By Denise Lana,
A jury found 30-year-old Adam Fravel guilty of murdering his ex-partner, 26-year-old Madeline Kingsbury. The 12 jurors reached their decision on Nov. 6 after nearly 11 hours. Fravel now stands convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. The multi-day trial was held in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, following a change of venue for the high-profile Winona County case, and included testimony from friends, family, investigators, neighbors and others who knew Kingsbury and Fravel.
According to testimony from family and friends, Kingsbury’s seven-year on-again off-again relationship with Fravel was beyond salvaging and she planned to move out of the home they shared in Winona, Minnesota. Kingsbury had found a new place to live and had a new love interest, but she disappeared Friday, March 31, 2023, after she and Fravel dropped their children off at day care and arrived back at their shared residence.
Fravel denied any involvement in her disappearance but, when Kingsbury’s body was found in a culvert near Mabel more than two months later, Fravel was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree murder with a past pattern of domestic abuse. In October of 2023, a Minnesota grand jury found there was enough evidence to additionally charge Fravel with first-degree murder with premeditation as well as first-degree murder with a history of domestic abuse — an investigation revealed numerous incidents of verbal and physical abuse Fravel was said to have committed against Kingsbury. Jury selection lasted more than a week, and opening statements began Oct. 17.
The state prosecution called 68 witnesses to testify over the next two weeks — the defense called only five.
Allegations of abuse
Fravel and Kingsbury met while attending Winona State University, according to testimony from Michaela Shaw, a close friend of Kingsbury. Shaw said she witnessed Fravel call Kingsbury derogatory and profane names early in their relationship — events the prosecution referred to as “signs of things to come.” Shaw also testified that Fravel had accuse Kingsbury of ‘trapping him’ in the relationship by getting pregnant with their first child in 2018.
The couple moved in together to raise their daughter, and two witnesses testified to seeing Fravel strike and push Kingsbury during video calls. The couple was expecting their second child during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kingsbury was employed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, while Fravel remained unemployed — the prosecution said if Kingsbury had left Fravel, he would have been destitute.
Financial records showed Kingsbury gave Fravel $4,000 within the first two months of 2023. Kingsbury also had a $170,000 death benefit through her employer, and Fravel might have had control of those funds if he were selected as the guardian of their children.
Prosecuting attorney Phil Prokopowicz said during the trail that Kingsbury had grown weary of Fravel’s lack of support with the house, finances and children. Kingsbury’s friends and family also testified to seeing bruises and marks on her neck on multiple occasions — they claimed Kingsbury dismissed the bruises and would often wear turtleneck shirts to hide the marks.
Kingsbury allegedly confided in her friends and family, saying Fravel had held her down with his hand around her throat in mid-September of 2021, while the two had been watching a television program on the murder of Gabby Petito — a 22-year-old woman who was murdered by her fiance, who then hid her body. Kingsbury’s loved ones testified that she told them Fravel threatened her at that point, saying if she didn’t start listening to him, she would end up like Gabby Petito.
In an interview with investigators after Kingsbury’s disappearance, Fravel admitted to being infatuated with the Petito case but insisted he was just joking when he threatened Kingsbury.
Prosecutors say Fravel planned attack on Kingsbury
Full article available in the November 14 Decorah Leader.
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