evidence. Judge Mark Salter and legal counsel agreed to reschedule the hearing.

However, that decision did not go over well with members of the victim's family, who stood up and voiced their disapproval with Salter's decision.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.argusleader.com/story/ne...rder-trial-allow-evidence-rape-case/22378809/

A Sioux Falls judge ruled Monday that evidence pointing out similarities in the 2008 rape and assault of an Ethiopian woman and last year's slaying of Kari Anne Kirkegaard can be presented in the trial against Christopher Kryger...

Judge Mark Salter noted that both women were home alone, both were taken by surprise, both were subdued by force and both of their homes were unlawfully entered.

Kryger's lawyer, Mark Kadi, argued that the dismissed 2008 case would be prejudicial if presented to jurors. "There's a reason why the 2008 case was dismissed," Kadi said. "It was dismissed because there wasn't enough evidence. I just don't know if it's relevant."

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.argusleader.com/story/ne...ing-victim-cousin-strangling-victim/22908399/

A Sioux Falls extended family is mourning the loss of a loved one to homicide for the second time in less than a year.

Anthony Gabriel, the city's first homicide victim of 2015, was the second cousin of Kari Kirkegaard, who was the city's first homicide victim of 2014...

Gabriel, 18, was shot in the head Jan. 29 while driving on Louise Avenue following a dispute with two other teenagers. He died Feb. 1.

 

[OkieGranny]

From last month:

http://www.argusleader.com/story/ne...pe-kari-anne-kirkegaard-sioux-falls/76044368/

Kryger was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2014 death of Kari Anne Kirkegaard, as well as guilty on charges of forcible rape and first-degree burglary. The only charge on which he was found not guilty was a lesser rape count...

The minimum sentence for first-degree murder is life in prison...

Sentencing will be delayed until an undetermined date, Judge Mark Salter said.

 

[0101ABA]

Kryger gets life for 'cold-blooded murder' of Sioux Falls woman

A Sioux Falls man will spend the rest of his life in prison for raping and killing a woman in her home.

Christopher Dean Kryger was found guilty of first-degree murder, forcible rape and first-degree burglary in November. On Thursday, he was sentenced to life with no parole for the murder and received the maximum sentences for rape and burglary to run concurrent with the life sentence.

http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/crime/2016/02/25/kryger-sentenced-kirkegaard-murder/80921076/