CRIME

Jason Sypher claims innocence before Portage County judge sentences him to life in prison

Karen Madden
Stevens Point Journal

STEVENS POINT - Before a judge sentenced him to life in prison, Jason Sypher said the jury that convicted him of killing his wife, Krista, and hiding her body was wrong. 

"I am 100% innocent of the charges," Sypher told Portage County Circuit Judge Thomas Eagon. "I love my family."

Krista Sypher's father, Richard Kellerman Jr., asked for leniency for his son-in-law. Kellerman believes his daughter is still "out there" somewhere and that Jason did nothing to her. The police and court system made too many mistakes, Kellerman said.

"I feel that my family has been victimized by the court system," Kellerman said. 

Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Annie Jay, who prosecuted the case with Portage County District Attorney Louis Molepske, said the only reason for being in court Tuesday was because Jason Sypher killed his wife, Krista, and deprived her three children from ever seeing her again.

“The defendant is being sentenced for obliterating the mother of these children from the face of the earth,” Jay said.

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Krista Sypher was last seen on March 13, 2017. Police searched for her for more than a year, at one point scouring the Cranberry Creek Landfill in Wisconsin Rapids for a week. Authorities still haven't found the mother of three, but a Portage County jury took less than two hours Oct. 23 to convict her husband of first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse.

Prosecutor: Jason Sypher spread lies about his wife after her disappearance.

The court can’t blame Jason Sypher for not showing remorse by maintaining his innocence during the trial, but it can blame him for not showing remorse in his actions following his wife's disappearance, Jay said.

Jason Sypher created a massive cover-up, Jay said. He spread lies about his wife, convincing even her children and parents that she was to blame, she said.

During interviews with police, Krista Sypher’s two daughters both said they thought their mother was bipolar. When asked what bipolar meant, the girls couldn’t answer, Jay said. They, along with Krista Sypher's adult son from a previous marriage, are left wondering if their mother is in a garbage pit or in the woods somewhere, Jay said. 

Not only do Krista Sypher's family members not have Krista, but they also don't have a grave where they can go and remember her, Jay said. 

Over and over again during the investigation, witnesses would say they “knew for a fact” that Krista Sypher had said or done something, but authorities always traced those “facts” back to Jason Sypher, Jay said.

Defense: Truth will come out when Krista Sypher's remains are eventually found.

Jason Sypher's attorney, Gary Kryshak, said he believes his client is innocent. He had no criminal history other than a drunken driving conviction, Kryshak said. 

Jason Sypher will appeal the conviction, but the truth will come out when Krista Sypher's remains are found in Florida, Las Vegas or some other place where Jason Sypher could not have been, Kryshak said. 

Eagon said he had to accept the jury's decision and sentence Jason Sypher accordingly. Eagon gave Sypher the mandatory life in prison required by law but ordered that Sypher could petition the court to be released on extended supervision after 30 years. 

Eagon expressed concern about how he says Jason Sypher ruined his wife's reputation after her disappearance. He told everyone, including her parents and children, that she was a party girl, Eagon said.

Krista Sypher wanted to go out one or two nights a week and go to the gym to work out, Eagon said. She seemed like someone who would be fun to hang out with and hard to keep up with, the judge said. Her oldest daughter was of an age where many parents would feel comfortable leaving her alone, Eagon said. 

Jason Sypher not only deprived Krista Sypher's children of their mother, but he deprived them of the comfort of knowing their mother loved them, Eagon said. 

Sypher, now 46, will be 76 before he can get released from prison, Eagon said. The public needs to be protected from him, the judge said.